what's an average electrical bill?

[Hemi-Cuda]

i moved into my new condo about a month and a half ago, and just got my first full electrical bill (having never paid utilities before) and it seems rather high at $126. i know i use quite a bit of electicity, but not an ungodly amount. i leave my PC on an average of about 6-7 hours a day and have a home entertainment center that i use an average of about 4-5 hours a day ,and other then that it's just regular appliances, lights and the rest. is it normal to be paying this much in electrical?

[BlackArcher101]

Are you the only one living there? Was that total based off a meter reading or was it estimated?

I usually average $60/mth for myself living in a 1-bedroom.

[jolinar of malkshor]

I rent an older house with old windows and my total utility bill for gas, electric, water and sewer is around 350-400 a month. There are people that live in the basement aswell that share the bill with me.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Are you the only one living there? Was that total based off a meter reading or was it estimated?

I usually average $60/mth for myself living in a 1-bedroom.

i live by myself in a 2 bedroom, 950sq/ft condo. this is what my bill reads:

Reading on May 23 (Estimate) 3730.00
Reading on Apr 24 (Actual) 2718.00
Amount of electric energy you used 1,012.00 kWh

having never paid electricity bills before i can't be sure, but it just doesn't look right to me

[Engine09]

Average fo $65/mo for my 2 bedroom apartment, and that's with a 55" HDTV and a treadmill.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Kryzsky

Average fo $65/mo for my 2 bedroom apartment, and that's with a 55" HDTV and a treadmill.

there is definitely something not right with my bill then. is there anything i can do about it? if i call Epcor up and they say that there's no fault on their end, am i up turd creek?

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

i live by myself in a 2 bedroom, 950sq/ft condo. this is what my bill reads:

Reading on May 23 (Estimate) 3730.00
Reading on Apr 24 (Actual) 2718.00
Amount of electric energy you used 1,012.00 kWh

having never paid electricity bills before i can't be sure, but it just doesn't look right to me

They estimated this bill then. Most likely it is too high and your next Bill will be a lot smaller since it will be an actual reading. I believe they take readings every 2 months. This is normal. I was out of town for the entire month of December (ie, nothing running) and my Bill for that month was estimated and rougly $75. The bill I received for January was based off an actual reading, and since I barely used any power, it was actually only a few dollars ($5).

My $60 covers my PC (high power w/ 6 hard drives) which runs 24/7, 2 lcd monitors, 32" tube tv that runs 5 hours a day, large fans (box and pedestal) that run all day to cool my place, and a small chest freezer.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

They estimated this bill then. Most likely it is too high and your next Bill will be a lot smaller since it will be an actual reading. I believe they take readings every 2 months. This is normal. I was out of town for the entire month of December (ie, nothing running) and my Bill for that month was estimated and rougly $75. The bill I received for January was based off an actual reading, and since I barely used any power, it was actually only a few dollars ($5).

My $60 covers my PC (high power w/ 6 hard drives) which runs 24/7, 2 lcd monitors, 32" tube tv that runs 5 hours a day, large fans (box and pedestal) that run all day to cool my place, and a small chest freezer.

ya i just got off the phone with Epcor and that's basically what the woman said, which makes me feel better. she also mentioned something about a static average bill they can put me on in a few months when they get some more readings from my place, is that a good thing to do?

[Engine09]

I forgot to add, during hockey season I have 2 TVs on in my living room all evening. And a electric space heater when it gets real cold. I can remember my bill toppng out at $85 one month, but it averages $65. I'm pretty good about turning lights off and not wasting power.

[Flames09]

In my old house (it was a 4 bedroom home), 6 people lived there, and we had 5 TV's (3 of them were on all the time), and we averaged on our Utilities (gas, electric, sewer, water) about $350 a month. We actually signed a contract and it's worked out great so far IMO.

[lifer]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

there is definitely something not right with my bill then. is there anything i can do about it? if i call Epcor up and they say that there's no fault on their end, am i up turd creek?

first off, you should sign up for Easymax with Enmax. the electricity rate has been over 10% lower than the rest in the province for a year now. But that consumption seems a little high. Most full houses only use in the neighbourhood of 500-700 kwh/mo. I'd wait to see the next bill with an acutal reading, but if that doesn't correct it, don't screw around waiting for them to fix it. I did that in Calgary. They charged me for 1200 kwh my first month in a 2 bdroom apartment. It was an estimate and I thought they would fix it. When they didn't fix it I called in, and they said it woud be fixed. The next bill I got said it was corrected, then I got one after that and it was screwed up all over again, with backcharges to boot. I've been going through this for 8 months now.

The point is, there is something definately wrong with your bill, and don't let them screw you around when fixing it.

[Flames09]

I reccommend Easymax with Enmax 100%...

[TurnedTheCorner]

It's simply a bill estimate. When the actual reading comes in next go round, you will have a small bill, or a credit. If you see another estimate next bill, it's time to get back on the phone and ask why they're not reading your meter.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Isn't there a charge for new subscribers in the 1st month? I remember my 1st bill being screwed up and then levelling out.

[Incinerator]

wow I must be amish, my electricity bill ranges from $38-$43 a month and I'm in a 2 bedroom 1000+sq ft

[Hemi-Cuda]

well i just paid the bill so hopefully next month will even things out. but if i switch to easymax right now, would i be billed for a full month as it wasn't Enmax doing the original estimating? or do they get all that info from Epcor?

[Flames09]

Originally Posted by Incinerator

wow I must be amish, my electricity bill ranges from $38-$43 a month and I'm in a 2 bedroom 1000+sq ft

Maybe, for Electricity alone we were at about $80 but my house is double the size of yours and probably double the people.

[Sylvanfan]

Over 5 years of home ownership in Alberta, I've found that I've paid as much or more for electrical than I have for Natural gas. Lately I pay more due to the fact that I'm running a home office, but I pay 120+ every month for electrical and my gas bills vary from 45 to 250 during the course of the year. I don't know why when they do mortgage calculations they ask you for heating costs of the house as I find electrical combined with your municipal water/sewer/garbage to be the bigger kick to the nuts.

[gallione11]

I'm guessing we are talking houses and condos here. I live in a 2 BR apartment with my girlfriend and we've been averaging about $55/month the last three months. However, I expect it to go up next month as we just installed our A/C (rated at about 800 Watts).

One thing to keep in mind if you are in an apartment, if you have electric heat, those heaters, especially the baseboard varieties suck up the juice at an alarming rate. I think most are around 1500 Watts, which means for each hour it is on, you use 1.5 kW-hr. Having one on for around 8 hours a day means you would use 360 kW-hr a month, just for the one heater. Which explains why my electric bill usually runs aroun $100-$130 in December and January. Granted, this is Oregon, too, so costs might be different.

[Hack&Lube]

Just don't ask Al Gore.