Shocking electric bill?

Question

I am in shock, ....my electric bill arrived yesterday and it was DOUBLE what it usually is. I called them, and they said last month it was estimated, but this was an actual reading. It really killed my budget for the month. We had an insurance claim and some work done on the house, do you think power tools would use that much electricity? I am desperately looking for ways to cut expenses and that is the only thing I can think of, but would power tools really bump up my bill to double what it usually is? It went from $80 to $160 in one month.

Answer 1

if they estimated your last bill then they probably estimated it low then when they did the actual reading it was probably 1 1/2 months bills combined. Power tools will bring up your bill depending on how long they were used plus the extra from the month before you weren't billed for.

Answer 2

Have you considered talking to some of your neighbors to see if this also happened to them? If $80 is about what you expected, and you suddenly got a bill for twice that amount, I'd be a bit suspicious. I don't think the power tools would have had all that much of an impact. They each use a small motor, but it's not really that much. If you had a big increase in heating costs, that would generally be the major reason for a big increase in your bill, but if your winter has pretty much followed its usual course, then I'd ask the electric company/utility for a detailed explanation of WHY your bill is so much. I'd certainly go and talk to them, rather than chatting with them on the phone. It's not so easy to brush someone off when they're standing in front of you.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Power tools do use a lot of power, but they're not on all the time.

Most expensive (powerwise) are heating and cooling.
Do you use electrically heated water? If so, cutting back on your hot water usage will immediately save money.

For the rest, the basics:
Check your power usage and examine your habits.
Do you run the washing machine for a single sock? Or is the washer full every time you use it? What temperature do you wash at? Ever tried washing at 40 degrees instead of 60?
Do you have a dryer? Hang your laundry outside to dry.
Don't put equipment on standby but turn it off.
Remove chargers from the socket when you're done.
Replace bulbs by energy saving lights.

Answer 4

I don't think its the power tools I'm always told what runs the electric up is the stove,dryer and electric coolingandheating.
And also its according from where you live because where I'm from they are going up 25% on the electric bill mine use yo be $60 and now its $104 and its never that high and i called the electric company and they told that they are going up.

Answer 5

sometimes they will not read your meter and just estimate what they think you used and then the next month they make the corrections. suxs, but I am sure this is accurate. Power tools would not do too much, maybe the extra traffic in and out used more energy to keep house heated?

Answer 6

WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD WHERE THE RICH GET RICHER AND THE POOR GET POORER,