My electric usage has doubled in the last two months.

Question

Nothing has changed and no appliances have been added. I'm not even running an air conditioner. I've lived here for ten years and have pretty consistent usage. The bill shows this is an actual read, not an estimate. I will contact the electric company, but any ideas why this is?

Answer 1

Check out your rates.  Several utility companies were talking about passing the fuel costs on to their customers.  Sounds like that is happening to you.  I was on a utility company who would charge a lot more during the summer (a/c) months and during December (Christmas).  When I called and asked why they would do such a thing, the CSR told me "The F.C.C. told us we had to".  I knew better than that.  The F.C.C. may have told they they were allowed to, but I am not so blond as to believe the agency told them they had to.

Answer 2

you could have a short somewhere in your electrical system drawing power. try turning everything off, lights and so forth and then check your usage on you meter then flip a breaker and recheck your usage. repeat until you find the breaker drawing a lot of power. then check the appliances and wiring in that area.

Answer 3

If it's been hot where you are, your refrigerator may be fighting to stay cold. Unplug everything you are not using daily. Something is going on!

Answer 4

Could it be an end of period balance? Like they estimate it for 11 months, then do an actual reading on the 12th month and realize you haven't been paying enough before?

Answer 5

I would suggest having the company come and look at your meter. Sometimes they start going bad and then its up to them to fix it.

Answer 6

Prices have rocketed. If you only get a quarterly bill then it would be a while before you noticed.

Answer 7

Welcome to reality.  Bills go up.

Answer 8

You could have a refrigerator developing a problem, such as a malfunctioning defrost timer.  As the coils slowly load up with ice, cooling becomes much less efficient and the compressor runs longer and longer.

Check that out, if you notice any change in the way its working, like the freezer not cold enough (one clue is the ice maker is slow or not working), that could be it.

Otherwise it's just some detective work, did someone leave a bunch of lights on in an attic?

You can check for 'parasitic' power draw by turning off most everything in the house, including refrigerators, and seeing if the meter still indicates some power usage - some will be normal (like TVs and such are never truly off).  Don't turn off the main breaker for this though, that will defeat the purpose.

Answer 9

If you have a electric water heater the t/p could be leaking making the heater run all the time.

Answer 10

All electric companies are raising the rates of electricity. The electric company will come out and check your meter accuracy at no charge.