Duke Electric Bill $2600!

[LdiJ]

so, how about this:

a second meter. I have meters I can use to calculate power used. I don't even have to hook it up to anything. It works by magic*



If those months where the power was down to $20-$10 were summer months and OP didn't use AC... well, regardless what super saver program you are on, that is a bill with no or almost no power used. The ostrich factor was strong with this one.


as to the power company not noticing it:

care to guess how many customers they have? and how many customers do not use a building all year long so there may be some no usage months. They usually aren't going to get all excited when a person's bill changes. It happens all the time for legitimate reasons. They do not have the means to "babysit" every customer and call them when their bill changes without any reason they are aware of.






*inductive pickups can appear to be magic to some people and I want them to just keep on thinking that. The less they know, the more I'm worth.

My bill goes down nearly that low in April/May and September/October.

 

[justalayman]

My bill goes down nearly that low in April/May and September/October.

To ten or twenty dollars? My fixed costs Are probably near ten bucks so those are there every month whether I use power or not. But hey, if your house is that energy efficient, then great but op listed a period of at least 4 consecutive months the power charges dropped so that pretty much means they would have used heating (electric heat mind you) or cooling (electric cooling of course).

 

[LdiJ]

To ten or twenty dollars? My fixed costs Are probably near ten bucks so those are there every month whether I use power or not. But hey, if your house is that energy efficient, then great but op listed a period of at least 4 consecutive months the power charges dropped so that pretty much means they would have used heating (electric heat mind you) or cooling (electric cooling of course).

In the 4 months I am talking about for me, I am usually using no heating or cooling (my heat is gas anyway but the blower is electric) and minimal other electricity as I am not home during the day and most of the time its only me. I am not quite that low but I am about 20-30 during those months, 50-60 from November thru March and between 125-200 during June, July and August, depending on how brutal the summer is. I am also in Central Indiana where I believe that the OP is located, and NO, my home is not all that energy efficient. If my daughter and grandchildren are living with me my electrical use jumps at least 50% or more...so much of it has to do with it just being me in the house.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Contact the IURC see if they can help.


http://www.in.gov/iurc/2331.htm

 

[davew128]

To ten or twenty dollars? My fixed costs Are probably near ten bucks so those are there every month whether I use power or not. But hey, if your house is that energy efficient, then great but op listed a period of at least 4 consecutive months the power charges dropped so that pretty much means they would have used heating (electric heat mind you) or cooling (electric cooling of course).

My apartment at times has had the monthly electric cost under $20/month, granted I never need to use the AC, but it is possible.

 

[StephenH]

Do some more investigation:

1) Ask them to produce the evidence of that amount and how they calculate usage it when the meter isn't running correctly.

2) See what other homes of similar size and electricity usage in your area (such as asking neighbors) what their electric bills range from during those months. Try to pick houses with similar types of heating and size, similar lighting, refrigerators, etc. This might give you a ballpark figure of what your electric bill might have supposed to run about for those months. See if the electric company would use an average of these as a basis minus the amounts you paid for what you should have been charged instead.

3) Ask that they change your meter with one that has been recently calibrated.

4) You may also want to perform an energy audit and make sure you don't have anything wasting energy by running all the time (heating, cooling, refrigerator, pool pump, spa, lights or computers left on, etc.

5) If you cannot pay the revised amount in a lump sum, ask for a payment plan.

6) If they don't revise and are still using erroneous numbers, I would contact the news and an attorney.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

For those not familiar with statistics, they can take the periods the meter was working and chart historic usage for several years. They can check the meter error and apply it straight across the malfunction to see if the result if logical. If it is a variable, malfunction, they can recreate the date historically. If it is a straight malfunction they can calculate it based on error projection.

 

[inventor.x]

Update on $2600 bill

so, how about this:

a second meter. I have meters I can use to calculate power used. I don't even have to hook it up to anything. It works by magic*



If those months where the power was down to $20-$10 were summer months and OP didn't use AC... well, regardless what super saver program you are on, that is a bill with no or almost no power used. The ostrich factor was strong with this one.


as to the power company not noticing it:

care to guess how many customers they have? and how many customers do not use a building all year long so there may be some no usage months. They usually aren't going to get all excited when a person's bill changes. It happens all the time for legitimate reasons. They do not have the means to "babysit" every customer and call them when their bill changes without any reason they are aware of.






*inductive pickups can appear to be magic to some people and I want them to just keep on thinking that. The less they know, the more I'm worth.

I paid the bill as they threatened me with shut-off. I just got my next bill...$4.68. What is going on? It must be broken again. I'm really confused. I'll update as this progresses.

Thanks for all the responses so far.