****? my butt hurts

[clintard]

As most of you know i travel for work and i am RARELY home. Usually my bills are dirt cheap but here lately ive been noticing a drastic spike in electricity usage. Thing is...for example...from june 20-july 23 i was only home from june 28-july 5th. 8 days out of 33. That means 25 days i was gone.

I do have central air but I have a gas dryer, water heater, and stove. The only thing in my home that was running while i was away was my fridge. I am so cheap that i actually have the fridge on its own breaker and shut all the other breakers off when i leave.

So i figured it was just an estimated bill and called them to have them come read my meter and they tell me that they havnt estimated any of my bills since april. HMMMMMMM

watch your ***** boy's these crooks are out for our sweet virgin ********.View attachment 4075

 

[Neil-3446]

As most of you know i travel for work and i am RARELY home. Usually my bills are dirt cheap but here lately ive been noticing a drastic spike in electricity usage. Thing is...for example...from june 20-july 23 i was only home from june 28-july 5th. 8 days out of 33. That means 25 days i was gone.

I do have central air but I have a gas dryer, water heater, and stove. The only thing in my home that was running while i was away was my fridge. I am so cheap that i actually have the fridge on its own breaker and shut all the other breakers off when i leave.

So i figured it was just an estimated bill and called them to have them come read my meter and they tell me that they havnt estimated any of my bills since april. HMMMMMMM

watch your ***** boy's these crooks are out for our sweet virgin ********.View attachment 4075

Does your utility company charge a demand usage premium???

Have you checked the meter yourself over a 24 hour period??? Try that and report back the KWH you've used.

Neil

 

[clintard]

haha i dont even know what a demand usage premium is to be honest. And i need to learn how to read my meter next time i am home. Its one of the wierd ones with a bunch of dials on it and its so old u can barely see them through to crusty glass


i do get charged a higher rate for summer usage but if u look u will notice that the actual kilowatt hours used has gone up tremendously. The only month ive actually been home for the entire month since ive lived there is march. It was colder than Antarctica too.

I just dont get it, do they play the same games the cell phone companies do?

 

[Neil-3446]

Need to find the spike in usage for sure (I cant view the attached bill). Shutting off the panel main and checking the meter would show if there are any unusual drains in a second.

Here is a video on how to read the older analog meters...it's very easy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utUPBX_sGII

Neil

 

[clintard]

Neil your the man. I will definitely shut the main off and check the meter next time i am home! Should the thing be completely still when i do so?

 

[clintard]

Neil since you canT view my attatchment through the forum upload system can you see this?

 

[Neil-3446]

Neil your the man. I will definitely shut the main off and check the meter next time i am home! Should the thing be completely still when i do so?

Start by turning everything off as you do when you leave and check. Then turn the fridge off and check again. Unless something is bad wrong, shutting off the main should stop the meter completely.

Your KWH's have gone up by almost 250 per month these past 2 months!

Something is going on 4 sure. The fridge is messed up, or someone is living in your house while you are gone!

Do you have any security lights that could be running all hours???

Neil

 

[Jayhawk]

I'd give Morley's left one to have electricity bills that cheap. :biglaugh:

Last summer, mine were running over $700 / month!

Kwitcherbitchin. :rofl_200:

 

[clintard]

haha i know i dont have much right to ***** because its so cheap to live there but...........

im never home. its a 1200 square foot house valued at ?44k

and you? hehe i bet your over 3000 square feet right?

 

[Buster Hymen]

Clint, do you have any receptacles on the outside of your house that are live when you aren't home? It wouldn't be the first time I've heard of neighbors running extension cords over to someones house so they don't get billed. Something to think about.

 

[Neil-3446]

Clint, do you have any receptacles on the outside of your house that are live when you aren't home? It wouldn't be the first time I've heard of neighbors running extension cords over to someones house so they don't get billed. Something to think about.

Exactly...

Ironic; I just posted something very similar to this earlier today.

http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?p=41992#post41992

People will do all kinds of crazy things.

Neil

 

[Thevmaxrider]

Don't know your neighbors, but I would wonder about a MJ grow op tapping off of your feed. I had a problem with HUGE ($1200 in one month) electric bills. Bitched loud enough and their tech came out and said that to have a bill that high (I heat with a wood stove in the winter and had no AC at the time) I would have been frying eggs on my roof. They did a diagnostic of some type and mysteriously my bills dropped to a meager $300 per month. I figure that their must have been something wrong, but they will never admit a problem cause then they have to pay you back the overcharge. Never hurts to ***** LOUDLY!!!

 

[clintard]

The receptacles on the outside of my house are shut off when im not home. Like i said i shut all the breakers off except the one for the fridge and sump pump. No lights on, power to garage shut off and house is locked up tight so i dont think anyone is living in it..

They told me the meter reading was actual and not estimated but i suspect a lazy tech not reading my meter and reporting it as actual. Im going to throw a fit until someone else comes out and reads the meter.

Mentioning Ameren Cips in my town is like shouting terrorist. Everyone hates them. They **** all of us with there rate hikes during the summer.

 

[Neil-3446]

Hey....

If you could get a decent picture of it tonight, we could read it and see the increase in the next 12-15 hours and estimate.

Neil

 

[clintard]

that's my major dilemma man...im 200 miles from home right now. Hard to keep track of things or get anything done in the line of work im wrapped up in. Beer helps