"Utility Bills Soaring"

Try living in Florida.....

Mine was $97 (GA).

quote:

Originally posted by dogsoldier0513:
Try living in Florida.....

how high are your bills running? are you comfortable, or conserving?

I have central heat an air but don't use it I use oil heaters an a window aircon. it saves a hundred or more a month an works just as good.

Ours last month was $306.00. I could not tell you the last time ours was under $200.00. We are not home very much, don't use alot of water, but our water bill is always $60.00 a month. The $306.00 is for electirc, water, and garbage pick up. We live in Lauderdale County.

My house is about 2500 sf. I keep it comfortably cool, at about 72 ( my wife would like it a bit warmer, me a bit cooler, but this is compromise). 2 heatpumps 1 upstairs, one down. All electric.

My last utility bill (payable 6/15) was $84.95.
Electricity bill $47.07
water $12.50
sewage $10.00
garbage pick-up $13.00
tax $2.38

Tidegirl, sounds like you have a leak in your hot water system.

My electric was $65 last bill. That's cooling about 2350 square feet. I set my thermostat at 78 during the day and 76 at night.

For those who are running their thermostats at 68 all day long, don't complain when TVA has to boost rates again.

My Florence area UT bill has sky rocketed since they replace my American made meter with one from Mexico.

The energy up charge was a whopping $15 !!!

OMG how are you people getting bills under 200??? We keep the thermostat on 76 most of the time and the house is smaller than what some of you mention. Our combined bill is 260-300.

quote:

Originally posted by kontan:
OMG how are you people getting bills under 200??? We keep the thermostat on 76 most of the time and the house is smaller than what some of you mention. Our combined bill is 260-300.

How old is your house, air conditioning unit, applicances, hot water heater, etc...

How well is your attic insulated, how about your windows? Do you have a lot of air inleakage?

There are many, many things that will effect your energy usage. You may want to participate in the TVA home energy audit to find out what you can do to lower your usage. Based on your numbers, you are using way too much.

I do believe that we have rather reasonable rates here in the Shoals and surrounding areas. Every time I tell my father (who lives in Maryland) how much our bill was, he's floored and tells me how lucky I am.

We moved into a home last year with central heating and AC, this has helped with the cost SO much. Our last home we rented was gas heat and it only had 2 small vents in the home (in the living room and in the hallway) the house was always freezing. In the summer we had 2 window units for AC and the house was comfortable but we usually shut the doors to unused rooms to deal with minimizing the cost. Still having the window units run all day and the horrible heat it was wayyyy to costly ($200-300 a month in the winter) (add in water and garbage to that total but still).

We are happy to say with all of our utilities and water/garbage etc we haven't gone over $160 at all, ever, and the electric is next to nothing, thankfully! And we keep our AC running, and set the temp between 72-68, depending, it's been resting on 70 degrees and auto for a few weeks now and kept the house extremely cool.

quote:

Originally posted by kontan:
OMG how are you people getting bills under 200??? We keep the thermostat on 76 most of the time and the house is smaller than what some of you mention. Our combined bill is 260-300.

Wow - and you have central. (I don't know if it helps that much but we keep our blinds drawn most of the time and when it seems a bit warm in our house I tend to run the ceiling fans to circulate the air (of course that is more electric) but it helps a little bit. Where do yo live?

Our bill this month is $189.47.

$116.53 electric
26.60 water
6.00 gas
14.50 garbage
19.88 sewage
5.96 utility tax


We have Sheffield Utilities

When I go to work I cut my system off. Alot of people set it at 72 when they leave, but I see no reason for it to run when I'm not home. The last couple of months my bill has been right around $100.00.

Mine runs $150 at the lowest to $300 in winter.
Use window ac's and fans with radiant and kerosene heaters in winter. I would faint if I got a bill for less than $100.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Hooberbloob:
How old is your house, air conditioning unit, applicances, hot water heater, etc...

How well is your attic insulated, how about your windows? Do you have a lot of air inleakage?

There are many, many things that will effect your energy usage. You may want to participate in the TVA home energy audit to find out what you can do to lower your usage. Based on your numbers, you are using way too much.

Thanks to all who responded. I'll address the above questions...
First, we are only here for one more year, if that, so it is a rental. HATE not having "my own" house. Three BR, 2 BA, LR, Den, Kitchen/dining. Size is average. Probably 30 years old...not sure. I would tell you the neighborhood name but I don't know.

The AC unit is one year old. Went out last year in the horrible 105+ heat. MISERABLE. Insulation and windows are old house style...very poor. I don't really notice inleakage, and I'm assuming that is similar to draft. Appliances: My w/d is only 3 years old. The range, refrigerator, and dishwasher are one year old. I think the water heater is a year old as well.

Our lifestyle: My thermostat is currently on 77. The kitchen ceiling fan is on, but no other fans. If it gets warm then we turn on the fans, not drop the thermostat. We use minimal light, lamps if needed. Can't stand the big ball of light overhead. Shaded back yard and the blinds stay closed, or curtains pulled.

We have lived here one year. We didn't bill average this year because it would not have been based on our usage. Would an audit help? How does it work?

Storm windows. If you are really concerned about it you could probably put plastic over them.

Also, is there a attic fan on the roof?

quote:

Originally posted by kontan:

quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Hooberbloob:
How old is your house, air conditioning unit, applicances, hot water heater, etc...

How well is your attic insulated, how about your windows? Do you have a lot of air inleakage?

There are many, many things that will effect your energy usage. You may want to participate in the TVA home energy audit to find out what you can do to lower your usage. Based on your numbers, you are using way too much.

Thanks to all who responded. I'll address the above questions...
First, we are only here for one more year, if that, so it is a rental. HATE not having "my own" house. Three BR, 2 BA, LR, Den, Kitchen/dining. Size is average. Probably 30 years old...not sure. I would tell you the neighborhood name but I don't know.

The AC unit is one year old. Went out last year in the horrible 105+ heat. MISERABLE. Insulation and windows are old house style...very poor. I don't really notice inleakage, and I'm assuming that is similar to draft. Appliances: My w/d is only 3 years old. The range, refrigerator, and dishwasher are one year old. I think the water heater is a year old as well.

Our lifestyle: My thermostat is currently on 77. The kitchen ceiling fan is on, but no other fans. If it gets warm then we turn on the fans, not drop the thermostat. We use minimal light, lamps if needed. Can't stand the big ball of light overhead. Shaded back yard and the blinds stay closed, or curtains pulled.

We have lived here one year. We didn't bill average this year because it would not have been based on our usage. Would an audit help? How does it work?

If your A/C unit is only one year old, then it has at least a 13 SEER rating, which is good. I'm assuming you have central heat/air and not a window unit.

Sounds like the house is not keeping the heat/cold out very well. Your window seals have most likely rotted away over 30 years. Also, attic insulation tends to compact down over the years reducing its R value.

If it were me, I would just suck it up for the next year since you don't own the house. I doubt the owner is going to spend anymore money than he/she has to.

quote:

Originally posted by thehippiegirl:

quote:

Originally posted by dogsoldier0513:
Try living in Florida.....

how high are your bills running? are you comfortable, or conserving?

I haven't lived in FL since '92. At the time, I had a newly-built energy-efficient home of 1800 sq. ft. My LOWEST electric bill was still over $150/mo....and I was a member of a cooperative. Currently, with a 4200 sq. ft home in The Shoals, my average TOTAL utility bill (gas, electric, water and sewage) is around $250/mo.....not counting the $450 'freak' bill this past February.

Wow, I wish our utility bill was as cheap as some of yours. Our house is 1860 sq ft. 2 story, central unit is about 3 years old, hot water heater 3 years old. We built our house in 1992. So it is not that old.

Our bill use to be around 150.00 a month. But it seems like everyone in our community has high electirc bills.

3800 sq. feet, two electric central a/c units - electricity bill was $103 for the last month, keeping the thermostat around 73-74 (i don't like it real cool). water bill was $31.

some of ya'll have some scary electricity bills! get those tva energy people out!

OMG, I must live in some of the oldest apartments in Florence because my utility bill is between $220 and $300 every month, and I still don't understand why my water and sewage bill are so high......I feel as if I'm being double billed for using my water. I really don't understand.

Everyone in our immediate neighborhood had bills that ranged from double to one person whose bill went from $150.00 to &650.00. Sheffield Utilities answer was that something appears to be wrong but you better pay the bill or we will cut your lights off. My house is double insulated, only two of us here, part of house is blocked off and ventsd closed, stat' is set on 78 amd bill is still $300.00. I knew there was supposed to be 8 to 10% increase but not 50%. I guess; like everyone else, i will pay it and continue to complain.

when I paid my last utility bill the woman told me that the first of July natural gas would be increasing by 25% I have a gas hot water heater and dryer and then what they call a gas pack for heating and cooling and that will add about $42.75 per month in the winter, draw Social Security and I figure that things will get tight in the winter

At the risk of belaboring a frequently-made point, we should all realize that whatever your TVA utility bill is, you are paying much more than that. Don't forget...TVA is a Federal Government agency and is funded by federal tax dollars. Soooooo, not only are you paying the visible TVA utility bill, you also pay to fund the agency vis taxes. Hey, I have an idea...lets re-elect all of our congressmen who are doing such a terrific job for us.

How does the rest of America get by with privately-owned utility companies?

quote:

Originally posted by daybeggar:
At the risk of belaboring a frequently-made point, we should all realize that whatever your TVA utility bill is, you are paying much more than that. Don't forget...TVA is a Federal Government agency and is funded by federal tax dollars. Soooooo, not only are you paying the visible TVA utility bill, you also pay to fund the agency vis taxes. Hey, I have an idea...lets re-elect all of our congressmen who are doing such a terrific job for us.

How does the rest of America get by with privately-owned utility companies?

Sorry, you are incorrect. TVA PAYS taxes, they don't receive any tax money. Power revenue pays for everything, so technically your power bill is subsidizing the state/federal governments through TVA's tax payments.

Read more here: http://www.tva.gov/abouttva/keyfacts.htm#taxsupport

What kind of public tax support does TVA get?
TVA no longer receives congressional appropriations to help fund its activities in navigation, flood control, environmental research, and land management. Today all of its programs are paid for with power revenues.

Does TVA pay taxes?
TVA makes tax-equivalent payments annually to state and local governments in eight states. In 2006 those payments totaled a record $376 million. They are based on power sales revenue in the previous year and property owned by TVA in each state. Such payments make TVA one of the largest “taxpayers” in Tennessee and Alabama. In addition to the seven states and many counties in the Tennessee Valley region, the state of Illinois and two of its counties receive payments for coal reserves TVA owns there.

quote:

Originally posted by daybeggar:
At the risk of belaboring a frequently-made point, we should all realize that whatever your TVA utility bill is, you are paying much more than that. Don't forget...TVA is a Federal Government agency and is funded by federal tax dollars. Soooooo, not only are you paying the visible TVA utility bill, you also pay to fund the agency vis taxes. Hey, I have an idea...lets re-elect all of our congressmen who are doing such a terrific job for us.

How does the rest of America get by with privately-owned utility companies?

Another TVA myth. Maybe we should send this in to Snopes so it can become an urban legend.

quote:

Originally posted by daybeggar:
At the risk of belaboring a frequently-made point, we should all realize that whatever your TVA utility bill is, you are paying much more than that. Don't forget...TVA is a Federal Government agency and is funded by federal tax dollars. Soooooo, not only are you paying the visible TVA utility bill, you also pay to fund the agency vis taxes. Hey, I have an idea...lets re-elect all of our congressmen who are doing such a terrific job for us.

How does the rest of America get by with privately-owned utility companies?

I have personally posted in response to an idiot from California, so you should by now know that what you have said is an outright lie.
TVA has never received any money for it's power program from tax dollars. That is against the law.
TVA did receive tax dollars until about 10 years ago to fund other things like fertilizer development, part of the nerve gas for our defense arsenal, and lots ways to improve agriculture , but it was illegal for appropriated dollars to support any of the power production, and it was illegal for power dollars to usupport the other side.
You should be ashamed of yourself to try to spread such lies.

Is TVA a Government agency or is it isn't? Does it have a huge debt or does it don't? Is the TVA debt a part of our national debt or is it isn't?

The contention that TVA pays for itself is a fabrication foisted upon the public. Again, why does this area require a government agency to provide electrical power while almost all of America is serviced by private corporations?

TVA makes payments in lieu of taxes???? What does that mean? Is TVA paying MORE than they otherwise would pay in taxes...or are they paying LESS?

TVA's existence is a Marxist element in our community. It should be sold to the highest bidder.

And, EXcelMan...you should be ashamed of yourself for supporting Socialism/Communism. We lost 57,000 troops in RVN, men far better than you, trying to defeat what TVA stands for.

quote:

Originally posted by Phoenix Rising:
Mine was $97 (GA).

Does that include electric, gas and water? In Florida my electric alone averaged $250 and we did not use the A/C except July and part of August...And even then, only at night. Gas was propane (stove and water heater). It was $50 per month. Water, without watering the lawn, EVER, was $85 a month...

Here in the Shoals, I had a $117 bill last month, all in. I did get jacked on heat during the winter, though (I'm a wimp!). It was around $275 one month.

quote:

Originally posted by daybeggar:
Is TVA a Government agency or is it isn't? Does it have a huge debt or does it don't? Is the TVA debt a part of our national debt or is it isn't?

The contention that TVA pays for itself is a fabrication foisted upon the public. Again, why does this area require a government agency to provide electrical power while almost all of America is serviced by private corporations?

TVA makes payments in lieu of taxes???? What does that mean? Is TVA paying MORE than they otherwise would pay in taxes...or are they paying LESS?

TVA's existence is a Marxist element in our community. It should be sold to the highest bidder.

And, EXcelMan...you should be ashamed of yourself for supporting Socialism/Communism. We lost 57,000 troops in RVN, men far better than you, trying to defeat what TVA stands for.

Any that were trying to defeat what TVA stands for they were NOT better men than I. In fact I doubt if any person in that conflict actually was fighting anyone who wanted to expand TVA, but if you are crazy enough to even think that is what that mess was all about, there is no further communication possible between you and I.

http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/115.htm
Try this link. Alabama is 19 from the cheapest in the cont. US at 7.2 cents per kw. Idaho is 5.2 cents. CT is 15.8 cents per kw. So, no, I don't think TVA is costing us too much if you look at facts rather than just opinions.

X-Man, You must be "on" at TVA to be such a blind apologist for that agency. I note you cannot answer or refute my points. Tell the truth...do you have a little shrine to FDR in your house?

quote:

Originally posted by daybeggar:
X-Man, You must be "on" at TVA to be such a blind apologist for that agency. I note you cannot answer or refute my points. Tell the truth...do you have a little shrine to FDR in your house?

daybegger, you are an irrelevancy! What we "fought for" in Vietnam has nothing to do with TVA. Apparently you distortedly associate our ostensible fight against communism in Vietnam with your perception of TVA as some kind of socialist arrangement. Well, wake up and smell the still-reeking decomposing wreckage of the Kennedy-Johnson-Macnamara-Rusk, et al. travesty that was the real Vietnam. We created false pretenses to go into that nation and we paid dearly for it. The proponents of that war argued that if South Vietnam fell, it would produce a domino effect, with other Asian nations rapidly and sequentially falling to communism. Guess what?? It DID NOT HAPPEN!Guess what else? Those 57,000 good and brave men who died there need not have died pursuing that misbegotten war we entered through lies (Gulf of Tonkin) and distortions.

TVA is not some kind of communist plot, any more than are the Rural Electrification Agency, the Bonneville Power Administration or any other government utility or regional development initiative--except in the eyes of John Birchite-type, Neanderthal extremists such as yourself, who lack the ability to distinguish between the terminus of your alimentary canal and a cavity in the earth's crust!

quote:

Originally posted by excelman:
My house is about 2500 sf. I keep it comfortably cool, at about 72 ( my wife would like it a bit warmer, me a bit cooler, but this is compromise). 2 heatpumps 1 upstairs, one down. All electric.

My last utility bill (payable 6/15) was $84.95.
Electricity bill $47.07
water $12.50
sewage $10.00
garbage pick-up $13.00
tax $2.38

Tidegirl, sounds like you have a leak in your hot water system.

excel, you know that we have been through this discussion before. I am with tidegirl. Mine is always above 200. I have two central units and we keep the downstairs on 70 and upstairs on 69. We are comfy. but I tried to be "frugal" last month and still paid 224. This is my gas included now.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Hooberbloob:
My electric was $65 last bill. That's cooling about 2350 square feet. I set my thermostat at 78 during the day and 76 at night.

For those who are running their thermostats at 68 all day long, don't complain when TVA has to boost rates again.

Good Lord man! You like it hot........LOL We are much to warm natured for that. Fans and all we cant go above 70

quote:

Originally posted by tidegirl1972:
Wow, I wish our utility bill was as cheap as some of yours. Our house is 1860 sq ft. 2 story, central unit is about 3 years old, hot water heater 3 years old. We built our house in 1992. So it is not that old.

Our bill use to be around 150.00 a month. But it seems like everyone in our community has high electirc bills.

We must live in the same community. LOL. I have 2300 to cool/heat. And I feel your pain. I did the audit, Everything is fairly new, house was built in early 90's. I dunno, maybe I need to move some kids out?

quote:

Originally posted by SO TIRED OF IGNORANCE:

quote:

Originally posted by excelman:
My house is about 2500 sf. I keep it comfortably cool, at about 72 ( my wife would like it a bit warmer, me a bit cooler, but this is compromise). 2 heatpumps 1 upstairs, one down. All electric.

My last utility bill (payable 6/15) was $84.95.
Electricity bill $47.07
water $12.50
sewage $10.00
garbage pick-up $13.00
tax $2.38

Tidegirl, sounds like you have a leak in your hot water system.

excel, you know that we have been through this discussion before. I am with tidegirl. Mine is always above 200. I have two central units and we keep the downstairs on 70 and upstairs on 69. We are comfy. but I tried to be "frugal" last month and still paid 224. This is my gas included now.

Yea, STOI, I don't understand it either, but it sure is nice. Since I have lived in this house, the electric company has swapped out our electric meter 3 different times. My bet is they couldn't understand why my electric bill is not making them rich.
I do , however, make an effort to conserve; all the light bulbs that run any length of time are florescent, when I leave for over a couple of days, I cut off the water heater and the shower has low flow shower heads. I don't use hot water to wash clothes in , and I think all that makes a difference. One other thing in the winter, I had my heating contractor install some kind of thermostat outside so that the resistance heat strips will not come on unless the outside temp is less than 25 deg. He originally set it at 35 but I cranked it down to 25. So now my wife can push the button up when she's cold, and down when she's hot (I really don't need a thermostat), and those heat strips don't even think of coming on. May be something to check into.

When the gas company doubled the cost for getting nothing, I had them pull the meter. All I had was gas logs which I couldn't use unless it was really, really cold outside because they would heat up the den to miserable temps. Then I replaced the gas logs with propane logs, and put a grill bottle outside. No more than I use them , I seldom spend over $10 / year (may be more next year as propane has gone up though)to fill up a bottle.

quote:

Originally posted by SO TIRED OF IGNORANCE:

quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Hooberbloob:
My electric was $65 last bill. That's cooling about 2350 square feet. I set my thermostat at 78 during the day and 76 at night.

For those who are running their thermostats at 68 all day long, don't complain when TVA has to boost rates again.

Good Lord man! You like it hot........LOL We are much to warm natured for that. Fans and all we cant go above 70

When you work all day in 100 plus degree heat, 78 feels pretty cool.