[GoddessKristie]

I was paying the bills today and I discovered something very odd about our gas bill. Our heat is the only thing running off gas, so this is very odd to me.
Here is our billing history.
Month, average temperature, therms used
Nov, 44, 87
Dec, 34,135
Jan,29,167
Feb,28,73
Mar,39,208

Anyone else see a HUGE discrepancy in the Feb and March usage???

We keep our thermostat high, but always at the same temperature, sometimes lower, but NEVER higher.

What's up with that?

Anyone willing to share yours?

 

[Pancakes]

Did they estimate your Feb usage? or shorten the billing cycle?

I live in FL where we do not run the heat in the winter and everything in my house is electric. Typical bill in summer - 350. Winter 180.

I got a bill a couple of years ago for December for 450. dollars. I flipped and called the power company and they had estimated my meter reading. My next bill was nothing and the following one was pretty low. Not sure why they estimated it, I only though that happened in small towns, but I guess not.

Now that I think about it...I wonder if it was on purpose and they were cookin' some books. Pretty odd for it to be that much over my 'average' and be at the end of the year.

 

[GoddessKristie]

They come out every month and physically check our meter. I am a SAHM, so I see the guy every month (and somehow always think he's casing our house LOL). I checked our meter tonight and in 18 days we've used 153 therms. That seems so high! I decided I'm turning off the heat for a few days to see what the meter reads when it's not running at all. Maybe that will help us diagnose the issue.

Pancakes, your bill is amazingly high. I would probably wet my pants if I opened up that bill!!
Anyone else?

 

[Alkenny]

153 therms in 18 days...in comparison to whole months before, I would wonder if you have a gas leak somewhere and maybe call the company to come out and check.

 

[GoddessKristie]

The gas guy just left and he said that the meter may have just slid backward overnight rather than coming around a full revolution. I guess that makes sense. I'm keeping it off and checking later today, though to see if there's any movement. He said he found a small leak before the meter, but that wouldn't cause the high bill, obviously. He suggested we have the meter checked and that we have someone check our furnace to be sure it's not acting up.
He also said that everything past the meter is our responsibility, so we would still have to pay for the high bill if there's a leak somewhere in the pipes in the house.
Wonderful news.

 

[Ironica]

Is your hot water heater electric, then?

Also... keep in mind that February is a shorter month than March. It doesn't completely explain the discrepancy, but lessens it some when you consider there's two more days of usage in there.

 

[GoddessKristie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironica Is your hot water heater electric, then? Also... keep in mind that February is a shorter month than March. It doesn't completely explain the discrepancy, but lessens it some when you consider there's two more days of usage in there.

The hot water heater is electric.

The bill for Feb is actually 31 days. Our meter is read on the 28th, so from Jan 28 to Feb 28 is 31 days. The bill for March is actually less, it's only 28 days.

 

[Pancakes]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoddessKristie Pancakes, your bill is amazingly high. I would probably wet my pants if I opened up that bill!!

Ya, it's not my favorite bill, by far. Welcome to Florida, have a nice gigantic electric bill. We do need a new AC though, I know that's a big contributor.

 

[Ironica]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoddessKristie The hot water heater is electric. The bill for Feb is actually 31 days. Our meter is read on the 28th, so from Jan 28 to Feb 28 is 31 days. The bill for March is actually less, it's only 28 days.

Sure it's not 29? If it's from Feb 28th to March 28th, that's 29 days...

Still, that throws it off MORE rather than less. Definitely seems like something's up, such as a gas leak. Might be worth calling out an HVAC company to clean your ducts and check things out?

 

[GoddessKristie]

Sure it's not 29? If it's from Feb 28th to March 28th, that's 29 days...
QUOTE]

Our meter is read on the 28th of each month, so that counts for the previous month's bill. The new bill actually begins on the 29th.
I didn't see any movement in the meter today, so it must not be a leak. We do have a free furnace inspection owed to us thanks to the home's previous owners (one for A/C too!). However, barring any freak snow storms we're going to try to keep the furnace off until October. I'm cold, but it's doable so far.