Rant...Just got the gas bill

[dfchelbay]

Just got the e bill from the gas company and it's $160.00. While, under normal circumstances, I would be thrilled with that amount....no one was here for three weeks. The bill is for 11/19 - 12/21. We were out of town, and the heat was all but turned off until December 14th. So, this bill is actually for eight days of heat at 50 degrees overnight and 55 degrees in the evenings. So, we get the pleasure of freezing our a$$*&&$ off and paying for it. Can't wait to see what a full month of use is gonna cost us...I hate this house, but more than that I hate winter.

 

[vicki_c]

Sorry! We are $325/mo on balanced billing, ever since the Christmas Eve a few years ago we got a bill for $500 for a month! So $160 for a week or so is probably not that out of line! (But we have electric heat and it's relatively expensive here in MD vs. other places I have lived).

 

[dfchelbay]

Sorry! We are $325/mo on balanced billing, ever since the Christmas Eve a few years ago we got a bill for $500 for a month! So $160 for a week or so is probably not that out of line! (But we have electric heat and it's relatively expensive here in MD vs. other places I have lived).

Oh, I get the pleasure of paying for the electricity in addition to the gas bill too. So, if it's $160 for a week for just gas, plus three more weeks in a month, that's about $640 a month, NOT including electricity. $640 for an average 53 degrees in the house...I'd say it IS a little over the top. Oh, and if you want lights, a stove, tv, etc....that's gonna be an extra, oh about $350 plus a month for some electricity.

Don't ya just love the utility companies. What I love most are all the fees I see on the bill, that go directly into their coffers....just love it!

 

[minnie1928]

Do you have the option of choosing your gas provider? I did that last winter and I have probably saved between $150-200 in the past year with virtually no effort.

 

[dfchelbay]

Do you have the option of choosing your gas provider? I did that last winter and I have probably saved between $150-200 in the past year with virtually no effort.

No, there's just one sheriff in this town. I believe it's what one would call a monopoly...same for cable tv....get that fee shoved up our you know whats every month too. So, who wants to but my house? Form a line, single file, let's do this in an orderly fashion...anyone...anyone...

 

[Jeninindy]

Ouch....so sorry!! Just put our house on balanced billing for the gas. Afraid of the bill if I didn't. Thankfully, the budget is only $115/mo for the gas - $155 for electric. We have forced air gas heat/hot water.

The heat is set at 66, the gas fireplace is shut off. It doesn't give off much heat and the kids used to just turn it on (switch on wall) and stare at it. At $1.50/hr, it added up fairly quickly on the bill.

Everything else in the house including the stove and dryer is electric.

 

[undertheradar]

Is this an "read" bill or an "estimated" bill? Our estimated bills are always higher.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I was going to ask the same thing. Many utility companies do an actual read only every other month, and they base the other month as an estimate using past history. It should either give a specific date the meter was read or indicate "estimated reading" someshere on the bill.

 

[Soon2B4]

I 3rd the estimate! If it was, next month your bill will be lower when the do an actual read.

 

[Jeninindy]

I third the estimate - the usage was probably so low it didn't compute and they estimated your bill.

 

[dfchelbay]

I got excited when you all posted the same thing about the estimated reading, so I just went to look...it was an "A"...an actual reading, and not an estimate.

 

[clh2]

I got excited when you all posted the same thing about the estimated reading, so I just went to look...it was an "A"...an actual reading, and not an estimate.

Well - then last month was an estimated bill - by comparison - what was that bill? (Yes - simply a rhetorical question...but that bill needs to be considered as well if it was estimated.)

 

[undertheradar]

Sorry, it just looked like an estimated bill. What is your usual bill?

 

[dfchelbay]

Well - then last month was an estimated bill - by comparison - what was that bill? (Yes - simply a rhetorical question...but that bill needs to be considered as well if it was estimated.)

Last month was nearly nothing, just like the last six months. We didn't even turn the heat on until the last few weeks. So, the previous bill is just for service into the house and no actual gas itself because the furnace had not been on since last winter. Actually, now that I've looked back on several bills, it seems the readings are mostly actual, not estimates. I guess it's easy to do since all they have to do is drive down my street. There is a box contraption next to the meter on the front of my house that they just have to drive by to get the reading.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Is everything - the meter, the box, the reader (both the device and the person ) - functioning properly? Tell them you want it all checked. Tell them you want a free energy audit.

 

[kaytieeldr]

No, there's just one sheriff in this town. I believe it's what one would call a monopoly...same for cable tv....get that fee shoved up our you know whats every month too. So, who wants to but my house? Form a line, single file, let's do this in an orderly fashion...anyone...anyone...

Just to clarify - while there may only be one gas company and one cable company, neither is a monopoly because your town's residents (should) have other heat/fuel and other television options.

 

[Swimalie]

Just to clarify - while there may only be one gas company and one cable company, neither is a monopoly because your town's residents (should) have other heat/fuel and other television options.

No other options for us here, either. We either get gas for our house from Washington Gas or we don't get heat in our house. That's a monopoly. But luckily our bill is only $180 at it's peak and we keep the house around 70 all winter long and have a gas stove but we don't use our gas fireplace. We don't estimate, either.

Oh and either we use Comcast for non-dial-up internet or we use dial-up. That's some what of a monopoly. But Verizon is laying lines to be out here soon. So bye bye Comcast monopoly!

 

[Donnainnj]

OP, how big is your house?

 

[snowywhite89]

Last month was nearly nothing, just like the last six months. We didn't even turn the heat on until the last few weeks. So, the previous bill is just for service into the house and no actual gas itself because the furnace had not been on since last winter. Actually, now that I've looked back on several bills, it seems the readings are mostly actual, not estimates. I guess it's easy to do since all they have to do is drive down my street. There is a box contraption next to the meter on the front of my house that they just have to drive by to get the reading.

If this is a real bill and not an estimate this month and last month then you need to look into getting insulation and better windows.

I live way north of you and I could not bear to have our home at 50/55. If we did our monthly bill for heat would be about $50.

 

[sam_gordon]

A couple years ago we had NO electric at our house for a week following an ice storm in February. So I was looking forward to our March bill (1 week with 0 electric ~= 75% of "normal" winter month, right?), but it was as high as our January bill! Makes no sense.