[sciencegrl]

Hi there! I'm a recent transplant to the Ann Arbor area and Michigan (2 mos ago) and I find myself very confused by the utility billing here. I am renting a 1BR apt and pay utility bills to DTE energy and ISTA. DTE I pay directly and the ISTA bill total gets added to my rent total and paid to my landlord. I understand that the DTE Energy bill covers electricity and natural gas. So far, not too confusing.

My confusion has to do with the ISTA bill. I was told that this bill is for water, sewage, garbage, and propane costs. I believe that the heat in the apartment is propane so I would expect this bill to get bigger over the winter. I have been determining my ISTA bill from my online account and then, as instructed, adding the amount to my monthly rent. My building does not have separate metering for each apartment so ISTA uses some complicated (and proprietary!) algorithm to calculate (***confusion sets in here***): (a)just water, or (b) heat, i.e. propane, or (c)all of the above or (d) ??? for each apartment.

I am a little concerned by the amount of the bills. I understand that the utility bills in Michigan can get pretty high, especially in the winter, but my last bills were for $60 (DTE) and $111 (ISTA) and it's only covering October. What can I expect when it's actually cold?!! (I was planning on about $150-$200 at worst.) What concerns me most of all is that my apartment is frequently hot enough that I've had to open windows even when my own heat was set to 'OFF'!

Could one of you really kind people provide some input on the size of my utility bills for October and shed some light on my confusion regarding ISTA? It would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!