Con Edison Advice, anyone?? (2013, apartment, appliances)

[micklawless]

Hello,

Just to give you the rundown of this whole debacle....


I have lived in my apartment since August 2011 and we generally use somewhere between 600-800 kWh a month between 4 people. It is a large space with 4 bedrooms located in Brooklyn. We have our own minimal lighting which plugs into the wall outlets, no track lighting or anything. Most of us use electronics, computers, a stereo, and minimal TV usage. We also have a dish washer, an AC unit going during the summer, and a small electric heater that runs during the winter.

I received a bill in January 2013 informing me that the previous seven months worth of bills I had been paying were estimated and on top of the $1,100 or so we had paid over the course of this time, we also owed an additional $1,262.44. So according to them, we used 9,364 kWh between June 2013 and January 2013.

Being that I don't fully understand kWh, all I can go by is the exorbitant amount I am being charged on top of having already paid over $1000 for that timeframe. It just didn't seem right to me.

Needless to say I've cooperated with their process in finding a problem with the meter, which has carried on since February. They came and tested the meter, saying that it is not drawing from outside sources. They came and took the meter to their office (because I wasn't home) to see if it was broken and replaced it with a new one. After over a month I have been calling them relentlessly and it is impossible to find an answer to whether or not my old meter had a malfunction. I just got billed for the 2 months my account was on hold pending investigation for $889.10 equalling 4,217 kWh for 2 months and they are threatening to turn off my power.

Is this just me or is there a problem here? We ran the AC a lot during that 7 month period and the electric heater somewhat during winter, but I still don't see how that would have affected us that much.

If you have some time to spare, I would love a second opinion from someone who has experience with this kind of thing.

I appreciate any words of wisdom in advance,

thanks,
Mitch

[Schermerhorn]

I can't help you very much with negotiating with ConEd, but until someone does step in with advice, let me educate you on this part:

Being that I don't fully understand kWh

A kilowatt-hour is just a kilowatt (1000 watts) times an hour. So if you have a 1000-watt device and you use it for one hour, that's 1 kWh. Use a 50-watt lightbulb for one hour, and that's 50 watt-hours or 0.050 kWh. Use that same lighbulb for 100 hours, and you've consumed 50 x 100, or 5000, watt-hours: 5 kWh.

It used to be easy to get a feel for what some number of watts meant because incandescent lightbulbs had watt numbers printed right on them and you could visualize the lightbulb and how bright it was. These days it's not as clear. BUt once you know how many watts a given device needs to operate, just multiply by however man hours it was on, and you can figure out how many kWh you use.

[silverbullnyc]

Did you use Dishwasher often? If so there you go.

[Kefir King]

Mitch,

Con Ed is correct. Your use of 700 kwhr/ month, 8400 Kwhr x $.29 = $2436 for the year. If you paid $1100, you owe them $1336. There is nothing wrong with your meter and nobody is tapping.
Obviously they will raise your monthly tarriff considerably to match your much greater usage than the previous tenant on whom they obviously based their averaging. It will likely cost you $200 a month for the coming year....or you could pay the exact amount every month with no surprises year end.
(Another way to look at it 9364 Kwhr x $.29/Kwhr approx. = $2716)

To save some:
1. air conditioning is VERY expensive, use it more sparingly. Window fans are wise and cheap to run.
2. use air drying for the dishwasher, i.e., turn HEATED DRYING off...dishes will dry overnight.
3. there really are no "small space heaters." They are gigantic if measured by the wattage they draw, 1500 Watts each or $.44 an hour each.
(Hint: if used carefully, a gas stove throws a LOT of heat. Who pays for your gas? Or did they stick you with an electric stove as well, also a big electric draw.)


Don't sweat the lights, the fridge, or the electronics too much. Just turn off lights when rookms are unoccupied and replace all incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents.

But in the end there really is no way to get around that extortionate $.29/ Kwhr, probably the highest in the world.

You have no choice but to send them a check.

[Grosvenor]

Originally Posted by Kefir King

Mitch,

Con Ed is correct. Your use of 700 kwhr/ month, 8400 Kwhr x $.29 = $2436 for the year. If you paid $1100, you owe them $1336. There is nothing wrong with your meter and nobody is tapping.
Obviously they will raise your monthly tarriff considerably to match your much greater usage than the previous tenant on whom they obviously based their averaging. It will likely cost you $200 a month for the coming year....or you could pay the exact amount every month with no surprises year end.
(Another way to look at it 9364 Kwhr x $.29/Kwhr approx. = $2716)

To save some:
1. air conditioning is VERY expensive, use it more sparingly. Window fans are wise and cheap to run.
2. use air drying for the dishwasher, i.e., turn HEATED DRYING off...dishes will dry overnight.
3. there really are no "small space heaters." They are gigantic if measured by the wattage they draw, 1500 Watts each or $.44 an hour each.
(Hint: if used carefully, a gas stove throws a LOT of heat. Who pays for your gas? Or did they stick you with an electric stove as well, also a big electric draw.)


Don't sweat the lights, the fridge, or the electronics too much. Just turn off lights when rookms are unoccupied and replace all incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents.

But in the end there really is no way to get around that extortionate $.29/ Kwhr, probably the highest in the world.

You have no choice but to send them a check.

Good points... Unless it is very humid, if the OP has the option to keep the windows open or a balcony door open with a locked screen, they should do that where possible.

Also, they should check to see that all of the appliances like the refrigerator, stove, etc. are energy efficient and aren't drawing more power than they need to. I too have been in spaces with dishwashers, and they do use a lot of energy. Either cut back on using it and do loads only when necessary or wash dishes by hand when there aren't a lot of them and let them dry naturally in a dish strainer. As you stated, space heaters use a lot of energy. The size doesn't matter either.

I would also look into floor lamps. If placed strategically in the room, they can save some on the electric bill so long as the right bulbs are bought. Laptops also use a lot less energy in comparison to desktops.

[micklawless]

Thanks for all of your responses. You are all very helpful in helping me understand this. Just to be clear though, the $2436 was for 7 months, not a year. It seems high but I'm thinking that this might be the actual figure.

However, after they replaced the meter they are telling me that I used 4,217 kWh in 61 days. That I know cannot be correct.

[Kefir King]

Originally Posted by micklawless

Thanks for all of your responses. You are all very helpful in helping me understand this. Just to be clear though, the $2436 was for 7 months, not a year. It seems high but I'm thinking that this might be the actual figure.

However, after they replaced the meter they are telling me that I used 4,217 kWh in 61 days. That I know cannot be correct.

I agree,

Now I think we are looking at fantasy-land.

mick,
Turn off EVERYTHING, throw circuit breakers if necessary, and watch the meter. If it is moving, someone is stealing from you.