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Old 10-16-2014, 06:14 PM
 
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
5,888 posts, read 12,963,728 times
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I had $300/summer and $450/winter electric bills in Missouri.

$20 electric bill / $15 gas bill (year round) in Huntington Beach, CA.
Both places have/had brand new appliances (and essentially the same refrigerator).

Missouri House was twice as big as the 1400 sf California condo.
never really ran the AC in Missouri except on super hot days. No need for AC in a California Beach City

Difference still shouldn't be as big.
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Old 10-17-2014, 12:16 PM
 
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I'm genuinely curious how the rates per usage compare, and what the differences in flat fees are. I wonder if there's a resource for that somewhere.
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Old 10-17-2014, 09:38 PM
 
Location: Chandler, AZ
5,800 posts, read 6,547,115 times
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Are utility bills any lower across the border in Illinois communities such as Collinsville or O'Fallon?
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Old 10-18-2014, 07:32 AM
 
101 posts, read 323,851 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marv101 View Post
Are utility bills any lower across the border in Illinois communities such as Collinsville or O'Fallon?

Maybe that's where the difference in "fixed charges" came in I mentioned in another post. Looked back at one of my old bills.This was from October 13, 2 bed 2 bath apartment in Shiloh, IL That time of year we probably didn't use any heat or air, The gas we would have used was for furnace and gas fireplace.

"Customer Charge - $21.43

bunch of charges based on 8 therms of usage, Delivery charge, Res gas env charge, Rider Charge (I guess extra fees.

Charge for actually using the gas - 4.94

Taxes.
Total gas was 28.04

Electric 158KWH

Customer charge - 11.99
Meter charge - 4.40 (guess they're charging a monthly fee for the electric meter.

A bunch of miscellanious charges, per KWH

Actual electric energy charge from Homefield Energy was 6.33

Taxes
Total electric 29.32

Total bill from Ameren UE $57.96


Moved to Santa Barbara, CA area, had one bedroom all electric apartment a similar electric bill which would be over the summer, no AC, don't need one, was about $28.00

Just recently moved to Solvang, CA, 2 bed 2 bath apartment comparable to the one in Illinois. Now have gas and electric bills, Gas for cooking, heat and hot water. Just received the gas bill, about $21.00 for 16 therms, I guess the wife did some baking. So, less total bill for twice as much usage. Charge for gas usage was $19.76 Taxes and fees 1.37.

Haven't received a full months electric bill yet, Last one was like 14.85 for 101KWH + 3 cents tax. Will be able to tell more once I get a full month of usage in.

Where you get hosed here is water, not sure yet what the charge is going to be, but I think there's a $100.00/month "connection fee" from the city of Solvang on the water, plus usage. I think.

So, comparing, seems what gets you, at least in IL, are the 'connection' and extra fees. Plus temperature extremes, more usage for heat, more usage for AC.

But then again, my apartment rent in IL was only $750, here in Solvang $1500. And that's cheap.
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Old 05-14-2015, 03:24 AM
 
8,924 posts, read 5,589,641 times
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Make sure they are reading your meter. I was once in a place where I was getting someone else's bill because the developer mis marked the meter. ( had our two apartments switched) it sounds strange but weirder things have happened!
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Old 05-14-2015, 08:58 AM
 
488 posts, read 852,923 times
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For gas, there seems to be a minimum charge. I have gas solely for my stove and the month I moved in and only used it twice the bill was $22. It's now $25 with regular usage. You won't get that any lower.

Electricity obviously depends on your usage and the efficiency of your place. I had a 650 sq ft apartment that was really well insulated and I paid around $35 in winter (gas heat) up to $80 in summer (using the A/C). However, in my new place, which has a much more open floor plan and less efficient windows and is around 900 sq ft, I'm on equalized billing for around $120 per month.

So, basically, your prices sound in line. I would first make sure you're on Equalized Billing. This will make sure your bill is the same every month, but they adjust it up or down based on your usage. So, if your actual readings are consistently lower than you're being billed, they'll reduce your monthly bill. (They will raise it accordingly too...last year's brutal winter upped my bill to $175 for a while, but it went back down.)

Second, as others have mentioned, look into those energy efficient light bulbs, check your windows and make sure they are sealed properly. I used that plastic wrap on my windows this winter to prevent a repeat of last year's price increase and it helped a lot.
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Old 05-14-2015, 09:29 PM
 
6,115 posts, read 3,059,670 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CamelJockey View Post
I've been living in Saint Louis for several months now, moved here in mid-April from Long Beach, CA. In Long Beach I lived in a one-bedroom apartment and only had electricity, and my bill was never over $30 in the 7 years I lived there. I lived closed to the beach so no need for AC

But here in Saint Louis, I have the same-size apartment but I have electric & gas (stove is gas). I barely used the AC in the summer, haven't even turned on the heat yet. But pretty much same usage as when I lived in Cali, but my bills are so much higher! I expected my electric bill to be so much cheaper since now the stove uses gas, but my electric is around $30 to $40, and so is my gas bill!

So I went from paying $25 to $30 with just electric in California, to $70 - $80 with gas & electric here in Saint Louis. This makes no sense!!
Is there a difference in rent as to what you paid in CA versus what you pay in STL?
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