First month of utilities? $169.00 (Colorado Springs: house, living in, costs)

[Trump_Fan1]

I know people ask this question a lot, so here goes my experience so far...

One month including gas, water, electric, sewer has come to $169.00

That's with running a portable AC almost every day.

IF that is the average or it doesn't get higher than that, then we're talking about VERY LOW utilities here.

I was surprised. I expected at least $250, based on my use of the house.

I'll be curious what the gas bill during Winter will be.

(My only other bill is Comcast Internet and TV, which is overpriced and seems to change every month, but hovers around $100).

[otowi]

Heating usually costs more - at least in my experience. I would anticipate that you could be closer to that $250 heating with gas in the coldest month(s).

For my small house in Security, my combined utilities that you mention (which comes in 3 bills, not one - different companies) - is currently about $115 and in winter I expect it to be about $165.

[Kar54]

I paid $338 last month. Most of that is for water, with A/C (electricity) coming in 2nd. Water is expensive here.

[mtngigi]

Originally Posted by Trump_Fan1

I know people ask this question a lot, so here goes my experience so far...

One month including gas, water, electric, sewer has come to $169.00

That's with running a portable AC almost every day.

IF that is the average or it doesn't get higher than that, then we're talking about VERY LOW utilities here.

I was surprised. I expected at least $250, based on my use of the house.

I'll be curious what the gas bill during Winter will be.

(My only other bill is Comcast Internet and TV, which is overpriced and seems to change every month, but hovers around $100).

Just FYI - Colorado Springs Utilities offers a way to average out your payments over a 12-month period called Budget Billing. I'm not sure if you have to have a year under your belt or not. If you're interested:

https://www.csu.org/Pages/budget-billing-r.aspx

[captain_hug99]

Originally Posted by Kar54

I paid $338 last month. Most of that is for water, with A/C (electricity) coming in 2nd. Water is expensive here.

Exactly. I run my sprinklers for 10 minutes every other day. That causes the biggest jump in my bill. In the summer I keep the AC at 76. I have two floors and the thermostat is upstairs, so the downstairs feels wonderful. As soon as the outside temperature is below 76, I turn off the AC and open all the windows.

In the winter, I keep the house at 64, otherwise the heating bill jumps to 250 a month.

[MsMetal]

There are many variables, size of house, size of lawn, how established your lawn is, what temps you like to keep the house at, etc. I keep my heat & a/c between 70 & 74, pretty much year round, have a huge lawn & a large house. We usually go into the 2nd tier of watering rates. My bills tend to run from $250-350 year round.

[Vision67]

My summer utility bill is heavily influenced by the amount of rain. Keeping my water bill from hitting that awful 3rd tier rate is my goal.

https://www.csu.org/Pages/tiered-water-rates.aspx

Yesterday and the day before that, we had a good 20 minute downpour. I actually saw puddling in the back yard!

I told my wife, "That's a $20 rain"

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by Vision67

I told my wife, "That's a $20 rain"

Yup, its funnny how living in CO can change the way you view such a natural event.

[little pink]

Your going to love the inexpensive utilities here , I reacted the same way after my first bill. Gas heat in the winter is really cheap too . When I lived in Douglas county my utilities were much higher , I'm guessing different water sources also . My Comcast is also around 100$.

[BenBoosted]

I've only had one full month's bill from CSU. Where I moved from (Houston metro area) I was on well and septic with no gas service so I was just paying for electricity. Granted that house was 800sq/ft larger than the one I have here in the Springs but the average bill was $300/month, more $$ in the winter for heating with electricity than what it costs to cool in the summer. Weird considering summers in Houston are MUCH hotter.

My first bill here in the Springs is $181, $97 of which is electric, $20 for gas, and the rest is water/sewer.