Unusually high electric bill? (San Jose, Ontario: apartment, how much, house)

[Fiona8484]

We have a one bedroom apartment in Sunnyvale, CA that is approx 675 sq feet. I should point out that we very recently moved to this area from Upstate New York.

We moved in on 8/29/14 and received our first PG&E bill yesterday for $26, so it can't be for more than 10 days of service. The bill states that we have used 150 KWH. We do not have a W/D and we have not turned on the A/C unit. I ran the dishwasher one time.

This is strange to us because in Albany, NY our last electric bill (which included running the inefficient, ancient A/C unit). I have listed the Albany usage below:
Month of May: 130 KWH - 30 days - No A/C usage
Month of June: 202 KWH - 30 days - A/C usage
Month of July: 216 KWH - 30 days - A/C usage

Would a $75 electric bill be the norm for a month without A/C or heat being used? I am curious about what other people have been paying in the San Jose area.

[dburbs1975]

not sure of the answer, but upstate NY buys electricity from Ontario which has hydro generated sources from Niagara Falls and farther downriver on the St. Lawrence Seaway. This may be the cheapest electricity in North America.

[Heidi60]

Have you contacted PG&E?

Our bills for twice the space are about the same year round.

[MediocreButArrogant]

450kwh a month for a one bedroom apt in Sunnyvale seems extreme. I'm at about 1.5x that for a house 4x as big as your apt, which I keep at 76F or lower with the A/C 24x7. Plus, I live in a part of San Jose that's probably five degrees warmer than Sunnyvale on average.

Are you sure you're not reading your Tier 1 allowance, rather than what you actually used? If not, check for a marijuana grow house in the neighboring apts.

[ccm123]

That seems like a lot. We have a 3 bedroom/2.5 bathroom house (1430 sq ft) and our bill was 429 KWH this past month. We have central AC (use only intermittently), washer, dryer, treadmill, TV and 2 computers always on (my wife and I both work from home offices).

[Fiona8484]

Originally Posted by Heidi60

Have you contacted PG&E?

Our bills for twice the space are about the same year round.

If you don't mind me asking, about how much is your bill each month?

[Fiona8484]

Originally Posted by MediocreButArrogant

450kwh a month for a one bedroom apt in Sunnyvale seems extreme. I'm at about 1.5x that for a house 4x as big as your apt, which I keep at 76F or lower with the A/C 24x7. Plus, I live in a part of San Jose that's probably five degrees warmer than Sunnyvale on average.

Are you sure you're not reading your Tier 1 allowance, rather than what you actually used? If not, check for a marijuana grow house in the neighboring apts.

lol

Thanks for pointing out the Tier 1 part, my husband and I will check the bill for that tonight.

[Fiona8484]

Just realized something... Our apartment in New York (which was a two bedroom at 700 sq feet) had hot water included in the rent. We are now paying for our hot water heater, I suppose that could explain some of the increase.

[dburbs1975]

why would a hot water heater be electric?

[dogandcat]

Probably it is a mistake.

1 bedroom, West San Jose, PG&E.
Our bill is about $22 per month. No a/c, and no washer/drier.