Electic bill doubled!


  #1  
Old 02-09-04, 12:49 PM
sharvel
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Electic bill doubled!

Not a happy camper here folks! I hope someone can shed some light on this dilemma. I've been paying an average of 40-60.00 a month for my electric service. This is an average over the past 5 yrs. Recently(last year) I had my old service (fuses) switched to a 100 amp circuit panel. Several more circuits were added to try to take the load off some of the old exsisting wiring. Since this my service has doubled......I have the same appliances I had before so I'm not drawing juice there. I added some new recepticles and lights to the service but that's it. I've called my electric company to see if the rates went up and asked what could be causing the high bills. All they informed me of was that the meter readings are acurate and I would have to hire an independant contractor for trouble shooting........what B.S!!! Based on the info I've provided what could be causing this???? Is it possibe the added circuits and new wiring are causing this.....I'm miffed here cuz I'm not using anything that would draw the extra juice such as a AC,electric stove,compressor etc etc.

Thanks
Tom
 
  #2  
Old 02-09-04, 02:18 PM
R
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Don't look at the charge, look at the useage. Did the useage double?

Did the increase happen immediately when the new panel was installed?

has the increased useage been consistent since you had the new panel installed?

Was the wiring replaced all the way out to the meter, or was the meter sufficient and in good enough shape to be used?

If wires were replaced back to the meter then it is possible that there is a problewm with the new installation, or that there was a problem with the old installation.

What did the electrician say when you asked him about this? If you haven't asked him, then do so.
 
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Old 02-09-04, 02:19 PM
J
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Don't compare dollars. Compare kilowatt-hours. Has that doubled?
 
  #4  
Old 02-09-04, 02:45 PM
sharvel
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Thanks for the post folks. according to my electric co. the usage has doubled. A new meter was installed a few months back. Problem here is I don't have any old bills to refer too. I do have my old check book and clearly there's a dramatic increase. Yes this has been consistent since the new panel was installed. My electric company is stating that my old meter box was inaccurate.....again BS! I simply replied to them ......"guess I want that old meter box back!" Bottom line here Is I've been comparing bills with other family members and friends in my area and none of them have the expense I do in electricity when some of them have double the appliances and living area! I spoke with a electrian today and he wants me to shut down my main panel.......then all my breakers ....turn the main back on and turn each breaker on.....checking the meter as I go.....also recommend checking the amperage being drawn.I'm open for all suggestion here ......can someone make sense of this other then I'm using more electricity when clearly I'm not!
 
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Old 02-09-04, 03:26 PM
J
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New meter was installed. Although only a slim possibility it is possible the old meter was defective or the new one is.
 
  #6  
Old 02-09-04, 04:27 PM
cajon ken
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I would do what your electrician said and shut down the whole system, check the meter to make sure it is not turning. If it is turning then there is truly a problem. Yours or theirs will have to be figured out. If the meter is not turning then turn the main breaker only back on and check the meter again. Continue by turning on 1 circuit at a time. If you can turn off or unplug everything on each circuit it would be better. Somewhere along the way you should discover your problem. If not then ask the electric company to swap out the new meter with another one. It just might be the new meter is bad.
 
  #7  
Old 02-09-04, 08:24 PM
arcspark
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If the power company replaced your old meter, The old meter was probably running slow and not recording your actual usage.
Unless you have added new loads, the power bill should not have changed because of new wiring.

But two things that come to mind to check would be your electric water heater and well pump (if you have them). I have seen 240 volt water heater elements with holes burn through them halfway through the length of the element. A water heater thermostat only disconnects one side of the line, so there is power to the other side of the element all the time. There could be enough leakage current into the water to run up your bill. Get your electrician to use his amp probe to check for this. Most of the time when this happens, the user will notice their hot water is hotter than normal. Sometimes it will heat enough to activate the pop-off safety valve.

If you have a well pump, check it out. I have seen foot valves in wells leak enough to cause the pump to run to much. Also you could have an underground leak in piping from the well to house. Turn of the main water valve and watch the pressure guage on the well to see if it falls off.
 
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Old 02-09-04, 08:31 PM
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Perhaps a contractor has a recording KW-HR meter that can be installed on your service. If your power companie's meter is defective you will find out this way. It could be expensive though.
 
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Old 02-09-04, 09:11 PM
u2slow
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The fact that the usage doubled leads me to believe the old meter was only measuring one leg of the single phase service.

I doubt you'll get the old meter back, but perhaps you can get feedback if they test and refurbish them.
 
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Old 02-10-04, 05:40 AM
sharvel
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Thanks so much for all the post! I'm going to get an electrician here to sort this out.......I just hope something is found here. The new meter is digital so I wouldn't be able to tell if certain circuits would be drawing more or less. My thinking is the new panel and added circuits though it still doesn't make sense if I'm not drawing big amperage from them. I added 10 recepticles, 2 stink light fans and some recessed lights......would this draw the extra usage??? Would adding the extra circuits and wiring cause this???
 
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Old 02-10-04, 06:33 AM
J
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Adding a receptacle doesn't use any electricity. Plugging something into it does. Did you plug anything in? Fans use very little power, and a few recessed lights don't use much. Good luck getting to the bottom of this. There could be dozens of possible explanations.

By the way, why did you have your panel replaced?
 
  #12  
Old 02-10-04, 06:25 PM
sharvel
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John......replaced the the panel simply due to it's age (50's fuse box). The wiring was simply WOW ......whoever did it years ago was pig tail crazy....lights off recepticles etc etc......I was throwing fuses as well. I was remodling at the time and needed some new circuits.....thought this would be a good time to swap it out with a new panel. Main goal besides the added circuits was to split up the exsisting lines so for example my lights wouldn't dim when I started the washing machine! I'm happy with the new panel...haven't thrown a circuit yet however my bill has doubled.
Everyone I speak to in regards to my bill compared to theirs says I'm definetly paying to much and theres a problem somewhere........makes sense cuz I haven't added any major appliance then what I had before.I have a fridge, microwave,washer&dryer ......everthing else is common lights & recepticles. Is there possble leakage somewhere causing this???. I'm trying to get an electrician over here for an analysis......again hope I get a logical answer!
 
 

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