ok...so i got my power bill for this month and it is freaking crazy ($300 big ones, its usually ~80).
Info on my house:
small, 2br 1bath old ass house...like...from the 50s...i rent it
reg. up to date fridge, small electric water heater (yearly rating of $415), and i THINK the heating system is gas, but it is possible that it is electric, regardless, neither the heat nor the cooling has been on since November (we use space heaters). i have about 3 PCs running in my room, one big 42" monitor, there is one 32" crt tv in the den, normal light bulbs and usage, roomy has a laptop, there is a dishwasher used not so often, and an up to date washer/dryer that is used once a week or so.
so...here is the bill info
from 01-02-07 to 01-31-07 (29 days)
KWH reading: precious 4993 Current 8578 Usage: 3585
Last month: Usage (for 33 days) 448 KWH
this month cost per day: 10.32
last month: 1.50
i just went outside and read the meter:
todays reading: 0815, usage since Jan 31 = 2237 KWH, thats 159 KWH/day, thats a cost of 14.31 per day!!!!!!!!!!!
so i am wondering, WTF is going on!?!?! i'm seriously considering shutting off the circuit breaker and turning things on one by one to find out wtf the problem is...
ok...so wtf is going on?
i talked to the power co and they are sending someone out 2marrow to make sure the reader is broken and was read correctly. she told me that sometimes broken water heaters, a/cs, and power lines inside the house shorting out could cause a spike, but she hasn't seen something this big happen in such a small house or many big ones either, it is an extremely expensive bill for my area. she also said broken meters usually slow down or stop, not speed up..
anywho, i took a reading of how long it took for the dial on my meter to do one complete revolution: just a hair under 12 seconds. it looked like it was moving fairly slow...
so, needless to say i am pretty concerned. there are 4 scenarios the way i see it:
1) there was some fckup with the power co, and they will adjust the bill
2) there is a problem with something in the house and my landlord should fix it and help pay for part of the bill
3) there is something wrong in the house and the landlord may fix it and wont pay for the bill
4) there is nothing wrong and i am somehow using a shitload of energy
what do you guys/gals think the problem could be? how should i go about finding said problem? if the power co says nothing is wrong, how should i address the landlord (it is a big company around the area that rents lots and lots of properties to college kids)?
i'm so worried...i dont have a 150 bucks to pay that bill and my roommate is going to sht bricks when he heres about this...
edit:
i forgot to mention...around the begining of Jan a drunk driver nailed a power pole near my house...they had to replace three and my power was out for an entire day. ever since then weird things have been happeneing...such as this bill...cableTV/internet is flakey (its arial just like the power lines) and sometimes we get power drains...like...the lights dim for just a sec.
Info on my house:
small, 2br 1bath old ass house...like...from the 50s...i rent it
reg. up to date fridge, small electric water heater (yearly rating of $415), and i THINK the heating system is gas, but it is possible that it is electric, regardless, neither the heat nor the cooling has been on since November (we use space heaters). i have about 3 PCs running in my room, one big 42" monitor, there is one 32" crt tv in the den, normal light bulbs and usage, roomy has a laptop, there is a dishwasher used not so often, and an up to date washer/dryer that is used once a week or so.
so...here is the bill info
from 01-02-07 to 01-31-07 (29 days)
KWH reading: precious 4993 Current 8578 Usage: 3585
Last month: Usage (for 33 days) 448 KWH
this month cost per day: 10.32
last month: 1.50
i just went outside and read the meter:
todays reading: 0815, usage since Jan 31 = 2237 KWH, thats 159 KWH/day, thats a cost of 14.31 per day!!!!!!!!!!!
so i am wondering, WTF is going on!?!?! i'm seriously considering shutting off the circuit breaker and turning things on one by one to find out wtf the problem is...
ok...so wtf is going on?
i talked to the power co and they are sending someone out 2marrow to make sure the reader is broken and was read correctly. she told me that sometimes broken water heaters, a/cs, and power lines inside the house shorting out could cause a spike, but she hasn't seen something this big happen in such a small house or many big ones either, it is an extremely expensive bill for my area. she also said broken meters usually slow down or stop, not speed up..
anywho, i took a reading of how long it took for the dial on my meter to do one complete revolution: just a hair under 12 seconds. it looked like it was moving fairly slow...
so, needless to say i am pretty concerned. there are 4 scenarios the way i see it:
1) there was some fckup with the power co, and they will adjust the bill
2) there is a problem with something in the house and my landlord should fix it and help pay for part of the bill
3) there is something wrong in the house and the landlord may fix it and wont pay for the bill
4) there is nothing wrong and i am somehow using a shitload of energy
what do you guys/gals think the problem could be? how should i go about finding said problem? if the power co says nothing is wrong, how should i address the landlord (it is a big company around the area that rents lots and lots of properties to college kids)?
i'm so worried...i dont have a 150 bucks to pay that bill and my roommate is going to sht bricks when he heres about this...
edit:
i forgot to mention...around the begining of Jan a drunk driver nailed a power pole near my house...they had to replace three and my power was out for an entire day. ever since then weird things have been happeneing...such as this bill...cableTV/internet is flakey (its arial just like the power lines) and sometimes we get power drains...like...the lights dim for just a sec.