Ouch!

Last month’s electric bill was $171!  That’s unprecedented, by about $40.

On a second look, besides any rate increase or extra electricity purchases (outside of what the town utility generates), the bill actually closed September 11, so it covered a lot of time when we ran the air conditioner.

I had paid enough ahead to cover a full month and a little, anticipating impending poverty, and ended up owing $28.  $41 if not paid today to get the early payment discount, which apparently you lose all of by not paying 100%, rather than it being prorated.  I’m dropping $50 in the payment chute, which should put me where I thought I would already be; a wee bit ahead for next month’s bill.

I’d been meaning to post, once October hit, that now comes the race to not turn on the heat.  Ideally we can get by on ambient temperature and sunlight warming the place until after the first of November.  Last year we didn’t quite make it, but I believe we did the first year here.  As annoying as it’s been to have 80-something degree days into October, on the other hand I consider them little treasures of thrift.  They cost something to run fans because they’re too hot, but they keep the gas bill at bay.  The way the critters are acting, this winter’s gas bill will need all the help and delay ramping up it can get.  The hornets are building nests in a different, much more sheltered place than normal, and the cellar is crawling with unprecedented bugs that having come inside in anticipation of the cold.

1. Heh.  My bill won’t go down to $171 until probably some time in November.  The most recent bill was $267 and the one before that was $322, both of which I considered pretty good.  We’ve had a cooler summer this year and gas prices have gone down.  Last year we suffered from a really hot summer and record gas prices.  I had one bill that was over $600 during our hottest month.

   Our electric company includes a helpful temperature comparison graph, which showed that for our warmest month this year the average temp was about 90 and the average for the same month last year was 98.

   Posted by Aubrey Turner  on  10/04  at  12:04 PM  from  Keller, TX
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