Was your billing period
for more than the normal 30 days. Look at the per-day cost compared with the
prior year to get a better handle on whether this is really unusual usage.
Think about things that
are different in your household. Did you entertain more visitors than normal?
Did you buy a new appliance (computers, hair dryers)? And how are the old
ones running (old refrigerators are not very energy efficient)? Is that hot-water
faucet still leaking?
Think about whether you
are running out of hot water more quickly than normal. Don't just set and
forget your hot-water heater. Heating elements do wear out, plus, do you flush out the
tank each year?
Holidays can sure spark a
higher than normal electric bill. Consider all the extra lights that are on
during Christmas. And the cooking, you're oven is probably on more than it's off!
Winterizing in the summer?
Are you heating your garage all year long? How about the heat tapes
around your plumbing. It's easy to forget to turn these things off during the warmer
months.
Make sure the meter
reading used for billing is correct. You can read your own meter and
compare it with the reading shown on your bill. It's rare, but mistakes do happen.
Still puzzled about your
high bill? Give us a call at (907) 780-2222. It's possible that your bill
was too good to be true last month because we under-read your meter. That would
certainly make this month's bill appear too high.
