Electricity Bill

Submitted by dupattaluella t3_10h7cc2 in WorcesterMA

Update: Got a new meter yesterday and I now believe NG was ripping us off. We've used about 9 kwh in 18 hours, which would mean we'd use about 12 kwh per day, coming to 360 every 30 days. Get a new meter if you think NG might be ripping you off. It's free for you.

Anyone have suggestions on how to lower their electricity bill when they're WFH? We're in a budget plan, but our actual cost this month shot up to $315 with the new supply rates (National Grid). I can't keep paying $300/month for electricity.

We don't use anything we don't need to and keep lights off when it's bright enough out.

Our heat is forced air, natural gas, but we keep that at 65⁰ during the day and 60⁰ at night, and the fan doesn't run that much.

I've dropped down to one monitor just to try and save some electricity, even though I'm sure it's minor.

I cook most of our food at home, but we have a gas stove/oven and rarely use the microwave.

I just don't know what else to cut out.

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Marsdeeni90 t1_j56w7z4 wrote

National grid put a 60% or something raise on their rates starting Dec 1st 2022.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j570u2s wrote

It was more than 60%. The supply charge went from $.11/kwh to $.25/kwh. That's over 100% increase. We paid about $103 last month for our supply charge and this month it's $199. Plus, there's the distribution charge and transmission charge, which are all essentially the same thing, so we're paying about $260 this month just to get our electricity.

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slopezski t1_j57hz8l wrote

It’s based on last years winter numbers though not the month before. It always goes up during the winter months but it was 60% higher than last December.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j57i6lu wrote

That's still not a 60% increase from what people were paying. The word choice matters.

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JohnnyGoldwink t1_j57215h wrote

I feel bad for people. Honestly this shit is criminal. Hopefully this whole energy debacle were in will be cause enough for change.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j572tb7 wrote

Nah, it won't be. This will just be a push for more control and eventually a push towards socialism. I mean, our electric bills already charge us for solar panels that are "free", electric vehicle charging stations that are "free", and renewable energy production.

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Zealousideal_Lie_383 t1_j578s8j wrote

Really? Where are these free electric vehicle charging stations? If true, I’ll switch to an EV vehicle. All the charging stations I’ve seen require a credit card to operate.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j57cr2f wrote

Some are changing to pay to use, but many are still free. I don't have an EV, so I don't check them. Part of the cost is also to build the charging stations.

All the "free" programs are paid for by taxes and small fees like those on your utility bills.

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Zealousideal_Lie_383 t1_j57nv93 wrote

I wonder how many free charging stations etc need to be created before the cost comes close to the billions of tax dollars spent subsidizing the oil industry.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j57xe68 wrote

Right?! We need to go back to nuclear power. It would be much cheaper.

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Lil_Brown_Bat t1_j58bj8r wrote

Op doesn't own an EV and has no idea what they're talking about.

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Lil_Brown_Bat t1_j58bdd1 wrote

The free stations are on business properties used to lure people to their businesses or as a perk for employees. They are slow charging stations that would take 4 hrs to charge completely. The electricity is paid for by the business that owns that property. Fast charging stations that charge in about an hour are all paid for by the consumer.

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Waynky t1_j5bm9fu wrote

The things you are describing are already happening under capitalism.

I don't think you fully grasp where the real issues are here.

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itssonotjacky t1_j57pzd3 wrote

My apartment complex in Southbridge notified us on Wednesday that we could reach out to Quest Energy Solutions out of Worcester. They are a broker who negotiates with National Grid to deliver electricity to central mass residents at a much lower rate. We were able to get our cost down to $0.1625 per kWH. Our previous rate was $0.3381 per kWh, and that did not include the 8 fees tacked onto our bill.

They were very easy to work with and I recommend reaching out to them

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twistedredd t1_j59mfwo wrote

as a broker, what did they charge, or get for this service?

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Brass_and_Frass t1_j59pwvu wrote

How long is that rate good for? I keep hearing horror stories about energy suppliers taking advantage of people by signing them up at a lower rate, but that they raise their rates after an introductory period. One woman was paying 48¢/kWh and didn’t even really know any better because she’d been paying that for a few years.

Just be careful and really read contracts, that’s all I’m saying.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5a0v6e wrote

I checked out some others from a link someone else provided. It seems like they get you with the auto renewal of the contract. Many contracts are a fixed price for the life of the contract, then variable pricing after the initial contract expires. So, if you have a 9 month contract at $.16/kwh, once the 9 months is up, they can charge you anything and change whenever they want.

I might still look into this, but I'll be calling them and having them send me a copy of the contract before signing up. I'd want to know how far in advance I have to say I don't want to renew, so I know if I'll end up screwed or not.

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itssonotjacky t1_j5a1gml wrote

The contract they gave us is on 36 month terms with a clause that says there is no fee or repercussions for canceling early, and we are leaving this apartment in 5 months anyway so I didn’t really look into that much.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5a1vx5 wrote

Is there a termination fee? I saw a few that had no cancelation fee but did have an early termination fee if you tried to get out of the contract early.

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itssonotjacky t1_j5a242b wrote

There is a section of the contract titled “applicable contract fees” and the only thing written in that section is “there are no termination fees associated with this agreement”

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beesintrees194 t1_j57fhpe wrote

Something that has helped me a lot is keeping blinds and curtains closed in rooms I don’t go in, or only opening a few blinds/curtains of the room I am in since windows let cold air in through the cracks. I’ve also been using an electric blanket instead of having a heater running when I can, but an electric blanket still uses electricity, so idk if that’s actually helping a lot or not. I haven’t seen my bill this month, so I’m a little scared😓

Update: Just checked my bill and it is double what it typically is and I’ve used less electricity than I normally do this billing period. I’m hoping enough customers get upset to get national grid to lower their rates somewhat close to normal, but idk if they will listen

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dupattaluella OP t1_j57gvtf wrote

We just got new windows last month, so I hope we're not losing heat that way. And we actually get hot at night and have been thinking of reducing the heat 2-3 degrees for overnight. We do have an electric blanket on the bed and use it when we feel cold vs turning up the heat, but we rarely use it.

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AnteaterEastern2811 t1_j59kyi6 wrote

Please share how the windows did/did not help with utilities once you get a bill.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j59u0ir wrote

Our new bill is 75 kwh less. We got our new windows the 3rd day of this newest billing cycle I'm referring to in the post.

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elemenopppppp t1_j57klke wrote

The biggest hidden power consumption is having things plugged in when they aren’t in use. Chargers, fan, shredder etc. Your home is measured at 0 for the loop the electricity travels through. As soon as you have something plugged in even if it’s not on it creates a longer path therefore spinning your meter. This is why mass save gives away the special power strips for your tv which only then turn on a dvd player or cable box after the tv turns on. Unplug anything not in use and physically take the plug out of the outlet.

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EzualRegor t1_j57oksb wrote

Power vampires. Walk around your house at night with lights off and take note of anything still lit, that item is using power. Cable boxes, modems, routers, coffee makers, computers, smart devices, clocks, stoves, gaming consoles, etc., are all using power 24x7.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j57wxnn wrote

We have a few of those and use them for lots of stuff.

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chimpman252 t1_j588tf4 wrote

FYI the Worcester Public Library has Kill-A-Watt power meters available to borrow if you want to further investigate which devices draw the most power.

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IIRizzII t1_j5b66n2 wrote

I’ll never not be amazed at the things the WPL has at our disposal.

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phoenixofsevenhills t1_j5enosn wrote

Right?! I just found out they have cameras and sewing machines 🤷🏼‍♀️😊 pretty awesome if I say!!! Plus they have a lot of interesting classes and zoom groups!

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5yis6j wrote

We got our new meter yesterday. In 18 hours, we've used 9 kwh. Using that, we should use about 12 kwh per day and 360 every 30 days. Obviously that can fluctuate depending on what we're doing, but that's still less than half of what we were charged for last month.

I think NG was ripping us off with the old meter we had that we didn't know how to read and no one could explain how to read.

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tinymsv t1_j595p30 wrote

My gas bill is $383 again this month and we keep the heater at 68 degrees. It’s a complete rip off. On top of the food price increase this is completely brutal. How are ppl expected to pay these outrages prices?

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dupattaluella OP t1_j59xlnc wrote

I will say 68⁰ is kind of high. We're at 65⁰ during the day and I'm thinking of lowering it 1-2⁰.

Do you at least lower it at night when you sleep?

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tinymsv t1_j5ag789 wrote

65 is incredible low. I don’t lower it when we sleep as we have a baby.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5aghx5 wrote

You can wrap the baby in a thicker blanket or sleeper. I mean, what did people used to use before we had heat to keep our houses at 68⁰? Not saying you need to change what you do, but if you want to save money, there are ways to lower the temp and keep the baby warm.

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mcl1977 t1_j5b37h8 wrote

56 here with a woodstove now and then and its perfect

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5cl7gb wrote

We wanted a wood stove, but we decided we want to get out of MA badly so we're trying to update the house and wait out the bad real estate market for now. Once prices are better, we're going to sell and get a multi family home so we can rent some of it out and have more money to invest.

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acurze t1_j58tngq wrote

Went from $300 to $500 a month ugh

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dupattaluella OP t1_j59xheu wrote

Oh, man. So sorry to hear that. I can't imagine paying that.

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techorules t1_j578vc9 wrote

How much power did you use on the bill and how many days does the bill cover? Electricity is one of the either things to figure out where your money is going but needs some specifics to help. Dollar amount means nothing because we don't know basics like how much you pay per kWh.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j57ctne wrote

788 kwh and it was 29 days.

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4runnr t1_j580zvl wrote

That’s equal to 1094W of electricity running 24/7 for 30 days. That’s a lot of power. 60x led bulbs running, a 1000W microwave running, 30 bathroom vent fans running, or 2 blenders running.

Something is wrong here. Buy a kill a watt and test everything you can!

We have the same set up as you (nat gas heat water and dryer) and at 1500sqft we use half the electricity and also keep probably 7 led bulbs on 24/7.

How old is your furnace blower fan? It may be time for a replacement.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j58co37 wrote

I've already been thinking our meter is wrong and we have the odd one from when they did the different rates at different times of the day. I called and complained for months when our usage was over 1000 kwh/month and it suddenly decreased. But, I called again and demanded they replace our meter with one I can actually read and they're coming out next week to make the swap. So, that may be more of the issue than I thought.

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techorules t1_j5exzj3 wrote

Weird. I didn't go through whole thread so someone else may have already suggested there but a very important test when you find you used a shit ton of power and like you did is to turn everything off. I mean everything. Then see if you're still spinning. If you are then power theft or something similarity serious is happening. It's a quick but important step.... And next is to buy a kill-o-watt on amazon or eBay. Great to have to find out if some our appliance is inefficient. Pretty important if you gotta pay almost 40 cents per kWh which is so brutal.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5ey72r wrote

>but a very important test when you find you used a shit ton of power and like you did is to turn everything off

Never even thought of this! Thank you for the suggestion. I really appreciate it.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5yipuw wrote

We got our new meter yesterday. In 18 hours, we've used 9 kwh. Using that, we should use about 12 kwh per day and 360 every 30 days. Obviously that can fluctuate depending on what we're doing, but that's still less than half of what we were charged for last month.

I think NG was ripping us off with the old meter we had that we didn't know how to read and no one could explain how to read.

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4runnr t1_j5ypt0a wrote

Hey that is great news!

Once you get your next bill with the lower usage post meter change I would ask them for a credit. You have a reasonable case for it.

Good luck!

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5ys5fa wrote

I'm definitely going to be asking them about credits. From my discussions with them a few months back when my usage was over 1000 kwh then suddenly dropped after months of me calling in an complaining, sounds like they won't give credits. But, I'll be trying and going through more than just NG if needed. They need to be stopped from stealing people's money.

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4runnr t1_j61bi61 wrote

“Misunderstandings and lethargy perhaps produce more wrong in the world than deceit and malice do. At least the latter two are certainly rarer.”

I advise that you are not quick to assign malicious intent, but that you read your contract with National Grid and see what your rights are to correct this obvious error for your time and money wasted. If you cannot resolve with customer service I would contact a lawyer who works for a percentage of the winnings.

The contract may state that you are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the meter, after which you would have no recourse.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j61e1ow wrote

I've already asked them. My rights are that it has to be proved and even then I wouldn't get credits. I'd have to go above them.

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4runnr t1_j61e5y6 wrote

Well I hope that you kept the old meter then!

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dupattaluella OP t1_j61e82k wrote

Nope. Didn't know that was an option.

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4runnr t1_j61erdz wrote

Either way read the contract, don’t trust what customer service says.

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pra_com001 t1_j57bxpl wrote

Rent a FLIR camera from Home Depot, and from outside your house check the temperature of windows and doors. If there are red spots around them, it means you are loosing heat.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j57d1v9 wrote

Good call! I'll look into that this weekend. Thank you!

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bartnd t1_j56wi9x wrote

Some good info here: https://www.reddit.com/r/WorcesterMA/comments/102737a/has_anyone_changed_electricity_suppliers/

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dupattaluella OP t1_j571l4p wrote

Thanks. I checked it out and nothing will help. We're already with the lowest provider that doesn't require a contract. And the one that's lower requires at least a 6 month contract and would only save us $39/month based on the current supply charge right now, which is expected to go down in May.

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HistoricalSecurity77 t1_j57c5vg wrote

Not true.

https://www.worcesterma.gov/announcements/new-green-worcester-electricity-aggregation-program-contract-takes-effect-in-december

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dupattaluella OP t1_j57egwr wrote

We have Green Worcester. The one I was referring to was the Inspire Clean Energy someone mentioned.

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HistoricalSecurity77 t1_j57eonq wrote

Have you converted all your bulbs to LED? We did that and it helped a lot.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j57ewbp wrote

Yup

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HistoricalSecurity77 t1_j57gc7w wrote

Rent or own? How old the the building?

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Vinc3d t1_j572pkn wrote

Same boat here. The only solace are power outages.

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AnteaterEastern2811 t1_j57b15k wrote

Other than heating, appliances like dryer or refrigerator are big power users.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j57czwm wrote

We do wash and dry our clothes, so that would make sense. Our dryer is natural gas, so it shouldn't use that much electricity though. Our fridge probably does use a lot. But, it's still getting to the point we may not be able to afford electricity soon.

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HistoricalSecurity77 t1_j57c0tg wrote

OP, switch to the Green Worcester supplier. It’s significantly less. I switched in December and my bill is almost back down to what it was before rates went up.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j57eacw wrote

That's who it says we have. What are your supply rates?

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HistoricalSecurity77 t1_j58f6ng wrote

Second page

https://ibb.co/ySpQdM7

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dupattaluella OP t1_j59tf8q wrote

That's last months bill isn't it? I have the same supplier and the new bill is at the new rate of $.25/kwh.

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HistoricalSecurity77 t1_j5a85pc wrote

Yes, this was for December. I’ll let you know what January comes in at next week.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5a8mrv wrote

Yes, please. If it's different, I can use that to try and lower my rate.

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xxlaur77 t1_j57gtaa wrote

Heavy curtains to keep drafts out, electric blanket, LED energy saving light bulbs

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lardlad71 t1_j586sfu wrote

National Grid makes tens of billions annually. Just saying.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j58d305 wrote

I hate them so much. It took months of complaining when our bill was over 1000 kwh/month for our bill to suddenly decrease. And we have the old meter that was made for different rates at different times, so I don't know how to read the three different displays (sends readings automatically). I called and demanded they switch it out for a standard digital read and they're coming next week. If needed, I'll be demanding a manual read. I've been thinking they've been ripping us off as our usage wasn't this high in the past. The only change is we both work from home, but our computers aren't on 24/7.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5yiv96 wrote

We got our new meter yesterday. In 18 hours, we've used 9 kwh. Using that, we should use about 12 kwh per day and 360 every 30 days. Obviously that can fluctuate depending on what we're doing, but that's still less than half of what we were charged for last month.

I think NG was ripping us off with the old meter we had that we didn't know how to read and no one could explain how to read.

1

RedRose_Belmont t1_j58f44v wrote

Do you have some of the smart power strips that stop ‘vampire’ draw from devices on standby?

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Turbulent_Leg6503 t1_j595iha wrote

Anyone stealing electricity? You’re paying the prices of someone growing a tent indoor plants

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dupattaluella OP t1_j59tx0u wrote

Not sure. Do you know how you can check that?

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phoenixofsevenhills t1_j5eo3fg wrote

The electric company is supposed to come out and do this for you... It's been YEARS, but I went thru this and in fact I was paying for my unit and the wash room 😡

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5eqdv0 wrote

Good to know. I'll see how my bill changes after they switch out my meter and have them come check if needed.

We currently have the old meter from when they had different rates throughout the day and I don't know how to read it and no one at NG seems to know how to read it. After complaining for months when our bill was over 1000 kwh, it suddenly went down by 200ish kwh with no change on our end. So, I'm hoping this new meter will allow me to keep track of our usage and keep NG honest. And if needed, we'll pay the $11/month for the manual meter. I really think it's NG charging us more than we use since we have a house, but our garage is separate so someone could have tapped in somewhere.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5yiudk wrote

We got our new meter yesterday. In 18 hours, we've used 9 kwh. Using that, we should use about 12 kwh per day and 360 every 30 days. Obviously that can fluctuate depending on what we're doing, but that's still less than half of what we were charged for last month.

I think NG was ripping us off with the old meter we had that we didn't know how to read and no one could explain how to read.

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Turbulent_Leg6503 t1_j59u5vb wrote

No but I’ve seen/know a creep who used to do this by Rewiring things on the side of the multi unit house. It’s dangerous to pull off. Maybe someone from national grid and come check?

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meltyourtv t1_j57rv1q wrote

Did you select your provider on their website? We just switched to an $0.18/kWh provider. Not very clean energy, but who cares it’s cheaper

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dupattaluella OP t1_j57xip6 wrote

Who is your provider?

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meltyourtv t1_j57xnup wrote

The cheapest one. My roommate handles the electric bill so I told him to choose the cheapest provider on National Grid’s website. He said he just sorted them by cheapest and chose that one

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teasea02 t1_j57ub74 wrote

Old refrigerators are inefficient…. Solar panels are a great investment

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dupattaluella OP t1_j57xmzz wrote

We have a 2 year old fridge. And we have too much tree coverage to make solar worth it for us, plus we'd have to put the panels on our lawn due to the way our house faces.

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teasea02 t1_j5a3h9y wrote

A heat pump / A|C unit is wicked efficient … but uses electricity

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5a8eve wrote

We've thought about it, but our heat uses natural gas now so we're afraid to know how much electricity we'd use for a heat pump.

We do have a fireplace and had quite a few fires during the colder days last month, so I'm sure our bill would be higher if we hadn't. We can get the house to about 68⁰ with the fireplace and then the heat doesn't turn on until sometime the next day.

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Eve617 t1_j57zxi1 wrote

Look into fuel assistance for the city of Worcester. I think they help with all kinds of energy expenses. Fuel Assistance - Worcester Community ... https://wcac.net/fuel-assistance/

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AnteaterEastern2811 t1_j59ls16 wrote

Overall the utility hikes are absolutely brutal. We will struggle to pay ours this season due to the price hike and that's even after doing the MassSave insulation and converting to heat pumps. We're on the City's aggregation which is better than National Grid but still very high.

Already thinking about what I can due to improve the house before next winter......

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dupattaluella OP t1_j59u6vq wrote

Yeah. We switched out the attic insulation last year and got new windows this year. The only other thing is to check the insulation in the walls, but that would require us to take down and replace the walls in pretty much every room.

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AnteaterEastern2811 t1_j59v459 wrote

Actually not. You can use a thermal heat detector and just point it at the wall.....it will be pretty obvious if the wall is empty. There are hand held versions and hardware that connect to your phone.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j59vrkv wrote

I will do this. I'd just hate if we found out there wasn't insulation because then we would need to take down replace the walls. The attic was a big enough job and it was blown in insulation. We did the attic ourselves so it was a lot of work and time.

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violetcoconut t1_j5ylsdc wrote

I wish my bill was only $300...ours went up to $1,800 in November 🫠 I will definitely try a new meter!

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GoGatorsMashedTaters t1_j59nriu wrote

One thing you may not have tried: Eco mode on your screens(especially work computers). This can cut each tv/monitor’s energy consumption by 25-40%.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5yixzq wrote

We got our new meter yesterday. In 18 hours, we've used 9 kwh. Using that, we should use about 12 kwh per day and 360 every 30 days. Obviously that can fluctuate depending on what we're doing, but that's still less than half of what we were charged for last month.

I think NG was ripping us off with the old meter we had that we didn't know how to read and no one could explain how to read.

1

ccrobison t1_j5a7hzy wrote

Just a note… I thought my electricity bill doubled this month too but when I looked closely the due dates for December and January overlapped so it wasn’t as high as it looked (still high compared to a year ago). For some reason, probably due to the new year holiday timing my December bill wasn’t due until like the 15th (ish?) but I got my January bill before I paid my December so the December bill was shown as a carry over. It was not late. I assume I’m not the only person with national grid that happened to.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5a8jx6 wrote

Our billing cycle resets in the beginning of the month, so we paid the new rate for the entire cycle.

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SmokersLungs t1_j5arrtd wrote

Do you have a whole house? I just have 1 br apartment and my monthly electric bill never exceeds $35 in winter and I work from home. I can't imagine how some people's electric bills are so high.

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sreetansai t1_j5ayq10 wrote

i just got my first invoice from national grid for 4.5 months as 440$ for electricity is it high or low ?

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5ckwk9 wrote

$440 for 4.5 months is very low. That's less than $100/month. You either have a small house and/or don't have much that uses electricity. My cousin has radiators and not many gadgets that use electricity, so their bill is about $200/month.

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sreetansai t1_j5eyaha wrote

oh that’s good to know, we actually have a 2bhk, as u said we don’t have much that uses electricity. $200 a month looks excessive use.

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dupattaluella OP t1_j5f0wsb wrote

$200/month is much less than many people pay who own a home. It's $.25/kwh just for supply right now. That means at 400 kwh, your supply would be $100. Plus, you'll have to pay all the additional fees which would add up to about another $70-80, so close to $200. If someone has electric baseboard heaters, electric stove, and works from home, they'll easily use 400 kwh in a month.

1