PSEG Bill Seems Really High

Submitted by scrytruth t3_1088ra3 in jerseycity

Moved to first house in August, PSEG bill was 80$, November was 170, December came back 470. Is this to be expected or is there something wrong here? ~1600 sq ft house with gas stove and heater and no washer/dryer.

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bodhipooh t1_j3r5sq6 wrote

One other thing not considered/mentioned: if you were on the Equal Payment Plan program (or, whatever it is called when they estimate your annualized monthly payments based on prior usage) you might be getting the "true up" bill now. We have friends who *thought* they were saving money each month and had somehow magically cracked the code to lower bills, but turns out they were using WAY MORE electricity than they thought and just got socked with a 1.3K PSEG bill last month. It was their "true up" bill that includes any overages not covered by the estimated monthly bills.

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j3savt7 wrote

I’m baffled by how many people think this is some kind of savings program.

The language I’ve seen is pretty clear how it works. Either they target people with very different bordering on fraudulent language, or quite a few people are borderline illiterate.

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bodhipooh t1_j3srcp8 wrote

Personally, I think the program (as implemented) is somewhat predatory. They "estimate" how much electricity you have used (or, could use) over the previous year, then do the math of dividing by 12 and charge you that monthly, but I think what ends up happening is that people are deluded (intentionally, or through self delusion, or perhaps ignorance) into thinking they are now in some sort of flat fee contract. And, the end result is that they (predictably) use more energy on the regular because they are not aware of how much they are actually using because they pay the same amount every month, and then they get slammed with that true up bill at the end of the year. What SHOULD be happening is that PSEG should include some sort of clear and obvious comparison (and a warning, if warranted) about the actual vs estimated use for each monthly bill so people can then act or plan accordingly.

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Suspicious_Ad4829 t1_j3tab0z wrote

They do, it’s on the app. I use it and so far overpaid by 80 dollars so no surprise bill for me.

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j3te5yw wrote

On top of this. The whole point is to help people avoid cash flow issues. In the summer/winter energy usage is up, but rather than front the money it’s essentially an interest free loan to pay the diff over the cheaper spring/fall months when weather lowers your costs.

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Suspicious_Ad4829 t1_j3tfosj wrote

That’s how I use it, it helps to keep track of your usage and energy consumption. Live in jersey heights, in a very drafty 3k sq home w/ washer & dryer, spilt ac/ heat unit in each room and my bill was 290. High but not 470 for half the square footage, def look into it OP.

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bodhipooh t1_j3vvuch wrote

Yeah, I think too many people are truly unaware (ignorant?) about their overall energy usage. I hear horror stories of ~500 dollar bills and I can't wrap my mind around it. These friends I mentioned earlier had a bill of over 400 IN THE FALL before they decided to enroll in the EPP program. During the same month, our bill was ~70 for just about 20% less space. It just doesnt make sense to me.

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orb_king t1_j3qt0eq wrote

You may have been paying inaccurate estimates before. Call PSEG if you need a payment plan!

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ffejie t1_j3r4x4s wrote

PSEG is electric and gas. What's the breakdown of each?

What's your heating situation? Radiators or forced air?

December was very cold, and if your thermostat was up, it's possible you burned a ton of fuel for heating.

People don't typically realize, but especially in a leaky old house, setting your thermostat to 68 vs 72 is a huge difference and can save you 20%+ on your gas bill in winter.

There's also an excellent chance you have an "estimated reading" in there. If it was estimated in October/November, you're just paying for October now. If December is estimated, it's possible you got over billed and will have a very low bill for Jan and maybe Feb. A payment plan from PSEG will fix this for you if the lumpiness is causing you difficulties.

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