My shock $450 energy bill: Why so high? Plus how I reduced it
This small detail on my recent sky-high monthly energy bill saved me hundreds of dollars, and I didn't even notice it was there.
Opening your bills is never a fun time, but last month was particularly bad when my monthly energy bill was 4 times higher than normal.
My June and July energy bills were only $90 each, so I was extremely shocked to open my August bill and see it was $450.
How could it possibly be so much higher?!
Well, I phoned my energy provider Powershop and figured out a few of the main causes plus discoved a way to lower my future bills.
Estimated versus actual reading
My June and July bills were based on estimated readings, where they basically guessed how much energy we'd been using.
However my August bill was instead based on an actual reading, where they came and checked our meter.
Because the power use was higher than they'd estimated in the months prior, not only was our August bill more but it also included some 'make up' charges for June and July.
So although I had one really expensive month, the two before were actually cheaper than they should have been.
Haven't compared energy plans in over 12 months?
There's a good chance you're missing out on a cheaper deal.
Power-sucking devices
After a brief chat with the Powershop customer service person we figured out a few of the things in my home that were dramatically sucking up power.
The first was an oil column heater that we'd been using in our daughters room for 10+ hours a night, every night.
We only had this on low to take the chill out of the air during winter, but apparently they're huge users of power.
She also asked if we had any appliances running on a timer, which we do have set up for our coffee machine.
Having this on a timer is using power 24 hours a day (similar to keeping appliances on standby).
The hidden saving hiding in plain sight
When I shared my energy bill with Finder's utilities expert they were quick to point out one key detail that I'd missed.
Written on my bill, hiding in plain sight, was my energy provider telling me I could save $195 a year by switching to a different plan.
So when I spoke to them about my bill, I asked about this plan and if I could switch. She was able to easily switch me to the cheaper plan over the phone right there and then.
I wouldn't have given my energy bill much thought if it hadn't been so much higher than normal, so this saving would have gone unnoticed yet again had I not looked at it closer.
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