Anyone Else Worried About Their July Electric Bill?

Is it just my house or is everyone's air conditioner running almost 24 hours a day the past few days (and before that, it wasn't much better)? It was a hot, hot, hot July across much of the U.S. (and a hot start to August) which means the air conditioning has been running a lot. And we're all going to get a big, big, big electric bill in August. I know it's going to be painful -- maybe as bad as my heating bills were this winter.

Managing our curtains appropriately has really helped a ton as has turning up the thermostat a bit, but come on. The LOW temperature early this week was in the high 70's! And we live in Michigan!!!! The high 70's is a decent summer DAY for us.

Ohhhhh the pain. I know it's coming.

How about any of you out there -- are you expecting the same? Or maybe you have better ways of coping/saving than we do? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

BTW, there is a worse alternative -- no air conditioning at all. Several of our friends have no AC -- I don't know how they are surviving.

Comments

[Scott]

Yes, ours was $380 last month. It's around $100 in the spring/fall.

[GHoosdum]

I received my July utility bill today. The electric component was $71.28, despite the above 90-degree temperatures that we had almost every day for the past several weeks. A combination of rigid thermostat programming and energy efficient lighting means that I rarely worry about electric usage at my home - even in the hottest parts of summer. Natural gas usage and pricing, on the other hand, is a constant concern during the winter months.

[rdub]

I don't know if any of your readers are familiar with what is going on in Maryland with Constellation Energy trying to raise rates by 72%, but here is what's happening here. Along with the heat, July was the first month that includes a 15% increase in the cost of electricity. This is moving toward a total 72% increase in electricity cost over the next year. So, not only do we have the increased usage for the July heat, but we have to pay 15% more. This should be a FUN electric bill coming up.

[JB]

Our July bill was huge and a big shock. While we've had a very hot summer, the electric company said that our April and May bills were probably estimates as they don't read the meter each month. Our July bill probably contained some catchup from the other two months. I don't ever check my meter myself, but maybe I should start so I don't get these huge shocks unexpectedly.

[Blaine Moore (First Time Homeowner)]

I do not expect my electric bill to be very high at all. We do not use air conditioning, and get by with an intelligent use of fans and lots of sweat. When it is really bad, it gives us good motivation to go in the basement and actually do some cleaning, as it needs to be done by next week and we haven't finished unpacking since buying the house. I expect my bill to be between $30 and $40.

[Kim L.]

Count me in the MD group too! Although I have budget billing so it might not show a huge change. Unfortunately I think they are rechecking the amounts so these last few weeks are going to throw an ugle curve in to that average!

[Lord]

Usage tripled and costs quintupled. Welcome to temperture based pricing.

[Daniel]

I was very worried about this as we had just moved to a new apartment and were running our A/C 24 hours a day. Here is a link to my post: http://mymoneypath.blogspot.com/2006/07/we-got-our-electric-bill-today-whew.html

Bascially I was expecting to come in at $100-$150 and we came in at $56. Whew!

[Andrew]

Here in Southern California it was hot most of July but luckily it has cooled down considerably the past week. Now in the morning it is chilly and i have resorted to wearing my sweats. Not looking forward to the bill as well, we did use some AC and the fan a lot.

[Nick]

I hate the heat, and am very scared to get my electric bill for Jly. I've been running my A/C almost every minut eof every day for the last 2.5 weeks. It'll be ugly.

[Carolyn]

I live in Las vegas. The power company out here seems to enjoy raising the cost of electric. My house is only 1600sq feet and my June electric bill was 275.00. Despite the fact that we turn the thermostat to 82 and close all the blindes when we are not home. I don't want to see what the July bill will bring.

[Through a Glass Darkly]

Definitely worried about the electricity bill. When you add together higher electricity costs and higher gas costs, it does start to pinch!

[Rhea]

I'm afraid, very afraid. I was trying to put away some extra money this summer, and then the heat hit. I used the AC sparingly, but not sparingly enough.