Got your BGE bill? Yeow!
My gas and electric bill arrived yesterday, covering the period from mid-January to mid-February. That was the coldest part of the winter so far. Temperatures, according to the bill, averaged just 27 degrees. That compared with 40 degrees for the prior billing period, which was unusually mild.
Anyway, the bottom line took my breath away. My wife and I used twice the gas and electricity we used in the prior period, and our bill topped 250 bucks, easily the biggest BGE bill we've seen in nearly 10 years in this house. (That includes everything, not just the gas and electricity used for heating. But I presume the bulk of it was for heat.) If it hadn't been for the "credit" engineered by the legislature last year (which we'll all have to pay back eventually), the total would have been $333. Gak!
Needless to say we switched off the electric blanket last night and threw another wool afghan on the bed. But the cold weather, coupled with sharply higher rates this winter compared with last winter, will take a toll on our budget this month. How about yours?
Here are the numbers behind the increased energy demand this month, from the National Weather Service. I'm comparing February (to date) with January, which does not exactly match my BGE billing period, and likely won't match yours either. Data is for BWI. Heating degree days are a measure of heating energy demand. Higher numbers reflect greater need for heat; lower numbers reflect less demand.
January average temperature : 38.7 degrees, 6.4 degrees above average.
February average temperature: 27.2 degrees, 7.6 degrees below average.
January heating degree days: 805, or about 19 percent less than average for January. (We should have burned that much LESS energy.)
February heating degree days: 827, about 26 percent more than average for February.
For the entire heating season to date, at least, we are still running on the good side, about 8 percent below the long-term average for Baltimore, thanks to a mild December and January. But that edge will erode if the weather stays cold.
Comments
Count yourself reasonable lucky. Although my bill was $320 (would have been about $400 before "deferral") I know others whose bills have been in the 500's not counting the deferred amount. Heavier curtains and more insulation are in the works for next year.
Posted by: crabbypatty | February 23, 2007 1:06 PM
We are in our second year of living in the country (northern Baltimore county verse Baltimore city, Pigtown) Fall of 2006 my husband put in a fire place with a catalic coverter that sends the heat into the house as opposed to up the chimmney. What a huge difference. Nice warm house. Heat only set to go on before we wake up in the morning. Other wise we would be paying propane company big bucks. You think BG&E expensive, try propane!
Patty
Posted by: patty bolgiano | February 23, 2007 3:08 PM
Golly, I hope everyone is able to meet all their bills. I was rather concerned last year about it, but it seems to be ok.
I keep the good old thermostat at 55 and now sleep and lounge in a sleeping bag. Sometimes I use a hot water bottle, too. It's just like camping, but the bill was only $175! Yay!
I use a space heater on a timer in the bedroom, so it's only on when I'm falling asleep or waking up. Works well for me.
I have a fake fireplace, but it is an electric hog, so I've decided to stop using it. Bummer. I really liked the effect it had. So cozy.
I don't know anyone else that would live this way; it's totally crazy.
Posted by: Jill | February 23, 2007 4:18 PM
We received our wonderful BGE bill. Our house is all electric. As usual, BGE somehow manages to end up estimating the bill at the most inopportune times. Our bill was $228.00 after the stabilization credit and would have been $378 without. We switched to Ohms Energy, so I'm dying to see what the difference in cost will be on the upcoming bill.
Posted by: Cheri Wilson | February 23, 2007 8:56 PM
Fairly good sized house... BGE sent us a $450 bill the other day. $150 higher than our previous all-time high. Of course, with a baby in the house for the first time, we can't do the usual "add more blankets" trick. Maybe our new pro-consumer, pro-every-man administration will push BGE to somehow credit families with babies... :)
Posted by: Eric | February 24, 2007 11:52 PM
We have stopped using certain appliances and setting the heat lower than tolerable temperatures only to increase our bill to over $195 more than last years Jan. bill this is outright robbery of md citizens and I will not tolerate it any longer BGE has to be stopped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I loath that company.....
Matt
Posted by: Matt | January 30, 2009 3:49 PM
“I win!! My fiance and I have had this problem once before, only a few months ago, when our bill was $400, but now it is almost $600!!! We live in a 900 sq. ft. apartment, an apartment!! There is just no way that we were using enough electricity to account for that high of a bill! What's worse, there is no way to remedy the problem, as BGE comes to "check" our meter, "confirming" that the reading was correct. There is no way for us to prove we aren't using that much power, but we know we are not. There are no other power companies in our area that we could use.”
Posted by: Pamela | February 27, 2009 8:18 AM
I am having a problem with BGE. My average useage of electricity this time of year is around 800 kwh. Out of the blue, I get a bill from BGE for using 6000 kwh in the month of April. At first I thought it was a typo and I'll just call them to correct it. I got on the phone with a BGE rep, and I get this long drawn out story that they have been estimating my useage for over 8 months because of some issue with the meter. Now they have fixed the meter and this is my actual reading. They never notified me of any faulty meter, and I have always paid my bill on time for the past 13 years that I have lived in the same house in Mitchellville, MD. I am currently in the process of compiling my monthly useage of electricity in an excel spreadsheet for as many years as I can find my bills. I am hoping to establish a consistent pattern of my electricity useage, with hope that the PSC can help resolve the matter. But from what I have been reading so far, the PSC may not be in a position to check the excesses of BGE with regards to their predatory billing. Is it possible to gather information about as many of the BGE customers who have experienced this and hopefully we can find a class action expert to take the case before the courts. My email address is: jafxyz
@netscape.net
Posted by: James Fabunmi | May 21, 2009 9:54 AM