Bracing for big BGE bills
All this cold weather, and talk of more to come, will have many of us dreading the arrival of our next utility bills. BGE is already anticipating our pain, with a release Wednesday reminding us of all the ways to ease the bite on our wallets, or at least spread it out, with links to a variety of resources.
The company is urging customers to switch to Budget Billing, to slide some of the high costs of winter heating (and summer cooling) into the more manageable spring and autumn months.
They're also warning us that many meters weren't read during last month's snowstorm, so some of us will receive estimated bills that could be higher (or, temporarily at least, lower) than we are expecting. And snow days had lots of us at home, running up the bills when we're usually off at school or work. That may increase our surprise when the tab arrives.
Heat pump users can also expect steep bills this month because of the high cost of running the units' auxilliary heating mechanisms.
There's more, including a list of tips on ways to lower your energy consumption. Click here.
(SUN PHOTO/Elizabeth Malby/Feb. 2009)
Comments
We have a gas fireplace so it will be interesting to see how much our gas bill is. We have oil for our heat and hot water and the price from our distributor increased 5 cents per gallon from Monday, when I ordered it, to today, when it's being delivered. We didn't especially need it since we still have at least half a tank left but I don't see it going down in price anytime soon, so it was best to get it now.
Posted by: Mar | January 6, 2010 3:51 PM
It makes me so mad that our apartment is heated by a heat pump, which is totally inappropriate for Baltimore. Our aux heat comes on all the time now, and I'm dreading the next bill.
When we buy a house here we're going to make sure it's heated by natural gas.
Posted by: Amy | January 7, 2010 3:36 AM
Frank- I'm sure youve been asked, but where does this past December stand as far as being one of the coldest? I for one would like to know it was one of the coldest ever and thats why my bill is high.
Thanks
FR: Not even close, Scott. December 2009 averaged 34.8 degrees. That's pretty cold - almost 2 degrees below the average. But it was colder here in December 2005, 2002, 2000, 1995, 1989, 1985 ... Shall I go on? It may have seemed especially cold because the last three Decembers at BWI were mild - 3 to 7 degrees warmer on average than December 2009. We've been spoiled. If your heating bills look high, consider that heating degree days (a temperature-based measure of heating energy demand) were 7.7 percent above the long-term average last month, and 14 percent higher than December 2008. So you did burn lots more fuel than last year.
Posted by: Scott | January 7, 2010 9:32 AM
Wow, good info, I appreciate it.
I guess the snow storm jaded me into thinking that we had a very harsh December, which I guess we did going by snowfall, but not by temp.
I'm already dreaming of Spring, thanks again
Posted by: Scott | January 7, 2010 11:10 AM
Hi,
Its not much but don't all us BGE customers get a 100 credit next month ??
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/hancock/blog/2009/12/bge_customers_will_get_100_cre.html
FR: That's true. Timed to coincide with our biggest bills.
Posted by: F Smith | January 7, 2010 3:16 PM
Frank, how does this past december compare with 2008's? I get the feeling that Dec. 2009 was definitely colder. However, according to my BGE bill, it says that Dec. 09 had an avg. temp of 48, and Dec. 08 had an avg. temp of 40. It also says my kWh were about the same.
I ask because I got new windows and a new sliding door in April after the ridiculous bills last winter, and I'm trying to gauge their effectiveness.
FR: It was almost 4 degrees colder last month (34.8 degrees) than in December 2008 (38.5 degrees). We also had 14 percent more heating degree-days (a temperature-based measure of heating demand). But keep in mind that your billing period may not correspond with the calendar month, so the average temperature during that period may differ from the average for the month.
Posted by: Sam | January 7, 2010 3:53 PM
What is the difference in degree days for December, 2010 and December 2011? My usage was 55% higher this year than last.
Dave
FR: I'll assume you meant Dec. 2009 and December 2010. According to the NWS, the total degree-days in December 2009 was 929. That increased to 1,003 in December 2010. That's an increase of almost 8 percent. I just checked by bills, and my electric usage (heat pump & lights, etc.) increased 11.7 percent. My gas (furnace and water heater) was up 13.6 percent. During the same period, according to the bill, the average temperature was the same (32 degrees) both years.
Now, you also need to consider that your billing cycle probably doesn't match the calendar month of December, so you would not expect the average temperature during your cycle for those two months to track with the HDDs for the calendar month. Mine, for example, runs from mid-December to mid-January. This last billing cycle may also have been a day or two longer than the same one last year. Mine was 34 days this time, 33 days last time. That adds one day of usage.
All that being said, your 55 percent usage increase would seem to signal a problem other than cold weather. Heat pump auxilliary heating elements can suck a lot of juice in cold weather like we've had. But your number seems excessive. May it's time for an energy audit.
BTW, the post this commenter is responding to was posted in January 2010.
Posted by: Dave G. | January 30, 2011 4:45 PM