Is anyone else's Con Edison Bill through the roof?

timmybono

timmybono

ORANGEMIME
#1
#1
This happened two years ago, where i had electric bills that were anywhere from 150-250 dollars per month....i live in a building that uses electric heat, not gas, but here is the thing. i have my master switch for the wall heat turned off, i always do, i use a space heater, but con ed is saying i owe them 335 for two months, i live in a 1 bedroom with 1 roommate, we shut lights, water etc. we change nothing about our electric use in the cold months, cause we dont use the heater...does anyone else have this problem? how do you fight it? con ed wont believe me if i tell them i dont use it, or they will say, something like.....too bad...what can i do?????????

thanks
tim
 
ctodd

ctodd

charmed
#3
#3
My bills have been ridiculous this winter, though I have a completely different set up than you.

I have gas heat which I control via a thermostat. I have literally not turned the heat on all winter. I insulated my windows and my apartment stays at about 65 degrees unless it's below 20 out, in which case I just put on a sweatshirt, or maybe run a space heater for a bit before bed (electric not gas, obvs.)

My gas bill for the past 3 months has hovered around $100. WTF? I'm not using my gas heat! So this means I'm paying $100 to take one hot shower a day and to keep the pilot light running on my stove (I cook maybe once a month.) The gas is much less in the summer though the only thing that changes is I take room tempature showers.

My electric bill is about $80 for a combined bullshit bill of $180 for my tiny 1-bedroom.

I've had coned come out and verify the meter reading. They say nothing is wrong on their end.
 
Guy Patton

Guy Patton

I like naps
#4
#4
Gas/Electric

We live in Jersey City, and have had problems with the utility companies estimating our usage, rather than actually coming out and reading the meter physically. We have called them on it several times and got a reduction in the bill. Tim, insist they come out and read the meter in person, and be there when they do. Charlie, sounds like you did this already. I wonder if someone else's usage in your building is being charged to you? Perhaps you are being charged a portion of heating a common area, like a laundry room?

Note: the actually price of gas is higher at the moment, and that may be a factor.
 
Maddy

Maddy

Shark
#5
#5
Is it possible (and this is just a theory that I am making up and has no bearing on the way con ed actually does business) that, besides the fact that the cost of energy has gone up, the meter reading is not directly associated with your apartment but with the building and then split among the units AND by shutting off your heat you are causing your neighbors to use more heat and raise the bill for the entire building?

I feel like the meters might be associated with each unit but then I think, are they?

Also, my bill was higher the last 2 months than I have seen it in winter I think, ever, since we only pay for electric so it usually much higher in the summer when we are running AC.

(oh and also I see guy patton said essentially the same thing but I typed this all so now I'm posting it)
 
T

trinity4r1

New Member
#6
#6
My electric bill was automatically estimated at 250-300 for a few months and after calling coned and my landlord dozens of time I finally got my meter read. I paid the bills but now they are going to credit my account and I won't be paying coned bills for probably 6 months.

Get your meter read as regularly as possible.
 
ctodd

ctodd

charmed
#7
#7
Correct, Guy-- they came out and read my meter (twice actually as I had them do it last winter as well) and said it was accurate.

Is it possible that my stove/oven has a leak? My kitchen sometimes smells a tiny bit gasy, and the stove/oven feels a little warm 24/7. Is that normal?
 
MichelleD

MichelleD

i declare shenanigans
#8
#8
ctodd said:
Correct, Guy-- they came out and read my meter (twice actually as I had them do it last winter as well) and said it was accurate.

Is it possible that my stove/oven has a leak? My kitchen sometimes smells a tiny bit gasy, and the stove/oven feels a little warm 24/7. Is that normal?
Click to expand...
The stove can feel slightly warm if it has a pilot light.

If you smell gas, it could be a leak. You can actually call it in to the Fire Department and I believe they will check it.
 
Q

qnarf

you get gun!
#9
#9
ctodd said:
Correct, Guy-- they came out and read my meter (twice actually as I had them do it last winter as well) and said it was accurate.

Is it possible that my stove/oven has a leak? My kitchen sometimes smells a tiny bit gasy, and the stove/oven feels a little warm 24/7. Is that normal?
Click to expand...
short answer, no not normal.
long answer, possibly explodey. i'd get it looked at.
 
Guy Patton

Guy Patton

I like naps
#10
#10
Gas Leak

I wouldn't freak too much. Every time you turn your burner on a little bit of gas leaks into the room before the electric ignition lights. I would call Con Ed or your building super as opposed to the fire dept. The utility company is usually required to handle such things at no charge. All the fire dept will do if there is a leak is shut it off, as opposed to fixing it.
 
Q

qnarf

you get gun!
#11
#11
Guy Patton said:
I wouldn't freak too much. Every time you turn your burner on a little bit of gas leaks into the room before the electric ignition lights. I would call Con Ed or your building super as opposed to the fire dept. The utility company is usually required to handle such things at no charge. All the fire dept will do if there is a leak is shut it off, as opposed to fixing it.
Click to expand...
well, yes, use your best judgement. if the smell isn't powerful, it's probably not a huge deal.
however, leaks get worse, not better, and cost, time spent repairing, and horrifying burn potential go up with time, not down. the fd is pretty all or nothing about this sort of thing. con ed is pretty negligent. i'm not sure what type of super you have, but if he/she is good and fairly knowledgable, i'd start there.
 
Maddy

Maddy

Shark
#12
#12
qnarf said:
well, yes, use your best judgement. if the smell isn't powerful, it's probably not a huge deal.
however, leaks get worse, not better, and cost, time spent repairing, and horrifying burn potential go up with time, not down. the fd is pretty all or nothing about this sort of thing. con ed is pretty negligent. i'm not sure what type of super you have, but if he/she is good and fairly knowledgable, i'd start there.
Click to expand...
Call Keyspan or Con Ed. If you have a potential leak they will be in your house with a gas leak tester thingy in 15 minutes.
 
VarietyUndrgrnd

VarietyUndrgrnd

@the Parkside Lounge
#13
#13
You should never smell any amount of gas in your apartment, except when you turn on the gas and haven't lit it. What Maddy said. Keyspan or Con Ed will be at your house instantly. If the problem isn't easy to solve, they won't fix it, but they will turn off your gas and your landlord is required to fix it.
 
D

Dave Serchuk

New Member
#14
#14
Ach, thank God we don't pay electricity. But our gas bill for cooking has definitely gone up about $5-10 a month for the same amount of cooking as always.
 
T

TheMonkey

My name is Alan
#15
#15
Before you got to the part about the leak, i was gonna suggest maybe just turning off your gas stove/oven when not in use, if you use it a little as you say. calling Keyspan out will if nothing else show you where the main valve for that is if you don't already know. Once they find a leak they will only shut it off, but they are good for discovering the leak at least.

Also Space heaters use a shit ton of energy, in case anyone was confused about that.
 
PairOfSox

PairOfSox

Active Member
#16
#16
No one asked me, but here's my answer.

ctodd said:
Correct, Guy-- they came out and read my meter (twice actually as I had them do it last winter as well) and said it was accurate.

Is it possible that my stove/oven has a leak? My kitchen sometimes smells a tiny bit gasy, and the stove/oven feels a little warm 24/7. Is that normal?
Click to expand...
Is it possible that you have a range (stove top) with 2 pilot lights, and you only lit one? Maybe you only expected to use 2 out of 4 burners? This would explain the gas smell. You can get rid of the smell by lighting the other pilot or turning off the gas all together.

In my abnormal ConEd case, I have my gas off, and I always turn the lights off when I leave the apt, but my bill was the same as the past summer when I left the A/C running 24/7. Almost $30 more than last week. It's February! I haven't been using the a/c....Wierd. Right? WWEEEEIIIIRRRDDD!!!!
 
Shannon Manning

Shannon Manning

peace
#17
#17
if you can find your gas pipe, spray soapy water on it, especially on the connections. If there's a leak, it will bubble.

Of course, calling keyspan is a better idea if you're worried, but it's a fun trick, right?
 
ctodd

ctodd

charmed
#18
#18
UPDATE: my next door neighbors just moved in recently. they have a 2-bedroom right next to mine. tonight one of the dudes knocked on my door with a coned bill in his hand asking what the fuck was up with the high charge. their bill was like $130 for their first 12 days in the place (they moved in halfway through the month.) he said they'd barely turned their heat on. something is up in this building! luckily this guy seems fired up and will hopefully do all the dirty work.
 
timmybono

timmybono

ORANGEMIME
#19
#19
SPace heaters use MORE electricity than the wall heat? really, no way...coned says that 1 KWH is equivalent to burning a 100 watt bulb for ten hours....i have no 100 watt bulbs, i never have lights on long. yet they say i needed 813 KWH this smonth...by my crappy math estimate, that means i used 28 kwh per day.....no way in hell!!! i would need to have 14 100 watt lamps on all day long to do that. sometimes i ll leave my heater on at night, but it's a tiny little electric one that plugs into the wall...please tell me there is no way this thing has caused the almost double in price?!!!

thanks.
tim


GUY/CHARLIE... i did have con ed come out last year and read it in front of me, they said it was right and everything then too...what do you do when they say it is right, but you know something is wrong?!?!?!?!?
 
shrivelednoodle

shrivelednoodle

It's about poor Uncle Joe
#20
#20
Yield

Christ, ConEd has that 6.69% yield (hint, buy shares of ED instead of that crap savings acct you've got) responsibility to it's shareholders. Oil prices have hit new highs. Delivery charges. That and more increase bills.

In my first apt, I paid for the entryway light that the neighbor liked to leave on. This went on for years before I found out by accident.

I'm lucky that I'm at O&R (a sub of ConEd) and for a 2 story colonial I'm only shelling out about 280/mo. for gas/elec.

What was I talking about?

Snuggling with that special someone under a comforter will permit you to lower that space heater usage.

Turn everything off, unplug everything, then look at your meter to see if it's still running (wheel spinning or numbers changing). If it is then you know you're sharing with someone. Go nuts if it is.:jump:
 
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