Con-Ed Electric bill question

neena1127

Not sure if this went through since screen went blank: live on Windsor/Pk Slope border; 1+ br, just under 700 sq. ft. - no washer, no dryer, no dishwasher, I don't own a coffeemaker, a toaster oven or even an iron. I use my blowdryer 6 mins in the morning; I watch TV from 8 til midnight as does my daughter; we have cable box, wireless internet so the computers are plugged in when they need to be; my average bill is 150 a month! After getting a summer con ed bill of over 560 for August - 2 air conditioning units, 8000 btus energy star each, only running one at a time and a refrigerator that of course is on all the time, I called them and they said nothing was 'unusual'. Meanwhile my landlord has 2 refrigerators, 2 microwaves, dishwasher, washer, dryer, iron, and a 25000 BTU air conditioner, ceiling fans, hallway lights and their bill never cracked 240. Thoughts anyone....

whynot_31

Make sure that your electric meter only powers your apartment.

To check:

1. get a flashlight

2. Turn off all of the breakers in your apartment.

3. look around your apartment and see if everything now has no power

4. Using your flashlight, go to your electric meter and see if the dial is moving. If it is moving, you are powering some else's apartment (or a common area) as well as yours

rezist

Sounds like a shared meter problem. If you follow whynot's instructions and find you're powering more than just your apt. call Con Ed and they will inspect. I had a shared meter for quite some time. They will adjust your bill to make up for the difference, crediting your account with an estimate of what you've overpaid.

jimmy

Hi neena - if your bill looks incorrect, it probably is. And don't expect ConEd to make it easy for you to get the problem fixed.

My girlfriend got a bill overcharging her by about $200. She got the runaround from them for more than three months, where they were literally making up excuses, calling her a liar, giving her fake numbers to call, disconnecting her, etc.

If ConEd doesn't fix the problem the first time you ask them to, get in touch with the New York State Public Service Commission:

http://www3.dps.state.ny.us/W/PSCWeb.nsf/All/D3B8CADF2783905085257687006F394D?OpenDocument

It's their job to handle utility complaints, and they quickly got ConEd to admit that they had basically been trying to steal a couple hundred dollars.

turtle95

that sounds like a lot. I am in same neighborhood in 3 bedroom, with two TVs, two computers,two cable boxes, refrigerator, lots of recessed lighting that is on when we're home and during non-summer months we average around $90 with two adults in the house. In the summer with two AC that never ran at the same time (one in bedroom and one in living area) we never topped $190. Definitely follow up on this.