Help Me Out DUers - I am trying to process those electricity bills in Texas-UPDATE

[malaise]

Last edited Mon Feb 22, 2021, 07:15 AM - Edit history (1)

What is the average monthly bill in different states in the USA?


Thanks everyone - this has been very imformative.

[panader0]

1. Mine creeps up to about $100 a month in the winter.

Otherwise $75-80.

[malaise]

34. So how does anyone get a bill for $10,000 plus?

That doesn't even happen after hurricanes

[speak easy]

57. A new type of suppler charges you the wholesale spot price.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215140745

[Blue_true]

60. Power rates there are set based upon demand and available supply.

Their idea was that when there was a rate spike, suppliers would immediately bring supply online to grab some of the increased profits - that increased supply would have the effect of leveling off rates. What they didn’t count on was pretty much every supplier tripping offline on their self contained grid (or at least one that had very few points where it could accept power from other states’ grids).

So, they got massive demand and supply that was massively inadequate. So rates spiked through the roof.

[BlueJune]

2. My Average for gas and Electric in Iowa: $110 n/t

[LuckyCharms]

3. New York State. $139/month, gas and electric combined...

on the budget plan (yearly cost divided evenly over a 12 month period).

1,700 sq ft home, gas forced hot air furnace, gas water heater and stove, gas dryer, central air, 90% LED lighting.

[Progressive Jones]

4. Here in Northern Illinois (Chicago area), mine tops out at $150/month.

This is during peak heating and cooling seasons. I'm on a nuclear grid.

[Turin_C3PO]

5. Here in New Mexico:

$60-80 monthly in winter and $100-140 in summer.

[OneGrassRoot]

6. Wow, I'm jealous of the above posters. I'm in NC...

granted, all electric, but I'm on the monthly payment plan where the average is calculated and that's what I'm charged each month so I know what to expect.

It's $400/month for a 1900 sq/ft home.

But, hey, that's better than $10k for a few days.

[drray23]

21. i am near that in the deep of winter at the border to NC (virginia).

but my house is 2900 sq/ft and we recently redid all the insulation (new windows+new attic insulation). Used to be near $600.00 in february.

[alwaysinasnit]

7. California here. Balanced payment plan runs about $140 for gas and electric. (Yearly average

usage divided by 12.)

[MicaelS]

8. Fort Worth, Texas

Usually runs $150 year round. 1 bedroom apt, 2nd floor.

I was supremely lucky, no electrical outage, no water problems.

[Scruffy1]

9. In El Paso the rates are really low.

My bill runs about $40.00 in the winter and $65.00 in the summer running my evaporative cooler. With A/C summers would be more but your water bill would be less. Thankfully we are not on the ERCOT grid, but a part of the Southwest grid. It's not surprising the rates are lower here than in most states because Texas has great amounts of natural gas and the transmission costs are low. My bills here are only about 50% of what they were in Minnesota for a similar sized house. I doubt that winterizing the ERCOT grid would add much to the electric bills because our power sources have to meet the requirements for the national grid unlike the rest of Texas.

[LanternWaste]

10. In my 2-bedroom apartment in Dallas I average $88/month

In July, Aug and Sept it can easily go to $160 a month, but in March, April and May I can get it down to $40.

I'm pretty disciplined about energy usage though, and may not be typical in this regard.

[Fullduplexxx]

11. Well if you signed up with the company Griddy and opted for the variable rate plan

And a severe snowstorm hits your bill will be really high.


When you sign a contract with an electricity provider, you get two options: a fixed-rate plan or a variable-rate plan.

The fixed-rate plan locks you into a set price per kilowatt hour of electricity.

A variable-rate plan charges you based on the current wholesale price of power, where supply and demand determines the rate.

This week’s extremely cold weather increased customers’ demand, while at the same time, generators lost the ability to provide the supply.

[Skittles]

16. to be fair

no reasonable person thinks a bill will go from, say, 100 bucks to 17,000 bucks, not matter what the circumstances

[Fullduplexxx]

25. i understand . to me variable means no upper limit also Griddy started warning people to

leave griddy because of the high price.

[LanternWaste]

38. I understand, but to me, variable means within reasonable expectations.

But I get it... vulture capitalism is widely accepted, endorsed and even rationalized.

[Make7]

44. Many people were unable to switch providers though.

...

Customers may not even be able to switch. Rizwan Nabi, president of energy consultancy Riz Energy in Houston, said several power providers in Texas have told him they aren’t accepting new customers due to this week’s volatile prices.

Hector Torres, an energy trader in Texas, who is a Griddy customer himself, said he tried to switch services over the long weekend but couldn’t find a company willing to take him until Wednesday, when the weather is forecast to turn warmer.
...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-15/texas-power-retailers-in-face-of-freeze-please-leave-us

[Fullduplexxx]

46. yea i read that -gambling is a risky business

[SWBTATTReg]

28. You nailed it. No reasonable person would think this. Talk about a rip off, by the electric

companies, distributors, power grid operators, etc., and you know what's really bad about it, a lot of Texans were still w/o power.

[Sgent]

51. Yea I think a cap somewhere is warrented.

That said, the much of the Griddy set is all into the smart appliances (fridges turn off when price is high, etc.) and selling back to the grid via solar and battery power -- since Griddy also pays you the wholesale rate when you sell back vs a much lower amount.

Obviously some people didn't understand what they were getting into (or were lied to, I don't know), but being able to quickly adjust rates can reduce peak usage of the grid and make solar more cost effective.

[malaise]

35. That is absolutely crazy

Damn - now I understand what's happening

[LizBeth]

12. I have learned it was jsut a gamble thing and the customers well knew what they were getting into to

an extent so I have a little more of an issue giving tax money to bail out. Most people on a fixed rate so even if not costing as much as the rate, it stays the same. where as this one company fluxed their rate to cost like gas goes up and down and it was a basic gamble for the customers. Mostly they saved money. Until this.

Now, I think the company should cut all these charges to customers but I sure hate this company screwing customers then getting that money from my tax dollars. Of course customers can't pay these bills, but they should never have been allowed to participate in something like this.

[Delarage]

30. The state of Texas

Should pay for it, not us. They allowed all this bullshit in the name of keeping the evil federal government and all it's rules and regulations (aka protections for common folk) out.

[rgbecker]

13. I'm paying $.25 per KWH.

Trying to stay below 1000KWH/mo. heating hot water, lights and computer, fridge...no heat or AC. $250/mo. Crazy high in my opinion...working to do something about it.

Massachusetts.

[Mariana]

48. Concentrate on things that use electricity to make heat.

That includes space heaters, water heater, oven, stove, dishwasher, and clothes dryer - basically anything that has a heating element uses a lot of juice.

[happybird]

14. I'm in northern VA

in a 1500 sq ft house and my bill average is about $70 a month. It’s oil heat, so $50-60 in the winter, $85ish in the summer when the A/C units are crankin’.

[leftieNanner]

15. Oregon Resident Here

We pay the city for water and electricity - $125 average per month. A little higher in a hot summer.

Natural gas is a separate bill - $150 in the coldest part of the winter, as low as $50 in the summer when we're not using the furnace.

So the answer to your question - is that the people of Texas are being royally screwed!

[Skittles]

18. I'm in Texas and I pay .10 per kWh

so it's not all of us

[leftieNanner]

20. Are you in the El Paso area?

And not on the Texas-only grid? That seems to have been a big part of the problem.

[Skittles]

22. no, I am in that grid, as is most of Texas

but anyone who believes in climate change and opts for variable rate is not doing themselves any favors

I have a contract

[leftieNanner]

32. Very Smart

Good luck to you and to all of your lovely state!

[Skittles]

33. aw thanks

most Texans have fixed rates so although our bills will no doubt be higher, we should be OK

me, I am an anomaly - when I was shivering at 0200, I took a three mile walk - no lights, no people, no cars.....I loved it

[malaise]

36. Thanks for helping me to understand

the ridiculous bills

[LeftInTX]

42. Good idea for that 3 mile walk..lol

I woke up and couldn't stand the darkness. No phone. No nothing. Too dark to clean house.
No good books around either. (Blame that on my electronic life)

Going for a walk would have been perfect!

[Skittles]

58. I am always alwake all night, and I walk every night

so it was nothing new to me........just looked like the Apocalypse

I also hit Half-Priced books regularly, so I have a supply of hard covers and paperbacks along with my Kindle reading

and always, ALWAYS have a case of water around

[LeftInTX]

59. I walk at night too, but didn't think of it when I woke up at 1 am

I was too "upset" thinking that I would be sitting in the dark for 6 hrs, that I forgot, I could have just gone walking!

I wished I would have downloaded movies from Netflix prior to losing power. I do it whenever I travel. Phone on airplsne.mode doesn't use much power.

I guess I was about as prepared as ERCOT - lol

[Skittles]

61. you have to dress warm

it was disturbing to read a lot of Texans do not have winter clothing - WTF, it *DOES* get cold here!

[LeftInTX]

62. I went to Colorado in Dec 2019..It kinda helped..otherwise, I would not own a winter jacket

Usually I just wear sweaters and sweatshirts. I do stock up on hats, gloves and scarves. I live in San Antonio, so it doesn't get as cold as other parts.

[Skittles]

64. maybe I am overthinking as a longtime nightshift worker

who has never had a garage

[Tree Lady]

56. Oregon here, we pay more in summer

Because of air conditioning, less in winter if we use woodstove.

[iemanja]

17. I've never paid much more than $100

and mine has been running around $55, which is high for this time of year. I have gas for heat.

[drray23]

19. mine varies from 100 ish in the spring to upwards of $360.00 in the cold winter.

we have a 2900sf.q 1890's farmhouse. We used to pay upwards of $600.00 a month in deep winter prior to replacing all the windows with modern double insulated windows as well as insulating the attic. Its in southeastern Virginia at the border with North Carolina.
We use heat pumps. So, in the winter when its really cold, the auxiliary heat comes on (its electric heaters on the air handlers) to supplement the heat pumps and the bill goes up.

[Midnight Writer]

23. Central Illinois. Gas and electric combined, on monthly equalizer payment plan. $156. 1300sqf ranch.

By the way, over the last 15 years, my equalizer payment has always been about $155 a month.

[shanti]

24. NorCal

and it averages ~$100 a month. I'm all electric, with SMUD as my utility, which means very few blackouts. It's probably higher than similar units around me though, as I have a southern exposure. Can't do much about that

[LiberalArkie]

26. I am on a Co-op here in Arkansas. Usually about $80 year round. May hit $120 if it is a really hot

Summer. But then at the end of the year I usually get a $100-200 refund check from the co-op.

[Delarage]

27. Delaware with Solar Panels

I have an old gas heater (only 80% efficient the guy doing tune-up on it said), gas hot water heater, electric clothes dryer (rarely use in decent weather), and central AC (also old). I used a wood stove a lot early in the winter (paid $190 for a cord of wood) and I have solar panels.

I average $75/month gas & electric but it gets into the forty dollar range in spring and fall.

1250 sq ft split level built in the 1950's.

[Ms. Toad]

29. Griddy isn't like your average electric company.

It's more like those balloon mortgages so many people got when interest rates were sky-high and they thought sure they would be able to refinance before the balloon came due.

When they signed up for Griddy, they agreed to pay whatever the going rate was for electricity on a moment-by-moment basis. With such high demand for electricity, the going rate was incredibly high since there was none to be found.

The actual cost for Griddy members to purchase electricity on 2/18 was $9 per kilowatt hour (an average of $640/day). (The griddy price today is $.014 per kWh - just for comparison.)

[malaise]

37. Thanks

Beginning to understand the out of control bills

[rickyhall]

31. In SW Arkansas, old house, no central: $230/month last couple of months

[Klaralven]

39. I paid $0.0933 / KWH last month. Wholesale price in TX went to $9.00 / KWH.

Griddy was a third party company that provided electricity to their customers at the wholesale prince, i.e. the price that generating companies charged distribution companies for energy on the ERCOT exchange.

As generators dropped off the network, distributors kept bidding up the price of energy on the ERCOT spot market to the maximum, which was $9000 / MWH or $9 / KWH.

So that's how you get from ~$100 bills to ~$10,000 bills.

For people on automatic payment plans, in some cases it has already been taken out of their checking accounts or they have been hit with "insufficient funds".

PS - beware those people who call you every other day with offers to switch your electrical supply to some cheaper supplier.

[Buckeyeblue]

40. It's because they were heating their houses with electricity

Houses in cold weather states use natural gas, propane or fuel oil, all of which is much cheaper than electricity.

[LeftInTX]

45. I have natural gas heat and I live in South Texas.

It requires electricity to run, but it is gas. My home was built in 1980.

My hot water heater is gas. It does not require electricity at all, so we had hot water the entire time.

Our last home, built in 1963, was gas everything. Most older homes are natural gas.

[Buckeyeblue]

50. Did your electric bill significantly increase?

A natural gas furnace requires electricity for the fan. But electricity is not used for the heating element. I live in Michigan and my electric bill is fairly consistent year round. So something caused people to use more electricity. Unless electric companies decided to price gouge electricity.

[LeftInTX]

52. Not yet. Our public utility is waiting for the dust to settle

We also used more natural gas for the heater. It is charged by the same utility.

One cold winter in the 90's, I really racked up a large heating bill.

Homes aren't well insulated here. I also have large picture windows with no drapes. Keep in mind, our cold is always short lived. So jacking up the heat for a few days is usually not a budget buster.

It was 73 degrees today. March 1st, our average high is 80 degrees.

Even as cold as it was last week, I don't believe we used as much NG as that time in the 90's.

[ananda]

41. Austin, Texas

It's usually $125-160 in cold weather,
and $47-57 in hot weather.

I have an energy efficient AC and celling
fans for warm/hot weather; and a complete
energy hog heater for cold.

[MissB]

43. Oregon: $70/month

We have a bunch of LED bulbs where we can, which is most everywhere. We use natural gas for heat, hot water and stovetop.

[mcar]

47. My monthly electric bill in FL

which covers AC and heat, averages about $120.

[dsc]

49. NC here

106 a month budget for a two bedroom half of duplex. I am entirely electric.

[KentuckyWoman]

53. Duke energy in Ohio - $84 budget billing - 920 sq ft - 1 story on a slab

It was $112 but the village put in new windows. The building went up in the 1970's.

I'm total electric, no gas. No fireplace.

[Spider Jerusalem]

54. The super high bills are because there is a TX energy company that sells wholesale electricity

their consumers are paying market spot prices, not a fixed tariff. See here: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/why-some-texans-are-getting-sky-high-energy-bills/2532294/

[Tree Lady]

55. Oregon $100 to $200 in winter depending

On if i use woodstove or heater.

[smirkymonkey]

63. I pay from as little as $55 per month in the winter/fall/spring months

(don't pay for heat, provided by building, but I can't control it) up to $160 per month in the summer w/ AC. That's for a studio in Boston.

[Politicub]

65. I think we average around $100/month for power - Atlanta

Lowest bill was in November for $70. Highest was $220 for month of July. It’s 51 cents per KWh, plus $30 of taxes and fees.

January and February gas bills are around $150-180 if it’s a cold month. Otherwise, it’s $40 or so each month. We have a gas water heater and stove.

On edit: It’s 10 cents per kWh. I can’t math, apparently.

[Maeve]

66. 4-level split, 3 bedroom in Central Ohio--$120 monthly budget for electric plus $60 for gas

My mom has small window units to heat/cool her 2 bedroom apt and that can go up to $250 a month in extreme weather