Jigglepuff
Chin Jiggla!
SMECO is in the process of RFP's. They have to pay for their multi-million dollar new building somehow.
Plus they spent 35 million to get everyone to hop onto cool sentry.
SMECO Add Ons
- Thread starter daisycreek
- Start date
Plus they spent 35 million to get everyone to hop onto cool sentry.
SG_Player1974
New Member
Have an 1800 sqft house with an older (non-efficiency) AC unit. My SMECO bill constantly ran around $300-$350 per month!!! Kepy programmable thermo on 73 in summer and 68 in winter.
Had an addition built on to the house in June last year and SMECO had to move the globe and even trench a new line from the transformer. Suddenly, my bill went down to about $200 per month. (And thats was during peak AC season!)
Now... This summer my bill was back up to $300-$400! WTF!!!!
I think that they use this "estimate" system poorly and to their advantage. I am going to call them out to try to get them to look at my system. Hopefully that will work like above. I guess I will just have to call them every 3-4 months to keep them in check!
pixiegirl
Cleopatra Jones
It's a crock! We get this ridiculous bill and a woman I work with suggested we have them come out to check how the hot water heater is hooked in because its common for them to be connected wrong and pull a ton of energy. So the husband calls and they say that they don't come out to check those type things and to turn the a/c up, blah, blah, blah. Luckily he had the good sense to go outside and compare the meter to what was on the bill. Mind you the reading on the bill was dated almost two weeks BEFORE we looked ourselves. The difference around 800kw.
So he calls back and tells them that the reading was wrong (it wasn't an estimate, first month in the new house and he just happened to be home when the SMECO guy came to read the meter). Lady on the phone says that they will come back out within a week to read the meter again and if they were wrong that they will not charge us the $28 fee. On the 7th day we call because we'd seen hide nor hair and hadn't heard anything. They had just come that day and in fact the meter had been read wrong the first time. So, here we are 3 full weeks after the original reading. We get a new bill with an estimate for the original reading date. WTF? It makes no sense at all to estimate backwards opposed to just billing what it was when they came back out. Additionally, they did charge the $28 service fee to come back out. We had to call again to have that charge removed. I'm having issues with Comcast as well. Moved in July and for timing reasons the man on the phone told me to cancel my account and he'd open a new one (it was quicker to get connected than transfering service) with the same bundle package. My bills have been $25 higher than they should have been. When I called to see WTH was up the girl on the phone told me that they were not running that promotion at the time I moved and that the price I saw on my bill was what the service cost. I explained to her that the man I spoke to doing all this told me I would have the exact same services at the exact same price and transfered my phone number and email adresses and such. Her supervisor was off and then she was going to be off and would call me back in a few days. If they don't give me the price I was paying before I moved and was promised then I'll be cancelling my services.
I'm furious about having to do all this damn homework. I seriously think that these companies pull this crap expecting that most people won't catch it and call them on it.
kwillia
n/a
kwillia
n/a
Husband?!
I bypassed that part and considered it a typo.
cattitude
My Sweetest Boy
I'm going through the same crap with them. I changed my service to the Triple Play just to add phone service. They give you one price and the bill is for something entirely different, plus there was an activation fee which I was never told. I was able to get that removed. While I'm happy with the service itself, the price is outrageous and not what I was quoted.
Mama_Mia08
New Member
I am glad we are not the only ones having these issues with SMECO. I can understand that in the summer with the AC the bill will be higher. We paid $100 for our 3 BR apt then when we bought this house we knew it would be higher. I did not realize that we would get bills for $315-400/mo. I am here during the day but I don't have a lot of stuff on. We wash on cold, the AC wasn't on at all this month except yesterday. In the summer it was set to 74 during the day and 75 at night. I am calling to have them come check the meter. I am yet to see someone read the meter despite the fact the bill says it was read. Last month I watched the truck drive by slow down and they went to my neighbors house. Nobody came to mine. Hmmmm...Oh and they are billing me for the $114 I already paid on our previous acct. at the apt. I got an online receipt and it cleared through my bank. It is still showing as past due on my bill. What is the distribution charge supposed to cover? Where does the electric come from to begin with? Can't we just get an acct. withthe company SMECO gets power from?
pixiegirl
Cleopatra Jones
It's a rip off and I think they expect people to either not pay attention or be too busy to call. I couldn't get Directtv at the house in CRE but I'm out in the great wide open at the new house. I'll drop everything but the internet and get Dtv and vonage if they don't drop the price down to what I was told on the phone. I would have never agreed to cancel and open a new account opposed to just transfering service had the price not been the same.
MissKitty
New Member
What really didn't make any sense is that we don't use very much electricity. We have a High Efficiency Washer and Dryer. The house is practically new. I've been in the attic, tons of insulation (Even on hot days, I can cut off the A/C and it takes a couple of hours for the temperature to climb back up. We have plenty of Natural Light and only use lights for a couple hours each night.
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kwillia
n/a
ICit
Jam out with ur clam out
Customer Choice
No one has to buy power from SMECO... but what you do have to pay for is for them to distribute it. Feel free to check with the PSC for BGE and Pepco rates. If thats not enough .. then move. :shrug:
MissKitty
New Member
From SMECO's site.
The monthly cost of owning and operating SMECO's distribution system (poles, conductors, substations, buildings, vehicles, etc...) The charge is calculated each month based on the amount of electricity sold to the customer.
pixiegirl
Cleopatra Jones
K_Jo... this may very well be the husband. Sounds like the timing was right...
k_jo has her own husband!
Why anyone would want more than one is beyond me! 
MissKitty
New Member
Is your title really supposed to say "Jam our with your clam out"? It's bothered me for months.
SG_Player1974
New Member
It's a crock! We get this ridiculous bill and a woman I work with suggested we have them come out to check how the hot water heater is hooked in because its common for them to be connected wrong and pull a ton of energy. So the husband calls and they say that they don't come out to check those type things and to turn the a/c up, blah, blah, blah. Luckily he had the good sense to go outside and compare the meter to what was on the bill. Mind you the reading on the bill was dated almost two weeks BEFORE we looked ourselves. The difference around 800kw.
I'm having issues with Comcast as well. Moved in July and for timing reasons the man on the phone told me to cancel my account and he'd open a new one (it was quicker to get connected than transfering service) with the same bundle package. My bills have been $25 higher than they should have been. When I called to see WTH was up the girl on the phone told me that they were not running that promotion at the time I moved and that the price I saw on my bill was what the service cost. I explained to her that the man I spoke to doing all this told me I would have the exact same services at the exact same price and transfered my phone number and email adresses and such. Her supervisor was off and then she was going to be off and would call me back in a few days. If they don't give me the price I was paying before I moved and was promised then I'll be cancelling my services.
I'm furious about having to do all this damn homework. I seriously think that these companies pull this crap expecting that most people won't catch it and call them on it.
Something is definitely fishy with the way SMECO does business. I come from a big city and I NEVER paid more than $125 a month for power. Now I know that things may be different here, however, the fact that they charge 4 times more is outrageous!!!!!
I believe that SMECO get it's power from the coal station under the Nice bridge. And as far as their other charges involving system upkeep. WHAT UPKEEP?!!! The transformers around my neighborhood are falling apart or wrapped in trash bags just like the telephone junction boxes!!!!
Like I said before, I think I am just going to have to call them out every once in a while to re-read the meter. Then call up and fight to get the "meter reading" charge removed. Oh...... and whats up with the charge for reading the meter? Isn't that what they are supposed to do as an electric company anyway? Does that money go to the employee? I need to switch professions if I could charge $28 per house that I check per day!!!!!
WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP! OBVIOUS BAD BUSINESS BUT, WHERE ELSE CAN WE GO?
ICit
Jam out with ur clam out
really.... please go touch them then.
Do you really know what a transformer is? I have NEVER seen a transformer wrapped in trash bags... and if thats the case call it in. I seriously doubt if SMECO will allow that to happen as that would be called a NEAR MISS and could get someone electrocuted. As far as where they purchase power...
power is purchased from the wholesale market from a large group of energy providers. They enter into agreements to purchase blocks of energy for future periods of time. They do not now specifically where the power is being produced at any given time; it comes off the grid and could be generated anywhere.You can purchase your power from BGE or Pepco if you like BUT as long as you live in SMECO territory you still have to pay for them to maintain and distribute it to you... so I say move back to where you paid $125 a month!
jasonandjen
New Member
to the city dweller:
its pretty common to have cheap electric bills if you lived in an apartment building. when the guy below you heats, it radiates up to your block, and thus free heat. when the guy above you cools, it radiates down to you, thus free cool. you could turn all your thermostats off and just be the guy that osmosis's off the other apartments. lol. its very different with a house.
to the 140 degree water heater lady: (pixie?)
no, your high water heater was not causing all that. the short answer is you probably saved $10 a month when you turned it down. the only energy you would have used extra is the additional heat loss from the water heater from 120-140 degrees, and the pipes additional lost heat as well. your showers actually used less hot water at 140, (not saving energy mind you but less) because the 140 hot water mixed in with the cold water needed less of it to get your lukewarm/semi-hot shower. once everything was turned off you have about 20 foot of pipe with 140 degree heat in it, and that heat was then lost. that is where the energy savings is, because you heated those pipes. you could have been heating them only to 120. that and the aforementioned waterheater loss. wrap a blanket around your water heater, its cost effective if you can find a used one, and save another 5 bucks or so a month.
jason
its pretty common to have cheap electric bills if you lived in an apartment building. when the guy below you heats, it radiates up to your block, and thus free heat. when the guy above you cools, it radiates down to you, thus free cool. you could turn all your thermostats off and just be the guy that osmosis's off the other apartments. lol. its very different with a house.
to the 140 degree water heater lady: (pixie?)
no, your high water heater was not causing all that. the short answer is you probably saved $10 a month when you turned it down. the only energy you would have used extra is the additional heat loss from the water heater from 120-140 degrees, and the pipes additional lost heat as well. your showers actually used less hot water at 140, (not saving energy mind you but less) because the 140 hot water mixed in with the cold water needed less of it to get your lukewarm/semi-hot shower. once everything was turned off you have about 20 foot of pipe with 140 degree heat in it, and that heat was then lost. that is where the energy savings is, because you heated those pipes. you could have been heating them only to 120. that and the aforementioned waterheater loss. wrap a blanket around your water heater, its cost effective if you can find a used one, and save another 5 bucks or so a month.
jason
SG_Player1974
New Member
really.... please go touch them then.
As far as where they purchase power...
You can purchase your power from BGE or Pepco if you like BUT as long as you live in SMECO territory you still have to pay for them to maintain and distribute it to you... so I say move back to where you paid $125 a month!
Thank you for that VERY INTELLIGENT response to the "Where does SMECO purchase their power from?" question that I did not ask. I mearly stated that I BELIEVE that SMECO gets its power from the coal plant that is by the Nice bridge.
As for your "move back" statement. I believe that I am not the only one on this forum that is aggrivated regarding the out of control prices that SMECO is charging for power. Conversly, I believe that it is only you that is rushing to their defense! Are you an employee, relative of employee, etc.? There are a lot of people in this area that are fed up with the "estimating" power tactic that SMECO employs. It seems to me that they should be reading the meters ACCURATELY every month. If someone reads the meter every month and they tell me that I owe them $400 for my bill, then that is OK with me. However, if they tell me they "estimated" it based on the same month last year (when the temperatures were averaging 10 degrees warmer) then I think it is a load of crap!
Finally, the transformer that is so well taken care of has been replaced 3 times! And the enclosure that it is in is severly degraded and HAS been covered by a plastic bag with DANGER tape over it. If YOUR beloved SMECO is so smart, you would think they would replace the faulty enclosure before it causes a FOURTH transformer to blow! Hopefully before it blows up on Christmas Eve which was the last time they came out to replace it!