SMECO Bill

[LexiGirl75]

But then, I live with a heat pump and the dates the bill covered were some really cold days. Still, it was a lot higher than last year's at the same time.

I am on a heat pump too. I haven't looked at my bill yet. I had the outside unit worked on over Christmas and the inside unit worked on in February. I am actually waiting for March's bill to see what the cost actually will be now that both are completely fixed (allegedly).

 

[desertrat]

SMECO Messages
Since SMECO upgraded its computer system on
February 19, we have had a delay in printing and mailing
some monthly bills. Your bill due date will be adjusted
accordingly.
You have also been assigned a new account number.
Please use this new number for payments and
correspondence.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.

From the Smeco page.

 

[kwillia]

From the Smeco page.

"your bill due date will be adjusted accordingly"

I'm wondering... does that mean the bills that are just now coming in cover a longer period of time than the previous bill cycle? Could this be part of the explanation as to why there is such a noticable increase in totals?

 

[ylexot]

Mine went up to ~$150 last month. It's been cold. I expected it to go up :shrug:

 

[Bay_Kat]

"your bill due date will be adjusted accordingly"

I'm wondering... does that mean the bills that are just now coming in cover a longer period of time than the previous bill cycle? Could this be part of the explanation as to why there is such a noticable increase in totals?

I checked the dates, mine was 30 days, same as the last bill.

 

[mdgirlie]

For all of you who are shocked by SMECO bills...

After one year of service, you can request average monthly billing. My bill is alway the same until the end of a one year period. That is when SMECO requires a catch-up payment and recaculates your average payment based on the previous year usage. Last year my catch-up payment was $1.01 for the entire month of July and my average monthly payment was recaculated from $184 down to $155.

A much easier way to maintain your Budget!!!

How do you sign up for this?

 

[kom526]

This is our 1st year in a house w/ heat pumps and whoa, what huge difference. We were using our pellet stove pretty much constantly during February and we also had an increase in our bill. When we had this place built we increased all the insulation to DOE standards, had all energy star appliances installed and of course the pellet stove. Like someone posted earlier what are gonna do? Become Amish?

 

[kwillia]

I checked the dates, mine was 30 days, same as the last bill.

Then I would think we can expect next months bill to come in on the normal schedule. That would mean this months bill should be arriving in about two weeks and I haven't even gotten last month's bill yet...

 

[SamSpade]

How do you sign up for this?

We tried that, and the truth is that the best thing to do is watch your energy usage or upgrade your heating and air conditioning. Even our averaged monthly bill was high, and it can be tempting to NOT watch your consumption if you think it doesn't matter. Our "average" bill was in the 300's, and the "catch-up" bill went the other way.

 

[chernmax]

Then I would think we can expect next months bill to come in on the normal schedule. That would mean this months bill should be arriving in about two weeks and I haven't even gotten last month's bill yet...

Good luck with the numbers...

 

[PrepH4U]

Then I would think we can expect next months bill to come in on the normal schedule. That would mean this months bill should be arriving in about two weeks and I haven't even gotten last month's bill yet...

Yep something isn't quite right, my last months bill was only 133.00, when the average is around 250.00. So either they made a mistake reading my meter or the time frame is different.

 

[SamSpade]

When I signed up for their budget billing, they STOPPED sending me my monthly bill. It wasn't until I logged on to SMECO to see what was happening that I saw I was a month past due.

I need a bill each month to remind me to pay it, as silly as that sounds. They didn't tell me they were stopping my bills when I went on budget billing. Now, I have a post-it stuck to my computer screen reminding me to pay them!

Yeah, same thing happened to us. I never dreamed they'd stop sending paper, as virtually ALL our other bills come in the mail even if they're paid online. We ended up THREE month's behind - a "reminder" in e-mail is useless when you're used to fifty e-mails a day or your junk email screener throws it away for you.

I had to just call them up now and request paper.

 

[kwillia]

Yep something isn't quite right, my last months bill was only 133.00, when the average is around 250.00. So either they made a mistake reading my meter or the time frame is different.

You may be on to something... my last month bill was lower than I expected it to be... maybe looking at it over a three month span would make it a wash... hmmmmm....

 

[monzamess]

My last bill was $350 for a 3BR house on a heat pump just to keep the temperature about 65!

Turns out my heat pump was broken. The inside unit ran but the outside unit did not. As a result the inside unit ran continuously. That seemed normal because everyone says that's what heat pumps do especially in very cold weather. It wasn't until I got the bill that I checked out the outside unit and found it out was damaged. So for at least a month the inside unit was running continuously and periodically activating the aux heat $trip$. I felt dumb for not checking out the outside unit earlier, but it's hidden away from daily life and I've never had a reason to check on it (until now!).


Rant time: I paid $75 to Southern Pride service to come do a check on the system. The guy said my thermostat was bad (it's NOT bad) because I installed it myself. He was baffled that I did not hook the E wire to anything--well, on this and other t-stats, that's the right thing to do. He offered to replace my programmable t-stat with a non-programmable one for $250 and to replace my $12 contactor for a mere $185, with no guarantees that either would fix anything. He did conclude my outside unit control board was OK, but as it turns out, that was the ONLY part that was actually broken.

I had another guy from G&S actually check my system. He fixed the control board, verified that I did wire up the t-stat correctly (he was actually familiar with the t-stat I used unlike the last guy), topped off the freon, and gave the rest of the system a thorough check.

 

[SamSpade]

The better part of February never reached above freezing (32) temps. We had weeks where the nights barely got above the single digits. I don't think changing lightbulbs and blocking plug sockets are going to compensate for the energy required to keep our homes in the 60s and some folks in the 70s (depending on how they set their thermostat). This past month had been freakishly cold for our area.

I *WISH* I could tell this in a way people would listen! Light bulbs that aren't used do waste energy, but if you leave a 100 watt bulb on all month long, it still only costs 20 bucks. If you leave every light on in the house all the time, it still won't explain a 500+ bill. The biggest waster of electricity is heating and air conditioning followed by major appliances. Anything you can do to insulate your home or in any way minimize the use of heat/AC or appliances saves tons. Our January bill was the lowest January we've ever had, but that's because we had the temp set at 60 and we wear sweaters.

 

[Bay_Kat]

My house has hardwood floors throughout, it always seems to feel so cold inside no matter what. I really like the hardwood floors, but thinking carpet may be a better choice for warmth and cutting down on the heating bill.

 

[Old Timer]

My SMECO bill went up around $100 when compared to one of last year's bills where the kilowatt hours were very similar.

 

[kwillia]

My SMECO bill went up around $100 when compared to one of last year's bills where the kilowatt hours were very similar.

I don't think anyone is questioning that. SMECO and all other electric companies had made it widely known that a kilowatt this year would be much more expensive than last year's kilowatt. The confusion seems to be over why this months bill was so much more than the previous month's bill.

 

[jrogers]

Yep something isn't quite right, my last months bill was only 133.00, when the average is around 250.00. So either they made a mistake reading my meter or the time frame is different.

Do you have a digital meter or the old fashioned one.
They put on a digital one at our house last year and now it seems like the bill went way higher than before when we had the older model.

 

[workin hard]

I checked my online Smeco account and it stated that I had a past due amount and hadn't paid last months bill. The payment was taken out of my checking account so when I called them they said it was the new systems causing it to not recognize the payment and that I was current....