SMECO Bill

[desertrat]

No lie! We have 4 fridges, 3 computers, 7 TVs and I do endless laundry as well and can't bring myself to put the water setting on cold/cold...

You guys aren't trying. Al Gore was able to get his utilities up above $2400! Come on you wusses! Get some decorative fountains and outdoor lighting and leave it on 24/7. Security tv monitors on around the clock. Do you have a four car heated and airconditioned garage? You don't? Slackers! How hot is your heated pool? Only 80 degrees? What, you belong to the polar bear club?

 

[ylexot]

You guys aren't trying. Al Gore was able to get his utilities up above $2400! Come on you wusses! Get some decorative fountains and outdoor lighting and leave it on 24/7. Security tv monitors on around the clock. Do you have a four car heated and airconditioned garage? You don't? Slackers! How hot is your heated pool? Only 80 degrees? What, you belong to the polar bear club?

Heat your decorative fountains for more usage!

 

[desertrat]

Heat your decorative fountains for more usage!

Oh, right, or we're talking ice sculpture.

 

[Arista]

Here ya go!

A man who's fed up with higher electric rates has come up with a way to show his displeasure while paying his bill.

Robert Han#### says his monthly power bill jumped nearly 200 percent, to $526.62. So he's going to send Ameren 52,662 pennies.

Han#### says he's worked things out with a local bank to get the coins and with the post office to mail the money. It will cost about $50 extra for postage, but Han#### says that if he can cause Ameren a little inconvenience, it's worth it to him.

Thanks for the afternoon laugh, kwillia.

I'm going to call around and get some estimates on a new heat pump (inside and outside). Mine is 14 years-old and it might be time to suck it up and invest in a newer, more energy-efficient model. *le sigh* My whole candle idea, as a means to save on electricity costs, isn't too appealing. With my luck, I'd burn my house down!

 

[SamSpade]

OMG, me neither. Everyone says clothes come out the same using cold water, but I just don't buy it.

We always use cold, but for mostly a different reason - there's no guarantee that the well water won't leave iron stains. We have a purifier, but the only sure way of making sure your whites aren't covered in stains even WITH it running is to use cold water. I've thrown away too many clothes.

And I just get used to cold, eventually. I mean, in the colder months, I wear t-shirts under sweaters and sweatshirts. Before I set the thermo down, the first thing I'd do coming home would be to switch into lighter clothing - and honestly it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

The only downside has been, some of our indoor plants have died because of the cold - all of the palms, for example. But others seem to have thrived.

I'd like to use a wood stove more - but I'm nervous about the idea of using it more, with toddlers on the way.

 

[SamSpade]

Thanks for the afternoon laugh, kwillia.

I'm going to call around and get some estimates on a new heat pump (inside and outside). Mine is 14 years-old and it might be time to suck it up and invest in a newer, more energy-efficient model. *le sigh* My whole candle idea, as a means to save on electricity costs, isn't too appealing. With my luck, I'd burn my house down!

I TRIED that one year, when I lived in Lusby. Useless. I made my own candles and covered my huge coffee table with them. Nada. Zippo. They just didn't yield enough heat.

That was a rough winter, so the way I handled it was, I just turned down the heat in the house (I lived alone) and took a small space heater into my bedroom, where I had everything - TV, computer, master bath. That DID save money.

 

[watercolor]

with toddlers on the way.

Umm, What.. there is a dual meaning there.. got something to tell me???

 

[desertrat]

Save hot water, shower with a freind!

 

[SamSpade]

Umm, What.. there is a dual meaning there.. got something to tell me???

Only one coming in the next month - hopefully the next within a year.

Ummm - oh, no! *I* see where you're going. No, not likely. Gosh that would be bad timing, huh?

 

[SamSpade]

Save hot water, shower with a freind!

That only saves water if your showers are over with in five minutes.

 

[mdgirlie]

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.

I did watch my energy usage. Have florescent lightbulbs throughout the house, had the heat pump serviced, used the gas fireplace to help, closed off vents and doors to the extra rooms that aren't used, kept lights off when they weren't needed, and kept the thermostat under comfortable 65 - 68 degrees. I seriously don't know how an electric bill goes from an average of $124 to a whopping $300.00. Maybe SMECO needs to check their new computer system.

 

[oldman]

Mine was $10 less than the previous month. They did forget to include a return envelope which irks me though.

 

[mAlice]

Better than nothing, but no substitute for actual insulation under the floor.

My builder advised me against insulating between floors/walls...I actually asked about that. He said it would make it more difficult to heat the house.

My downstairs is a slab on the ground, so there is no way to insulate that.

 

[SamSpade]

I did watch my energy usage. Have florescent lightbulbs throughout the house, had the heat pump serviced, used the gas fireplace to help, closed off vents and doors to the extra rooms that aren't used, kept lights off when they weren't needed, and kept the thermostat under comfortable 65 - 68 degrees. I seriously don't know how an electric bill goes from an average of $124 to a whopping $300.00. Maybe SMECO needs to check their new computer system.

We haven't got a paper bill yet - it turns out once you start paying online, they STOP sending the paper! I had to request they send it again.

Not sure - I mean, my bill in the Ranch Club was sometimes terrible - and I ONLY had flourescents in my house - had the heat low - used a kerosene heater to offset the cost - covered windows in plastic - used about three blankets at night.

Maybe when someone gets their bill, they can take the total cost and divide by the kw-hrs used - because SMECO charges all of their little fees based on usage. Then see if it went up last month.

 

[watercolor]

Only one coming in the next month - hopefully the next within a year.

Ummm - oh, no! *I* see where you're going. No, not likely. Gosh that would be bad timing, huh?

"bad" timing.. no.. but, don'cha know- that is the way it works. But then again with lindey, and then bri and j.. who knows! AHAHAHAH

 

[SamSpade]

Well I just checked by phone - our bill is more than twice last time. I guess it didn't help to set the thermo down to sixty.

 

[timex]

After you add up all the little add ons. SMECO is charging 12.5 cents per kWh.

Does seem like much till you use 4000 kWh and your bill comes to $500.00.

 

[desertrat]

My builder advised me against insulating between floors/walls...I actually asked about that. He said it would make it more difficult to heat the house.

My downstairs is a slab on the ground, so there is no way to insulate that.

I was mainly thinking of a floor above a crawl space. My house has that and I keep thinking of insulating it but I have no desire to actually do it.

 

[desertrat]

Not that it's a big part of the bill, but where does St Marys county get off on taxing the power?

 

[desertrat]

Well I just checked by phone - our bill is more than twice last time. I guess it didn't help to set the thermo down to sixty.

How many KWH did you use? Mine was 1453 for 29 days. Previous month was 1863.