HOUSTON – With the summer temperatures still soaring, KPRC 2′s Amy Davis recently asked our viewers and users how much their latest electric bill read.
Amy revealed that her latest bill was $351.
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How much was your latest bill?
KPRC 2′s Randy McIlvoy revealed his was $245, adding “..and that’s with two units. 73 downstairs. 74 upstairs. Thanks to Energy Ogre who sets up the best deals!”
Here are some of the other messages Amy received and the situation several Houston-area people are going through. Read through their stories and share your own in the comments on this report. What have you been finding on your bill lately?
John Pappy: “I’m running mine at 73 and I had a $478 bill. I’m gonna have to pull back to save some money.”
Jolene Fruge’ Gaul: “One bill I do splurge on is AC. I’ll go hungry before I live in a hot house lol”
Lawrence Matthews Jr: “$171…we bought solar panels and it’s been AWESOME!!!! 3500-square-foot house…Last year this time, was $475.″
Michael Walter: “I use the 12 month average billing which helps.”
Rachel Rodriguez: “I set mine to 78 when I leave for work, and around 10ish I lower it to 73. My bill was $195.”
Melissa Lupton Roberts: “My last bill was $240 with two units running in a 3,400 square-foot home. But it’s extremely well insulated and we just bought new units so I can tell our bill has decreased this summer. I’m sure August bill will be higher though.”
Kay Burton: “Mine stays on 72 and my light bill was only $111. All things considered I’m happy.”
Blair Eversley: “Mine was $55 and I almost went crazy over that bill (I keep my place around 78-81 when I’m home).”
Jody Saw: “Just paid it 277.00 2,200 square-foot, pool runs eight hours a day, unfortunately I have no shade trees over my house. I’m home a lot, it’s on 78 during the day, 73/74 at night. Thankfully I get cold easily.”
Christine Munoz Patterson: “$250 for a 3,400-square-foot home. 76 degrees during the day, 73/75 at night (two units). We live like vampires in the summer close all the blinds to keep that sun out! Ceiling fans running full force! Rarely use regular oven after 11am. Use toaster oven for lunches/dinners where possible.”
Emily Bleier: “Mine was $330! I live in a 1,400-square-foot house. Normally my bill is under $150. October through March my electricity bill isn’t even $100 sometimes.”
Rebekka Perez: “I run my ac on 67 day and night and I’ve never paid more than $120 a month for a two-story house.”
Roberto Tobias III: “3,700-square-foot house on the border in deep South TX, thermostat is always between 71 and 74 and our last electric bill was negative $36! I love my solar panels!”
Tiffany Griffith: “Keep the ac at 78 when no one home, 74 when at home, 70-72 to sleep. Last bill was $194.”
Georgia Stutler Joiner: “$210 for a 1200 sq ft house, when in all the previous 25 years I’ve lived here, I only hit $100 twice. And that’s with setting at 78-81!”
Jules Laufman-Childers: “$281.19 I had a whole new system and complete new ductwork put in this past January. My ac guy said I’d find my bill would be about 100 dollars lower and he was about right! I also keep it said it’s 74° during the day and keep a lot of the Western exposure windows closed.”
Christi Conaway: “Mine was $250 and I’m in a 700-square-foot apartment!!!”
Amanda Rose: “Mine is $330 for a two-bedroom 900-square-foot apartment. Idk what I’m gonna do.”
Dianna Cunningham: “We pay average $230, have a jacuzzi and keep our A/C on 65. I’ll splurge if I have to but I can’t deal with a hot house!!”
Paulina Castellanos: “I keep mine at 74 my bill for the first time was $300 I went crazy I usually pay 270 or so with water/sewer/trash services included. Don’t know if that’s okay or not? Plus I have another room outside with a window AC so that could be the reason also it was so high. But with this temperatures it’s hard not to have it on.”
Chris Palmer: “You also have more humidity in your home than outside your home. My humidity is 71% upstairs and 55% downstairs. My bill last month was almost 500.00. I put a dehumidifier upstairs which makes the higher temp upstairs fill comfortable.”
Brian Walker: “The electricity rates are insane right now. I’m honestly surprised there isn’t more about in the news. On our previous rate (same company) in the cooler months our bill was around $60 - $80 a month, now that is around $160 to $180 a month. It’s insane how much more expensive it is now.”
Miranda Barnes: “I recently changed electric companies- last year over the summer I had bills in the $200 and $300′s (once almost $400! ) but after making the switch in April my bill hasn’t been over $200 all year and I haven’t changed anything- still have the AC at 74°, still run my pool pump, and all other appliances. Definitely worth looking around to save a few bucks.”
Phyllis Thomas Autrey: “$160 and I’ve got 25 solar panels on my roof.”
Kevin Butler: “Mine went from over 400 to 225 to 250 a month bought a window unit to help the central unit so far so good been doing it for a couple years now.”
Emily Cain: “My bill has never gone over 100$. Two bed, one bath very spacious house that was built in the 70s. We keep our central air at 76, and run an oscillating fan in living room. At night, we have two desk fans running.”
Amber D Drury: “$514 last month. I try to remember to set it to 77 when we leave but I often forget and it’s 73 the other times. The windows are very thin in this rental house.”
Kim Dodd Jordan: “Ours was $208. We keep it at 67 at night, 70 when we’re home during the day, and 74 when we’re gone. We are not on avg billing. Our house is about six years old and I am assuming well insulated.”
Posted by Christal Herd on Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Karen Lee Keen: “2,930-square-foot house, two central air units. Our bill last week for a month was $197. Not too shabby! I tell everyone…EnergyOgre.com. A monthly fee of $10 and they will search for the best rates and lock in those rates. Could be for a year or 18 months, could be a six-month term. Best decision I’ve made for electricity!”
Jeff Rodriguez: “$150. It’s never been that high since I’ve lived in my house.”
Amanda J Borys: “I just paid my electric bill today. It was $118 for 660 square feet apartment. I keep my apartment at 71/72 when I’m home. I try to keep the temperature a little higher when I’m at work.”
Aimee Stuckey: “Way too much! I’m seeing some of posts and I’m wondering why mine is so high $900 3,400 square foot, pool- electric pump. We have really high ceilings and a zillion windows though and our house was built in 1980 by the owner of Big Sur waterbeds - weird fact.”
Jerry Maliszewski: “$269 for 1,500 square foot, set at 74 day and 73 night, house is 60 years old.”
Cynthia Barela: “I have average billing and I haven’t saved nothing...My bill was $485.24…it has never been this high before…I have a one-story, four-bedroom, two bathrooms, den, dining room and kitchen… new windows supposedly were going to save me money on heat/air not happening! I have Reliant Energy.”
Haley Sides: “Ours went from 300 to almost 600. We started turning ours up after they bill to hopefully decrease it this month.”
Melissa Jorgensen: “I live in a old apartment building that has old window units, there is no temp I can set so it just runs till I turn it off, the bill this month was $352.″
Shawn Kmiec: “$380 but my wife and/or kids are home most of the time so it’ll be what it’ll be. I’ve never paid more than $420.”
Billy Gwyn: “$135 and that’s with a pool and a tanning bed and air set at 72. Not sure what I’m doing different.”
Joel Henderson: “Not sure the size of your house but we’re at 2,800 square feet and ours was $160 for June. We have two units. We purposefully split them between the main house and nighttime living areas and daytime work areas. Our small unit cools the daytime office area and master suite, so it is used most of the time. The main part of the house is left at 79° until I get home from work (usually about 6:30 in the evening) and that’s when it is used, for about three hours each day at 75°. When we only had one unit for 1,800 square feet we were paying over $300 a month. Hard to believe we could add 1,000 square feet and have our bill cut in half. If you organize your new house to be built so that all the sleeping areas are covered with one unit and the rest of the house another, it can make a huge difference in your bill.”
Donna Chafin: “$183 and half of that was fuel surcharge!!! Absolutely ridiculous!!”
Veronica Yzaguirre: “2,885-square-foot home two AC units $446, that’s with average billing (Reliant) if I wasn’t on that my bill, will be a little over $500.”
Rachel Yeckley: “$119. Thankfully we’re shaded by trees and haven’t turned the air on yet! Our house stays between 70°-74°. I’m a freeze baby so I’m happy!”
Stephanie Smith: “I love south of SA, I work from home full-time and live in a small remodeled cinder block house just under 1k square feet. I keep mine at 77/78 during the day with fans on, turn it down to 71 at night. My highest bill so far is $107. I suspect the type of house I have helps. And I’m guessing these bigger bills are for far bigger homes than mine.”
Jamie Collins: “$450….We are waiting on new windows so our AC doesn’t leak out and it actually cools the house.”
Tammy Stowe Lumpkin: “Around 4,000 square feet. Closed attic with spray in foam insulation throughout. Complete brick exterior on all sides. Metal roof. All electric. Thermostat stays between 65 and 68, $253.00 this month. Usual electric bill is below $200.00.”
Jesse W. Turner: “1,800-square-foot home and $124. I average my bill out throughout the year so I pay the same price every month.”
Joslyn Raye: “$750 for two months, so $375 a month. Half of that is a delivery charge. So actual electricity used a month is $187.50. 1,600-square-foot home.”
Alan Shiroda: “My AC stays on 24/7/365 at 71 degrees. I cook a lot and me and my roommate are both gamers with multiple PCs and consoles; the highest our electric bill ever was, was $140.”
Natasha Gary: “My bill is higher then usual and I live in a 900 SQ ft town home . It’s 258 and I’ve never had my bill this high before. I run my AC at 75/76 during the day and 69 at night. Can’t sleep if I’m hot.”
Teresa Carballo: “Mine was $320 and I keep my AC on 72 to 73 nonstop. My home is close to 3,000 square feet.”
Brittni Simpson: “Get on levelized billing to offset the high cost during the summer. Regular costs are around 150, and June-August it would jump to almost 400. Now we just pay 200 every month of the year. We NEVER turn our A/C higher than 72.. EVER! Even the HVAC guys will tell you, you shouldn’t be turning your A/C higher during the day because it makes the unit work harder in the evening to cool it down, which results in very costly repairs. I have a tenant who keeps her door open during the day, then tries to cool the apartment at night, and she’s gone through three condenser capacitors within a month and is now looking at the cost of a new unit because she’s ruined it. Also don’t forget that electric companies raise the rates in the summer months because they know you’re using the A/C more.”
Lidia Spaw Hassell: “$571.34! My 20-year-old stepson moved in and the upstairs AC runs all day because my husband’s office is up there and all night when our son gets home after work. It went up $200 from the previous month.”
Enter the energy confessional now: How much is your monthly energy bill right now? Let us know in the comments.
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