Edison rant

[RStar]

My electric bill from Socal Edison runs $60-100 normally. Running fans during the heat of the summer and the heater during cold winter days take it to the higher end, and at Christmas it can go as high as $120 from the massive decorating I do and all of the holiday cooking with my electric appliances.

Two years ago I switched over to all LED Christmas lights. My bill stayed at the approx $60 it was the month before. I was extremely pleased, as the strings are only (I think I read on the tag) 0.4 watts each.

Then I got my bill a few days ago. Over $500!

They say on my bill "actual read" of the meter, but I think they have been guessing. It's difficult to see my meter in the back yard, so I think the meter reader was being lazy. Catching up all at once has kicked me into tier 5, the most expensive price. This isn't fair! And at a time when I'm off work for a month after foot surgery!

They are sending someone to make sure the meter reading is correct, and make sure someone is not stealing power from me. Perhaps I have a pot farm instalation down the road!

So, the only recourse I can see is if they charge me the KWH in tier 1, but I'll still owe an extra $300 I can't afford right now. Maybe they'll let me pay it off over a set amount of time.

I just don't need this stress right now. It's not my fault they didn't read the meter right! I don't read my water or gas meters either to check they are right. Is that what they expect people to do?

/rant

[alphabassettgrrl]

That's awful... I hope they fix it.

[Gemini Cricket]

Yikes. I hope they fix it, too. That's a huge amount!

[katiesue]

I'm sorry - that sucks. When my Mom's house was empty the power used would fluxuate huge amounts. I couldn't ever figure out what was going on. No one was in the house so the usage should have been fairly steady.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Request that they *always* read the meter. Don't let them estimate. Many times the estimate can be way off, so it screws up bills down the line (i.e. knocking the rate into a more expensive tier)

[JWBear]

I got an electric bill once that was over $1000. I had them come re-read it. The 1st read was wrong. The guy had transposed numbers. It should have been about $70.

[Kevy Baby]

It has been a while since I looked at the actual bill (Susan takes care of it), but don't they put the actual meter reading on the invoice? You might be able to go check yourself in an effort to lower your blood pressure (until Edison gets a read).

Just a thought

[scaeagles]

One thing I have available in Phoenix is a payment plan where for 6 months you pay the average of the previous 12 months. I used to have anything from $50 in January to $350 in July. If they make a mistake in reading (which they had done before but can't do anymore because they switched it all to digital meters with USB ports to download everything to a computer), it then wouldn't be a problem because it would correct itself the next month and everything would average out.

Is anything like that available there?

[Mousey Girl]

Has Edison switched to the "Smart Meter"? That is what PG&E did up here. It is causing a whole mess of billing problems, to the point that PG&E is being sued.

[€uroMeinke]

SCE is starting to roll out Smart Meters, which will download your usage on a continuous basis and also allow you to monitor your energy usage. PG&E had first generation Smart Meters that they are now in the process of replacing (as Mousey Girl mentioned, they have had numerous problems).

definitely follow-up on your account history - estimating reads happens when a meter isn't accessible, but over a 2-year period would be extremely unusual. while more appliances are more energy efficient, the number of "always on" devices is sometimes a hidden power suck, other major culprits are 2nd refrigerators/freezers, space heaters, and certain large screen TVs. Energy theft is always a possibility especially when you see such spikes - pot farm usually bypass the meter altogether though.