Edison rant

[RStar]

No smart meter here.

And I have not changed anything in the last year, other than going from a 32" old picture tube TV sucking up 1,200 watts to a 52" LCD flat screen that uses 280 watts. And I have changed 90% of my lighting to CFLs or LEDs. I've worked hard at lowering my usage.

I could go on the "Level Pay Plan" where they average out the year in the first 11 months, and you make up the difference in the 12th month (or get a credit if you over payed). Buy now I don't have a good 12 month history to go on.

I looked at the meter, and the read looks right to me. But according to my bill I used 550 kWh in Dec. and 2,399 kWh in Jan!?!? The only difference from Dec to Jan is I took down my Christmas lights at the begining of Jan. That would mean less usage.

I just looked at my last month bill and it does say "estimated read". They changed the format on the billing a while back and I never noticed that. I remember it saying "actual read". WTF is an estimated read? Either you read it or you estimate it. That's like saying I almost payed my taxes to the IRS. They won't let that slide, but I'm expected to let Edison slide? I don't think so. And this bill only says "read", no "actual" or "estimated". Wierd.

There is no good line of site of the meter, so I'm pretty sure it's been estimated.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

If they estimate too low for a few months, an "actual" read would show a jump in the bill similar to what you are seeing. That's why I request an "actual" read, the estimation errors can't accumulate.

[Mousey Girl]

Call them and if necessary, they will make payment arrangements with you.

[RStar]

Well, they came out and read the meter. The read is correct. Now I get to make up over 2,000 kWh. I first need to make sure they change them to tier 1 and then make payments. It's tough because I'm out of work right now and trying to figure out how to pay my bills as it is.....

What horrible timing!!!

[katiesue]

Did they give you any explination for the jump?

[RStar]

No, I still have to call the office and talk to them about it. At this point all they know is that my usage went up four fold last month.

[MouseWife]

Which is impossible, right?

I actually have to check my water meter/bills. See, with the rains, mud has covered it and you can't see it. My son asked 'Didn't we used to have something right there?' I need to check if it was cleared as I did receive a water bill the other day.

They should come into your home and show you where those came from. Don't they offer that, where they come in and tell you how you can conserve? When they do this, they will see you conserve everywhere and so how can that many kwhs be used?

I wish you luck with this and they will have to make arrangements with you. This may be good timing for you, perhaps you can get onto a program that will help you have lower payments year long. Do they offer that up there? I know here they do.

Please keep us informed as to what happens.

Chris, how to pot farms not get picked up?

[RStar]

Originally Posted by MouseWife

Which is impossible, right?

I actually have to check my water meter/bills. See, with the rains, mud has covered it and you can't see it. My son asked 'Didn't we used to have something right there?' I need to check if it was cleared as I did receive a water bill the other day.

They should come into your home and show you where those came from. Don't they offer that, where they come in and tell you how you can conserve? When they do this, they will see you conserve everywhere and so how can that many kwhs be used?

I wish you luck with this and they will have to make arrangements with you. This may be good timing for you, perhaps you can get onto a program that will help you have lower payments year long. Do they offer that up there? I know here they do.

Please keep us informed as to what happens.

Chris, how to pot farms not get picked up?

Thanks, MouseWife! Yes, they have the "Level Pay Plan" here where they take the average of your history, and spread that over 11 months. On the 12th month you make up the difference. This works great for folks who have central air and heating, so their usage gets real high during parts of the year. But that's not what happends to me so much. And now I don't think I have a good workable history because we don't know how long they have been estimating, but I think it's been at least 15 months minimum.

And no, this is not a good time for me. It's the worst time, as I am out of work due to surgery. And on top of it, I just found out today that my medical insurance is going up $200/month! I'm now paying the same amount for medical insurance that most people pay for rent on a 1 bedroom apt!

And the pot farms usually get picked up eventually because usage increases more than what they bill the area for. So they know a general location, but narrowing it down to a structure is harder. They have to look for where someone is tapping into wires before the meters. I have heard on the news that this is how they have found some of them.