My home electric bill has basically doubled in the past 4 months! WTF is going on?

[RickLightning]

Net metering has been eliminated in many markets, making the payback much longer.

We've got it pretty good here in eastern Kansas. I just checked my electric usage through my last bill, which was 8/27/25. I've used 18,139 kWh and the total cost including distribution, taxes, etc., was $1,885.09 (or 10.4 cents per kWh). My August bill included 24% more usage than the prior August bill but the cost was $38.62 less due to my switching to a time-of-use plan in December 2024. The biggest issue with the time-of-use plan is getting my wife to avoid using the electric dryer during peak cost hours.



My biggest electric savings since buying my house was replacement of the 1996 A/C unit with a new 16 SEER unit in 2020. My summer electric usage dropped 1200-1400 kWh per month with that one change, which was a reduction of 35% in electric usage.

Our usage from 12/24 - 9/25 was 8,017kWh. Our total paid was $1,394.44, or 17.39 cents per kWh.

We upgraded dual HVAC systems last year from 2005 units and saw no noticeable change in electricity costs likely due to increased weather temps during AC season.

But look at the difference in total electricity usage between us! Wow! And mine is a month more.

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[WXman]

Well, I posted a factual account of why electricity rates have gone up so much, and my post was deleted because it "triggered" another member. So here's what I'm going to do. Every single time I see the "climate change" lie mentioned on this forum I'm going to report it. Every. Single. Time.

If we're going to play this game, let's at least make it fair.

 

[RickLightning]

Well, I posted a factual account of why electricity rates have gone up so much, and my post was deleted because it "triggered" another member. So here's what I'm going to do. Every single time I see the "climate change" lie mentioned on this forum I'm going to report it. Every. Single. Time.

If we're going to play this game, let's at least make it fair.

Don't remember exactly what you posted, but politics aren't welcome here (thankfully). Mentioning a political party, political leader, or making an obvious reference to a political party, gets deleted.

 

[Joe.....Montana]

Net metering has been eliminated in many markets, making the payback much longer.



Our usage from 12/24 - 9/25 was 8,017kWh. Our total paid was $1,394.44, or 17.39 cents per kWh.

We upgraded dual HVAC systems last year from 2005 units and saw no noticeable change in electricity costs likely due to increased weather temps during AC season.

But look at the difference in total electricity usage between us! Wow! And mine is a month more.

We have net metering up in Montana which is an incredible deal...it's also why the utility that (largely) has a monopoly in Montana goes after it every year or two...luckily (at least as currently written) if it ever changes from net metering, the folk who started on net metering are grandfathered in. Why I acted quickly getting solar when my family moved back to Montana.

 

[22legit2quit]

Your bill should indicate everything you need to know. If consumption is the same yet your amount is higher, see what new “fees” have been added. I’m going solar real soon.

 

[Laphuks]

I live in Northeast Ohio and my electric bill while owning my Lightning for the last 30 months has ALWAYS been right around 140 dollars. During the scalding hot summer months with the central AC running constant, the bill was always no more than $180-$200, and all of this is with sometimes heavy charging of the Lightning.

Now I'm paying over 300 dollars, and it seems that every month it keeps going up. We've been using measures to lessen our electric usage and it's still going higher. They're blaming all the AI data centers, but why do we have to pay for that sh!t?

It's going to get to point where ICE vehicles and going to be more economical.

OK, end of rant... for now.

Do u have a night rate? In my area my day rate is .25/kWh compare to night rate .14/kWh and the time for night rate starts 9pm to 9am. All day on weekend is night rate.

 

[Pacific.NW]

Anyone who says it’s “more economical to run ICE” forgot one of the key reasons it’s better to drive EV; YOU’RE NOT POLLUTING.

Think about this for just one second… every time you fill up an ICE F150 you’re putting roughly 30 gallons / 113 litres of liquid gasoline into the tank. And where does that 3/4 of a bathtub’s volume worth of fuel go when you drive? Into the air. YOU LITERALLY BURN IT. And drivers seem okay with this because they never see it and have no tangible appreciation of the quantity of environmental destruction they’re doing.

Sorry if I’m coming across as a tree hugger, but I’d rather have my electrical bill go up and for my EV to cost me more to drive than to ever burn fossil fuels and think “this is normal.”

<end rant >

 

[Lightning Rod]

Do u have a night rate? In my area my day rate is .25/kWh compare to night rate .14/kWh and the time for night rate starts 9pm to 9am. All day on weekend is night rate.

No. I checked about a year ago. Just one rate all of the time.

 

[Nikos]

Counterpoint:

I installed solar about 10+ years ago that offset 80% of my usage. After buying an electric car, I installed a secondary system to cover 100% of my usage. The solar system covered themselves in price within 5 years due to state and federal incentives.

I ended up installing minor improvements over time to the house and now my electric bill is negative and decreasing as the rates increase.

I couldn’t make ICE more economical unless I moved to Texas and installed a personal oil well..

I have done the same. In anticipation of my Mach E and then my Lightning I have solar to contribute a lot. My bill in the summer time is around $150.
Given the amount of kilowatts I consume to charge two EVs, I am doing very well. For instance, every month I consume on the average about 1 MW but I produce about .5MW and export half of that. My rate is at 13cents per KW but at night drops to 7.5cents. Also you need to know what is your Grid fee every month. Some places have a $20 to $25 a month grid fee. You and me are paying for those newly built power plants that will come on line in the future. AI is a big factor in all of this.

 

[Newfoundland]

I live in Northeast Ohio and my electric bill while owning my Lightning for the last 30 months has ALWAYS been right around 140 dollars. During the scalding hot summer months with the central AC running constant, the bill was always no more than $180-$200, and all of this is with sometimes heavy charging of the Lightning.

Now I'm paying over 300 dollars, and it seems that every month it keeps going up. We've been using measures to lessen our electric usage and it's still going higher. They're blaming all the AI data centers, but why do we have to pay for that sh!t?

It's going to get to point where ICE vehicles and going to be more economical.

OK, end of rant... for now.

I’ve also been dismayed at what percentage our electricity rates are going up year by year. I’m putting up a large solar array on the roof this year so that I will not be affected anymore by the electric utility costs, no matter how high they go.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

I have done the same. In anticipation of my Mach E and then my Lightning I have solar to contribute a lot. My bill in the summer time is around $150.
Given the amount of kilowatts I consume to charge two EVs, I am doing very well. For instance, every month I consume on the average about 1 MW but I produce about .5MW and export half of that. My rate is at 13cents per KW but at night drops to 7.5cents. Also you need to know what is your Grid fee every month. Some places have a $20 to $25 a month grid fee. You and me are paying for those newly built power plants that will come on line in the future. AI is a big factor in all of this.

Luckily our grid fee is low, unfortunately they charge us almost $0.20/kWh, and pay us only about $0.04/kWh when we sell back so it’s not much of a profit maker for me. I generate about 4MWh/mo, and it’s terribly fun to get into arguments with folks who tell me my car is ultimately powered by coal.

 

[trev5150]

Y'all should try this thing called voting.

 

[Kakaratto]

I live in Northeast Ohio and my electric bill while owning my Lightning for the last 30 months has ALWAYS been right around 140 dollars. During the scalding hot summer months with the central AC running constant, the bill was always no more than $180-$200, and all of this is with sometimes heavy charging of the Lightning.

Now I'm paying over 300 dollars, and it seems that every month it keeps going up. We've been using measures to lessen our electric usage and it's still going higher. They're blaming all the AI data centers, but why do we have to pay for that sh!t?

It's going to get to point where ICE vehicles and going to be more economical.

OK, end of rant... for now.

Who is your electric provider?

 

[JHForman812]

I know here in indiana the data centers are being fought pretty hard. I cant say this is the sole reason for rising rates(mine have gone up too). I know after reading a few other articles on these data centers, it seems states are giving them some sweet heart deals to build them with little return to the community. I dont think these data centers generate a lot of jobs from what ive read. The deals they are making pretty much offsets the cost of electricity to the data center by charging the residents more on their electricity. On top of that it seems to be messing up the local water supply where these are built. Zuckerburg has recently said they(meta) could lose a couple hundred billion trying to get this right. Thats pretty damn messed up.

 

[Lightning Rod]

Who is your electric provider?

Cleveland Public Power

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