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

[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.

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[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

 

[Marc]

You need to do an energy audit of your home. Then you need to also see if there is any special rate plans for EV owners. I am on one in Georgia. I live in a home that has 4 EV's. 1 Rivian, 2 Mach E's and my Lightning. We have two Tesla wall chargers and charge between 11pm and 7 am.

 

[Joe.....Montana]

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.

There is talk of a major data center coming to Montana that would require the equivalent of one million homes...the total population of Montana is around 1.1 million...residents and businesses are not charged the same rate for electricity...businesses receive a lower rate. If the past provides any guidance on the future, the increased cost for new electricity production will fall on residents.

 

[Nikos]

There is talk of a major data center coming to Montana that would require the equivalent of one million homes...the total population of Montana is around 1.1 million...residents and businesses are not charged the same rate for electricity...businesses receive a lower rate. If the past provides any guidance on the future, the increased cost for new electricity production will fall on residents.

You are correct on that.
Building a power plant has to meet a constant power output. That is how it can run more efficiently. When all generators are running at peak efficiency. If the data center doesn’t draw the power then someone else has to take the excess. Running power plants at 50% capacity is at a loss.
Residential customers pick up the slack. In these cases the cost of building these power plants.
Data centers don’t get build unless there is a power plant ready to deliver.
Data centers can also go away if they are not needed. Then what. You are stuck with an underutilized power plant.
You will see your power bills increase and your grid connections fees double.
In this case, the state that I reside,SC, there are proposals for more than a dozen centers but when they going to show up is still a mystery, an unknown certainty. It is good projected business for the power providers as long they know that someone else, residential customers, foot the bill if it doesn’t work out. Big business, including now data centers, have done things like this before. Close up, shut down and leave the residents with their losses.
I don’t mind prosperity and jobs that might come, but building projects like these in a hurry without the proper planning, it tends to bite the asses of the wrong people.

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