Ive Been Robbed

[Beaudee]

Anyone notice an increase in home natural gas.Holy chit!Mine went from 115.00 last month to 325.00 this month.F--- Atmos Gas!!Freekin highway robbery.Anyone know how to rig a meter,electro mag. or something.Heck they are robbing us.:flaming:

[Wht95Lightning]

:eek2: Damn! My bill was only $61. this month. How the hell can it be $325?

[gbgary]

i read yesterday that they (the energy industry) will be investigated for the price gouging (sp) of the last two years. i hope they get their asses kicked!!

[QDRHRSE]

Anyone notice an increase in home natural gas.Holy chit!Mine went from 115.00 last month to 325.00 this month.F--- Atmos Gas!!Freekin highway robbery.Anyone know how to rig a meter,electro mag. or something.Heck they are robbing us.:flaming:

That happened to me and I called them and asked them how it could be possible. It turned out to be a bad meter reading. Call them, don't freak out.

[PoorSvtman]

there was a thing on the news awhile back about dallas residents with nautral gas there bills would be going up

[Lyfisin]

I heard that too, but I thought it was supposed to be 50% or so. That's almost 300%.

[my2002lightning]

We've been ranging from $30 - $75 mo. with Atmos, recently.

Is there something your not telling us, Beaudee? :D

[Silver_2000]

I heard that too, but I thought it was supposed to be 50% or so. That's almost 300%.

300% CANT be an increase it HAS to be a leak or a misread meter

[Tex Arcana]

i read yesterday that they (the energy industry) will be investigated for the price gouging (sp) of the last two years. i hope they get their asses kicked!!
This happened in LousyAnna, too... everyone that left for either hurricane, came home to find their electric and gas bills literally doubled from August to September or October, and most weren't even in the homes for the better part of a month, not to mention the power was off for the same. And, of course, the question is: "how the HELL can it double when the damn power/gas ain't being used??" :flaming:

[Beaudee]

We've been ranging from $30 - $75 mo. with Atmos, recently.

Is there something your not telling us, Beaudee? :D
I have used the pool jacuzzi a few times in the cold weather:D ,but i did more last month.I have been using the heck out of the gas fireplace the last month.Didnt think it would cost that much.:hammer: .I will half to check the meter.I called Asstmos and they said it was red correctly.The city came out the other day and changed my water meter.They said it was reading too low!WTF! I guess that will be going up too.Welcome to flowermound.We pay out the but for taxes every year to and i found that only half is used for our schools,the other is the Robinhood deal.If it wasnt for the wife id have a 100 acres in the backwoods somewhere.:vomit:

[Beaudee]

300% CANT be an increase it HAS to be a leak or a misread meter
Its the Jacuzzi and the fireplace i bet:hammer: Heck my clothes dryer is electric.Id hate to think if i wanted to heat the pool.Ill check the meter in the morning.

[gbgary]

Its the Jacuzzi and the fireplace i bet:hammer: Heck my clothes dryer is electric.Id hate to think if i wanted to heat the pool.Ill check the meter in the morning.

yeah those were the culprits, especially the fireplace. that'll learn ya. the fact that gas has gone up 170% in the last 2-3 years didn't help either.

[Beaudee]

I was wondering if anyone saw the news last night.If your gas bill from Atmos gas was 125.00 last year in Jan. this year it would be 240.00 for the same gas usage.:bs :bs :bs :bs :bs :bs How can they legally get away with that?If that isnt gouging i dont know what is.It seems i am not the only pissed off cust..:Bullshit :Bullshit :Bullshit :Bullshit :Bullshit

[Logan]

Quit yer bitchin'... Mine was $385... :D

[03LightningRocks]

Mine jumped up also, but it actually all started 2 months ago. It's just that nobody noticed until it got real high. My bill was 185 for December this year. Last year it was only 110 and I used almost twice as much gas last year.


I have the solution though..........give our office a call and I can put a furnace in your house that will reduce your bills by as much as 30% depending on the furnace you have right now.

Rocks;)


PS Check out the action on your electric bills. Compare usage to what you used last year at this time and take note that you just paid more for less. Summer is going to be tough this year.

[03LightningRocks]

:eek2: Damn! My bill was only $61. this month. How the hell can it be $325?

Your meter is either screwed up to your benefit...or they estimated your reading and will catch up in the next month or two. Don't be surprised if you suddenly get bent over next month. And if you don't...build a big enclosure around the gas meter, because they will be changing it out if the gas usage is showing that low.


Rocks

[03LightningRocks]

One more post...my gas bill was mysteriously missing the little comparison graph that is usely on each bill. They didn't want us to look at this years usage compared to last years usage. I had to dig out my bill from last year to get this info.

[dboat]

Well mine was $479.. this is in a new home with foam insulation in the walls and the latest gas heater running at 97% efficiency.. but then again our winters are a bit colder than Dallas.. it was also the month after the estimate bill, so I think there is a little catching up going on..

What temp do you keep yours at? we keep ours at 66 during the day and 60 overnight..
Dana

[99WhiteBeast]

Kinda of related

I haven't received my electric bill this month from Reliant so I call. They say TXU is behind on reading the meters (10-14 days behind) and to expect an increase due to longer period between reading the meter.

I suspect this is what they will tell customers seeing an increase in energy costs and the complaining starts when is really a combination of both.

[Tex Arcana]

We got our electric bill for December(all-electric, btw), and it went from about $260 for Oct-Nov, to over $550 for Nov-Dec. I called Greyson/Collin Electric Coop (our supplier), and they told me that it was partly due to the colder weather (duh), and partly to the increase in fuel costs. Kinda pissed me off, because I've got a bad feeling we're gonna see prices climb even more, some from the fuels (actually, the lady with GCEC said next month's fuel cost should actually go down some, thanks to the drop in oil prices), but mostly because they can jack the prices.

Rocks, I may be needing your services soon. But I've got something I need to run by you. PM me, please?

[gagspa]

I just got my electric bill and was shocked to see that it was higher this month than all last summer. It said that I used 50% more electricity last month than the month before. The sad thing is that I only used my heater a couple of times versus my using the AC all month. I guess that Christmas lights use way more electricity than I expected :(

[SILVER2000SVT]

I'm all electric, but I don't have a heat pump, I have central air with internal resistance heating. This makes the winters much more expensive for me than the summer. I typically use about 2000 KWH during the summer months to keep the house at 71F and about 2300+ KWH during the winter just to keep the house at 67F. What I also noticed is that I use almost 1700 KWH in months that I don't use any air conditioning or heating. So that telling my that only 15-25% of my energy bills are going to heating and cooling the house. The next highest user is the water heater but I just installed the most efficient one I could find 3 years ago. I guess I need to look at other ways to save energy around the house.

I went back and looked at the billing rate. This month they billed me at $0.128 per KWH. Last year it was a little over $0.09 and 3 years ago it was less than $0.08. So they just hit us with a 40% increase in the past couple of months. They told us on the news it was only going to be 20%. :mad:

Just for curiosity I was looking at solar panels. Doing a little analysis, a system will pay for itself in about 30 years. I believe that the expected life of a solar panel is only about 10 years or so. So there's a bad investment.

[QDRHRSE]

I guess that I will never complain again. I just saw my gas bill and thought that I was pissed. I heat my house to 68 pretty much all the time and my gas bill was $106 and electricity $65. I have never had a gas bill that high either. I can't imagine paying $300-500 a month. I wonder why it's so expensive in Texas (PA I understand)? How big are your homes? Mine is about 2500sqft. I know it's not that big but it's not small either. Is it that cold out there? Where I am its 30-40/60-70 this time of year.

[Shiner1]

Its the Jacuzzi and the fireplace i bet:hammer: Heck my clothes dryer is electric.Id hate to think if i wanted to heat the pool.Ill check the meter in the morning.


It costs me $175.00 in gas to heat my pool.

[wesman]

I've got Gexa energy, I pay 13.43per kwh as of the last bill. I was paying more than that with TXU before I switched about 6 months ago. I have my t-stat on 70 during the winter and 76 in the summer. I also have some sort of system that de-humidifies and seems to help quite a bit. It is supposed to make the temp feel 2-3* lower than actual, so in the summers it seems to help out a lot. (Ron may know what I'm talking about, I got it installed when I upgraded my AC units when I built the house, it comes with a 12 and 10 SEER??, but I upgraded to 2 15 SEER units)

I also have solar screens that seem to help during the summer as my house faces East/West and I have about 25-30 windows on front/rear. The house is ~2600 sq ft.

My electric bills run ~$250-$300 a month, less on months that I don't run the AC/heat when it's somewhat temperate outside. I do have a few extra electricity suckers tho. We have 3 refrigerators and a kegerator going, 3 fish tanks and arcade games for 6 or so days a month.

My bill for Mid Nov-Mid Dec was $180, but I was gone for 2 weeks in Fl and China and I unplugged games, kegerator etc and left the AC units at off. I just go the bill for Mid-Dec to now, and it was $298.

My house is completely electric and I have a wood burning fireplace.

--wes

[Beaudee]

Your meter is either screwed up to your benefit...or they estimated your reading and will catch up in the next month or two. Don't be surprised if you suddenly get bent over next month. And if you don't...build a big enclosure around the gas meter, because they will be changing it out if the gas usage is showing that low.


Rocks
How can i get my meter screwed up:evil .Is there any adjustment on these meters:twitch: .It just sucks to have to sit back and get taken and theres nothin you can do.At least a reach around would be nice,maybe a good looking meter maid :rll:

[Beaudee]

It costs me $175.00 in gas to heat my pool.
I dont heat mine,but i would like to,it wouldn't get used enough to justify the cost.I do use the jacuzzi and it takes about 40 min. to get to a 101 degrees on a cold night.Do you have a saltwater pool?I never heard of salt systems till i bought my house.The water is beautiful and bearly any smell.Salt is the way to go!!! http://cgi.ebay.com/Aquarite-Electronic-Chlorine-Generator-for-Pools_W0QQitemZ4430361683QQcategoryZ20729QQssPageN ameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[dboat]

just a reference point.. my house is 3000 sq ft.. plus a basement.. its not heated to the house temp but around 55.. I also heat the garage to 50 degrees too.. its 1000 sq ft..
Dana

[03LightningRocks]

How can i get my meter screwed up:evil .Is there any adjustment on these meters:twitch: .It just sucks to have to sit back and get taken and theres nothin you can do.At least a reach around would be nice,maybe a good looking meter maid :rll:

There are two ways I know work for sure, but both involve possible heavy fines and maybe even some prison time if caught...:rll: . It's easier to just pay the bill and watch your usage.

[Tex Arcana]

I'm all electric, but I don't have a heat pump, I have central air with internal resistance heating. This makes the winters much more expensive for me than the summer. I typically use about 2000 KWH during the summer months to keep the house at 71F and about 2300+ KWH during the winter just to keep the house at 67F. What I also noticed is that I use almost 1700 KWH in months that I don't use any air conditioning or heating. So that telling my that only 15-25% of my energy bills are going to heating and cooling the house. The next highest user is the water heater but I just installed the most efficient one I could find 3 years ago. I guess I need to look at other ways to save energy around the house.

I went back and looked at the billing rate. This month they billed me at $0.128 per KWH. Last year it was a little over $0.09 and 3 years ago it was less than $0.08. So they just hit us with a 40% increase in the past couple of months. They told us on the news it was only going to be 20%. :mad:

Just for curiosity I was looking at solar panels. Doing a little analysis, a system will pay for itself in about 30 years. I believe that the expected life of a solar panel is only about 10 years or so. So there's a bad investment.


Welcome to the fallout from the Enron situation, at least partially. :hammer: :flaming:

[microsuck]

It's probably right. My parents live off the $ from a gas well they have. They told me that gas prices are going up 800%. That seems a little exaggerated, but my dad is a pretty successful man, so, I wouldent doubt it.

[BC Lightning]

How big are your homes?

I'm still at my parents house until I finish school, their house is 6,000sq. feet, 5 a/c units and its always around 72-74. I don't even want to know what the bill is. Were they save some cash is we have a live well for watering the lawn, so it gets watered everyday


Wes, where did you get your solar panels?? Were about to put gate openers in and wanted to run it from solar.

[Beaudee]

We can thank texas for the increase http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/05/15/MNELPASO.TMP&nl=top

[dboat]

We can thank texas for the increase http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/05/15/MNELPASO.TMP&nl=top


thats 5 years old.. :nono:

[WA 2 FST]

Beau,

I agree with those who said you need to have the meter rechecked (for leaks and to see if the reading was correct). I can see a 30-40% increase from this time last year (although usage should be less than last year b/c its been a LOT warmer this year), but not what you just got billed for.

FWIW, a gas log will absolutely eat you alive as far as gas usage goes. Trust me on this. When we moved into this house ~9 years ago, I went from a wood burning fireplace to this one that has a gas starter. I would use real wood in this one, but the fireplace is a bit small IMHO (typical builder's grade/size in the mid-90s), and I don't like shoveling ashes all the time. So I bought a gas log. First winter I just ran it like I did when I was burning wood... just about every day, 6-8 hrs a day to keep the large living area warm. Big mistake. $300 gas bill (when normally back then it was ~$45 even in the winter). I learned my lesson, and so now I only run it a few days a week, a couple of hours during the evening when the family is together. :tongue:

My December bills this year were $104 gas (Atmos), $144 electric (TXU) for 3100sf. But my house is a 1-story, and I think that is cheaper to heat/cool. I don't have any 2-story, open areas (foyers, living areas in particular) to circulate air through, just 10-12' ceilings throughout.

I keep the t-stat at 66^ in the winter and 76^ in the summer, even though my wife complains. Our heater has come on only a few times this winter, though, with the weather we've been having.

Does anyone here have any experience with IGNITE/Steam Energy? It's some sort of MLM deal, which I don't care much about, but you can blow that off and just sign up for the service if you like. I was wondering if the savings are the real deal, or if its more smoke 'n mirrors.

[Beaudee]

thats 5 years old.. :nono:
Yaah i just noticed that.:tu: Heck you got to blame it on someone.:rll:My bill this month was 265.00.Been keeping my eye on things.My house is 3000sq. ft.2 story with 2 heating /cooling units gas for heat /elec for cooling..I quit using the upstairs,and my bill has gone down.I was looking @ the atmos gas bill and there are 9 charges on it.State tax,city tax,usage tax............on and on.I am ready to close the valve,drill and tap the pipe and hook up propane.I just dont like being gouged for something so plentiful like natural gas.I feel for those who need that extra 100 bucks a month to survive.I guess ill keep bitchin ,pay the bill assume the position and keep an eye on things.

[dboat]

Yaah i just noticed that.:tu: Heck you got to blame it on someone.:rll:My bill this month was 265.00.Been keeping my eye on things.My house is 3000sq. ft.2 story with 2 heating /cooling units gas for heat /elec for cooling..I quit using the upstairs,and my bill has gone down.I was looking @ the atmos gas bill and there are 9 charges on it.State tax,city tax,usage tax............on and on.I am ready to close the valve,drill and tap the pipe and hook up propane.I just dont like being gouged for something so plentiful like natural gas.I feel for those who need that extra 100 bucks a month to survive.I guess ill keep bitchin ,pay the bill assume the position and keep an eye on things.

Maybe Rocks can validate this, but yoiu have to be careful about closing off the upstairs.. If you do, it can actually make your bill higher.. you have to do the whole house for the system to work right.. go figure.

[Silver_2000]

Does anyone here have any experience with IGNITE/Steam Energy? It's some sort of MLM deal, which I don't care much about, but you can blow that off and just sign up for the service if you like. I was wondering if the savings are the real deal, or if its more smoke 'n mirrors.

my buddy is selling Ignite - I stated with it a few months ago - the rates are cheaper than TXU. No catches - I didnt do any of the sales stuff - not interested - im simply a electric customer

Send me a PM if you want his contact info.

Doug

[03LightningRocks]

Maybe Rocks can validate this, but yoiu have to be careful about closing off the upstairs.. If you do, it can actually make your bill higher.. you have to do the whole house for the system to work right.. go figure.

This is more of an issue with cooling than heating and is mostly a humidity problem than anything. Heat does ALWAYS move from hot to cold, so having the upstairs shut off will work best if you have a way to completely isolate it from the downstairs. If any of the returns are in an area where they share air with the system you have off...or on...your just kidding yourself if you think your saving by shutting a system off.


Rocks

[dboat]

This is more of an issue with cooling than heating and is mostly a humidity problem than anything. Heat does ALWAYS move from hot to cold, so having the upstairs shut off will work best if you have a way to completely isolate it from the downstairs. If any of the returns are in an area where they share air with the system you have off...or on...your just kidding yourself if you think your saving by shutting a system off.


Rocks

Why have I always thought that it was cold air that moved into the hot air? more dense going to less dense.. better get out my old physics books.. :hammer:

Thanks

[03LightningRocks]

Why have I always thought that it was cold air that moved into the hot air? more dense going to less dense.. better get out my old physics books.. :hammer:

Thanks

Think of it like this..... Cold is the absence of heat. Also remember that when a substance is boiling, it is absorbing heat.


;)