How to lower my electric bill??

You can brace yourself for it to go higher! I heard about a amonth ago that the high oil prices drove up costs/expenses to the utilities, and they are going to increase rates to "recoup" their losses and most of it will be in effect by next summer - up to 1/3 higher! I know what you mean but doing literally everything to save electric. I do to! I have one light in the house and have even though of using a flashlight to carry around with me, but since I am in a small apt - that isn't needed if I use the one light anyway. BUt my bill is $1.00 a day - so I guess I wn't be able to get it any less. I don't run the AC either or the heat in the winter - add some blankets, use an electric blanket to heat the bed and turn it off when you get in. I keep some room fans going in the summer, the thermo set at 80* and when the little grand babies come over, I have to cool it a bit more for them, but since it is just me, I make myself deal. GOod luck to you and hope you can find that extra something to help out

You have to iron once a week and iron first the heavy once and pull the plug when you iron the small once like the hankies. Dont use any aircon in the day just open windows and curtain to make the air past through that way you can save your electric bill

As I was reading through the responses on here, I believe that they have covered about all of the ways that I can think of to cut an electric bill. However, I also have noticed that several people have said that utilities are charging more and more for services and they are right. My bills have almost doubled in 6 months and I hate to see what is going on this winter. I may not be able to stay in the house that we are in due to the bills that are going to be coming in the winter. It is sad that utilities are spending our money for us.

Wow, besides calling the electric company to see if they made a mistake I am not sure. There are tips that your electric company is ready to give you :)

have the electric company in your area check your line. somebody may have tapped your line.

even though you do all that it won"t really mater cause most people high electricity bill is because they watch to much television, kids play too much video games, excessive use of computers,ETC the real way to reduce your electricity bill is to always ensure that when you off your switches, you also off the main swutch because some appliances like the air conditioner if you do not off the mains as well you will still be paying 25% of what you normally pay even the telly if you off the telly and you dont turn off the main switch you still pay 25% of what you normally pay this applies for all electronics. So just remember to off your mains and your bill shouldn't be so high.

First thing, you A/C either need to be set high (like 80 or so) or off ALL the time and never turn it on. My turning it on and off, you are using more energy than leaving it set high,. Are you changing your air filter enough? How are you cooking you meals? If you are running your oven or a crock pot, you are running up your bill. Depending on where your costs are actually coming from (actual usage fees or "fuel" charges) you may not be able to lower your bill. One thing you can do is call your electrical company and have your house evaluated for leaks and other sources of your bill going high. This is a free service that most companies provide.

have you checked the appliances? i mean some old appliances take more electricity than newer ones.

I think you must check your wire connections and is your a/c too old or something like that? have you ever kept any plug always on? Do you own a heater? I think there would be some problems in your wirings or with the electric meter itself and i think just by switching on the lights your bill wont goes high..

i think in that case its very much possible the bill has went up. you can enquire whether the rate is incraesed. i think so. there is no otehr way you can make it less i think

Might is be that the tariffs are up and it is really nothing to do with you? Over here, the cost fluctuates... Another thought is whether your electrical appliances are energy-efficient. Check the walt rating and try to replace them with green ones if possible (it will cost you but it is supposed to be one-off and result in lasting savings... what's more, you are helping Mother Earth...) Worst case, there might be something wrong with your meter. Have the power guy from the station over to check if your meter is spoiled (you should NOT need to pay for this).

If you are really concerned and the bill is that high, you might want to find out if you have any leaks... They could be electricity leaks (eg, outlets you didn't knwo you had, something you didn't realize was plugged in, even an appliance might be using more energy than you thought), weather leaks (eg, windows, attic, basements, or any walls not properly insulated, especially from outdoor-to-indoor or vice versa), or something else (eg, you forgot to include that electric companies are raising their prices at record speed, the pruce of oil, etc)... Other people have given some good suggestions but I don;t think anyone has offered this piece of advice, however it might be pricey, so unless you've exhausted all possibiliteis I wouldn't recommend this one... Good luck and best wishes.

I know how you feel, I live alone, I turn my a/c off when I go to work. I don't wash but once a week. I am on the budget plan and I got my electric bill for this month and it went up. I am wondering what they are basing my usage on. I do remember seeing in the paper that there will be an increase in the electric bills in my state.

Hey sweeetu don't just sit worrying abt the thing. You have to move on bring some electric engineer get your current checked. See whether someone else is using ur power by cables. Check out the leakage in power. Get your wiring changed with new good quality cables.

Look on your bill for actual usage to see if you're using more or if the rate has gone up. If it seems that you're using more while you feel that you're not, ask the electric company to check your meter. They do go bad now and then. Otherwise, try these things: Keep your freezer filled. Use empty soft drink bottles, milk jugs or whatever you have, to keep the empty spots filled up. Keep your refrigerator empty. Not as it totally empty, but a refrigerator works on a different principle from a freezer and must have air circulating to be the most efficient. Check the gasket on both freezer and refrigerator. If you close a dollar bill in the door and you can slip it out without opening it, you need a new gasket. Clean coils, keep dust and dirt away from both refrigerator and freezer. Keep the filters on the air conditioner clean. Dirty filters make them run longer and harder than necessary. Don't wash a partial load. It takes just as long - and as much electricity - to wash a small load as it does a large one. Don't overload the machine, but don't underload it, either. If you only need a few things washed, think about doing it by hand. Wash dishes by hand and cut the cost of running a dishwasher. If you have an electric stove, cut baking and cooking time by turning off the heat before the cooking time is up. The oven will keep an even temperature up to 5 minutes after it's turned off and most things cooked on top of the stove will continue to cook that length of time, too. Unplug every "instant on" appliance that you have when you're not using it. This includes TVs, computers, microwaves, etc. Also, anything with a clock is "leaking" electricity when it's plugged in. Do away with small electric odds and ends. Electric pencil sharpeners, knives, plug in clocks, etc., only add to the electric burden. There are a lot of other things you can do, but take it one step at a time and keep looking for ways to save. It's amazing what we can get along comfortably without, once we've decided to try!

Check and see if your utility company offers a service where they can pinpoint where your electricity use is going. You may have a power leak somewhere that you aren't even aware of.

sadly the bills just keep getting higher and we cant do much about it. i think candles are a great idea and when the weather starts getting cooler here, i will start usuing them. why not see what other ideas you can find by googling something like 'how to save money on your electric bill' there are a ton of great sites out there that may help.

Turning the A/C on and off is actually costing you more electricity than just leaving it on let's say 78. The A/C has to work really hard to cool down the house to the desired temperature instead of keeping it at the desired temperature. Seems like you are doing all the right things otherwise. Make sure you leave the lights off in rooms you don't use. Eat more cold stuff like salads so the stove won't be used, which also helps with the cooling bill as a stove can heat up the room quite a bit. Only run full loads of laundry and dishes. Take colder showers (costs to heat the water). How old are your refridgerator, stove, A/C, water heater, washer, dishwasher??? Old appliances suck a load of energy. It might be worth replacing them as you have the price made up in savings in no time, if you have appliances older than 15 years. Fill your freezer. If it has too keep air cool, it costs more. If you have empty spaces, fill them with bottles you filled 3/4 with water. Don't leave the fridge door open when grabbing things for let's say preparing dinner. I have seen people leave it gaping open while getting out stuff to set the table or to prepare dinner. Each time you step away the door should be closed. Also let things cool down a bit first before placing left-overs in there. Pull out the fridge and clean the coils in the bag. If they are dusty the thing has to work really hard. Also, if you compare your last bill (most likely for July) to a previous bill (before July), the prices they charge went up. They charge significantly more now, plus some places got extra taxes or increased taxes added on and some obscure fees. It pays to always scan each bill front AND back. Change info is always hidden away. In areas where fuel is used to generate electricity they have experienced the biggest increases. It may be reflected in a fuel charge on your bill. With the oil prices up, your electricity bill goes up, too. Furthermore, they might issue estimated bills with somebody reading the actual meter only once or twice a year. Then you pay an average of your past usage and will not for a while see a significant decrease in the bill due to your efforts.

Hi I don't now if your still having problems paying your electric bills but in case your still looking for a solution you can try getting of the grid if you have no experience at engineering you can try one of those programs that will guide you trough here is a link, this guide worked for me. http://www.my-linker.com/hop/gogreenow

hi maybe you should try getting of the grid I did one of those programs you can find online and it worked for my if you want to check it out here is the link www.my-linker.com/hop/gogreenow