| Author |
Message |
    
jeffl
Citizen
Username: Jeffl
Post Number: 263
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 9:48 am: |     |
Did anyone else have their PSE&G EPP jump up this year? We just got a whopping bill to "balance" the actual and predicted PSE&G bill. |
1-2many
Citizen
Username: Wbg69
Post Number: 789
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 4:36 pm: | |
hey Jeff. rates went up in the late summer, so even if your usage was the same, the amount billed would be different.
also, though, they estimate gas usage every month for my home. if they do that for yours, too, the reconciliation that comes one day could be a big jump. what I do is call in my gas meter reading every so often to keep things on track.
in terms of size of the bill, my usage for this past month was a whopping $400. |
us2innj
Citizen
Username: Us2innj
Post Number: 952
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 8:45 pm: | |
We experienced natural gas sticker shock this past month. We use gas for cooking and hot water only, and we clocked almost $70 for a one month period. Generally our monthly gas would cost about $30.
I can only imagine what heating a home with natural gas costs now. |
NRL
Citizen
Username: Nrl
Post Number: 414
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 9:20 pm: | |
Well, I am glad to see some press on this topic. I thought I was the only one. Our gas bill came in at a jaw dropping $315. I didnt even use the heat all that much last month. This is the highest bill in history for us...Jeez, Whats it going to be like when it really gets cold?? |
jfburch
Citizen
Username: Jfburch
Post Number: 1178
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 9:20 pm: | |
Rates had a spike last year, but are due to come down about 4% this year--effective I am not sure when. (Saw a blurb in the S-L a week or two ago.)
jeffl, do you follow your EPP/actual charges month to month?
Some folks were complaining last winter about enormous monthly bills--you may be paying for that now.
Last I checked we are near balanced, but I tweaked the system last winter and we've been running much more efficiently since then.
|
jfburch
Citizen
Username: Jfburch
Post Number: 1179
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 9:22 pm: | |
OTOH, we haven't gotten our latest bill--sounds like something's up for last month.
NRL, what is a typical Dec bill for you? |
jfburch
Citizen
Username: Jfburch
Post Number: 1180
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 9:26 pm: | |
S-L article at:
http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/business-5/1071643848227180.xml?starled ger?b
4.3% decrease beginning Jan, following 3 increases last year (when demand was high and prices spiked).
"The drop in rates comes even as
natural gas prices continue to rise,
topping last year's high prices.
Since Thanksgiving, gas prices
have surged nearly 50 percent,
prompting Congress to launch an
inquiry into the spikes."
Some of that 50% surge since Tday is probably what folks are seeing.
Not looking forward to my bill now..... |
NRL
Citizen
Username: Nrl
Post Number: 415
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 10:26 pm: | |
JF,
I think last December mine came in about $200.00 for gas as opposed to this years $315.
My dissappontment lies with 2 facts;
1) I tweaked my system significantly last month and "I thought" it was running better than ever.
2) My wife was away on business for a month which allowed me to lower my Thermostat by 2 degrees accross the board.
My bill came in higher???!!@#. I dont get it. They are coming to read the meter on Jan 19th. They said it hasnt been read since June. I hope it evens out to my favor. |
jfburch
Citizen
Username: Jfburch
Post Number: 1181
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 10:39 pm: | |
Well, if it's based on estimates since June, you may be OK--they would have estimated without taking into account either factor you listed above.
|
jeffl
Citizen
Username: Jeffl
Post Number: 265
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 10:07 am: | |
I don't follow our bill closely, er, um, or at all. We just got our last bill for the year and we owe $400 over what we pay monthly so our bill is about $670! Merry Christmas! |
tourne
Citizen
Username: Tourne
Post Number: 266
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 12:16 pm: | |
I found that it is better to pay for what you use monthly than to take the equal payment plan. For one thing, it makes it easier to follow your energy usage(ie. efficiency). Prices are only going to be going up for gas and electricity. You know, there really is an overall energy shortage. Buying Energy Star rated furnaces and appliances and using compact fluorescent bulbs really can save you a lot of money. And sealing your house properly with insulation and vapor barriers makes a tremendous difference in heating and cooling costs. Likewise, letting the sun shine in on the south side works wonders. Lowering the thermostat a couple of degrees will also make a difference. Driving an energy efficient(smaller) car to work will save some oil for home use. |
jfburch
Citizen
Username: Jfburch
Post Number: 1183
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 12:38 pm: | |
Even on the EPP, you get a listing of your actual usage and a graph that shows you the pattern for the year and a comparison to the same period for the previous year, so it's not hard at all to keep an eye on usage patterns and efficiency. |
tourne
Citizen
Username: Tourne
Post Number: 267
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 1:37 pm: | |
True. However, money is what matters to most people, who usually don't bother to look at actual usage on the bill. One other thing about the equal payment plan is that it usually favors the utility, which usually owes you money at the end of the year. |
mrmaplewood
Citizen
Username: Mrmaplewood
Post Number: 102
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 2:20 pm: | |
I have had large swings on my equal payment plan, but they are usually explained by the fact that PSEG does not read the meter monthly, but estimates instead. After many months of this there comes a time or reckoning when the meter is finally read.
I used to be able to call in the meter readings and they would use them, but apparantly they won't use the called in figures anymore. |
us2innj
Citizen
Username: Us2innj
Post Number: 955
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 4:03 pm: | |
I think you're wrong about customers calling in their readings. I did it this past October, when we weren't going to be home on reading day. You have to call the reading in seven days before your in-home reading date. PSE&G also provides plastic wheelie cards that you place outside your house, generally next to the electric meter, that displays your gas usage. The reader will then transcribe the numbers to his form for billing.
Fortunately, I am generally home on the day when the PSE&G rep comes to read both meters. |
mtierney
Citizen
Username: Mtierney
Post Number: 459
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 4:23 pm: | |
Opened my PSEG bill today and was shocked! My first thought was that the bill was estimated - and estimated wrong. But, no, it is the result of an actual reading.
I have always paid monthly. Last month's gas for a very mild month was $280; this bill total is $709.06 for just the gas 
I tried calling to get some explanation, but three tries at their voice mail defeated me. No way could I get through to a human being.
I know December was cold - not exceptionally - but this is absolutely ridiculous.
What can be done?
|
Richard O'Connor
Citizen
Username: Roconn
Post Number: 48
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 5:10 pm: | |
I too had the mtierney experience...ask macman..I'm predominantly heating my home with wood now and for my gas bill to hit 300 bucks is insane....
part of it is the way they estimate (if you look they estimated the dec use almost 8x higher than Nov and 4x higher than last dec. Neither was true.
Called and gave them a corrected reading and they are going to rebill but it is still (for substantially less gas, almost as much money....)
Richard (ROC)
--Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic.--
--AIM: ROConn |
sportsnut
Citizen
Username: Sportsnut
Post Number: 808
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 5:11 pm: | |
Oops - the bill came in this weekend. Guess I should open it and take a peek. We recently had a gas hot water heater installed. Until then our gas had run us about $6 per month (stove only). But now I'm curious. |
jfburch
Citizen
Username: Jfburch
Post Number: 1188
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 5:56 pm: | |
Well, I got mine and sure enough, my EPP is going up. I have to pull last year's bill to see the rate, but my gas usage for December was lower than December last year, and as of Nov. I was in balance, so this is a rates issue. |
jfburch
Citizen
Username: Jfburch
Post Number: 1189
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 7:52 pm: | |
And I just pulled some old bills--as of Nov, we had a credit in our EPP plan, but not enough to cover increased usage in early Dec--though usage was about 15% lower than the same period last year.
But, rates have gone up steadily (with a break over the summer) from .59/therm last Dec. to .81/therm this December. So if usage was the same for someone on an EPP plan, it will be way out of whack for the year.
In Dec 2001, it was .70/therm so a year ago it had actually gone down.
I don't get how much of this is regulated (the 4% decrease we are slated for) and how much is market--which is keeping the price high this year.
I just lowered my thermostat a notch. We'll see how long it is before the spouse notices. |
Richard O'Connor
Citizen
Username: Roconn
Post Number: 54
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 - 8:39 am: | |
I have a question for all of you with inside meters (which sometimes get 'estimated').
I have contacted on a couple of occasions PSE&G about this and there is a 'remote read' meter like the ones that are provided by NJAmerican Water. HOWEVER, PSE&G charges a $5/month surcharge for this type of meter.
Do any of you think this seems strange? I am trying to understand why PSE&G feels it can charge us more to bill us accurately. If they put the remote read meters in our homes, wouldn't our bills (and thus their income) be more consistently correct?
Just a question, but I am wondering if enough of us complained about the 'additional' charge we could get a change of policy at PSE&G.
Thanx
Richard (ROC)
--Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic.--
--AIM: ROConn |
grw
Citizen
Username: Grw
Post Number: 224
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 - 9:28 am: | |
PSE&G told me there was a $145.00 charge to put this remote reader in. They also haven't read my meter since August, never left a card or anything, I even stayed home one meter reading day, they never showed. When I called in my readings, they estimated my bill anyway. They told me they are short on meter readers. I should have stuck with oil!! |
jfburch
Citizen
Username: Jfburch
Post Number: 1191
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 - 11:12 am: | |
I have a remote read meter--it was here when we bought the house. I don't think we pay a surcharge at this point--maybe it was paid for at the time of installation, maybe the $5 thing is new. Unless it's paying off the installation fee over time, it does seem odd.
It does mean we almost never get an estimated bill and it's certainly one less hassle in all this. |
mrmaplewood
Citizen
Username: Mrmaplewood
Post Number: 103
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 - 2:40 pm: | |
See, GRW, that is what I said way above. You call in your meter reading, and it doesn't count. They estimate anyway. It tells you on each bill how to call it in, but it doesn't matter. |
ashear
Citizen
Username: Ashear
Post Number: 888
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 - 9:34 am: | |
We've been in our house almost 3.5 years and I have never had a meter reader come and read the gas meter though for most of that time someone was home 3 days a week and I know I was home several times when the meter was supposed to be read. They have also never left a card. On the other hand I have submmitted readings online a few times and they have shown up on my bill. |
grw
Citizen
Username: Grw
Post Number: 226
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 - 10:00 am: | |
I called PSE&G yesterday, the meter reading dept., they had no answers to any of my questions, they just told me they would come this Sat between 8:00 and 10:00am to read the meter, we'll see |
namaste
Citizen
Username: Namaste
Post Number: 8
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, January 1, 2004 - 4:54 pm: | |
I have managed to get through to PSE&G and found out a couple of things that might be useful to know. First, since a customer's reading isn't official, it counts as estimated. So in those months when you provide the figure, it will accurately update usage on your bill, but it will also continue to show up as estimated. Second, if you get hit with an equalizing payment at the end of your 12-month cycle, you can divide it into thirds and pay it over the next three months. You don't have to call or notify PSE&G in any way, and you won't get hassled for late payments. Meantime, don't forget to put cozy sweaters on your gift list next year. They're much more satisfying and pleasant than writing a check to the utility company. |
wnb
Citizen
Username: Wnb
Post Number: 69
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Friday, January 2, 2004 - 9:15 am: | |
I call in my own meter readings every month. PSE&G's estimates are always off and always err in favor of the company in one way or another. When I've ever forgotten for more than 2 or 3 months, I've ended up with a $200 or more credit (which isn't a good thing, it means I've given them a $200 interest free loan). Better to pay actual usage month to month, based on your actual reading. What do I care if the company calls it an estimate?
One year they estimated my electric usage for the entire summer -- and estimated low. Then in the fall they read it and I got hit with a true-up. The kicker is, the unit price for electricity had actually risen (I went back and checked the bills), so I got hit with the difference all at the higher rate.
Anyway, if you read it every month, you know where you stand, how much you've used, notice immediately if something seems off, and don't get stuck playing the PSE&G guessing game which I highly suspect is always rigged in their favor!
PS it takes me all of 5 minutes a month to do this. The biggest challenge is remembering to do it at all.
|
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page