Why is my electric bill so high? Check in this order

Using more power and paying a higher price can add up fast. In a made-up example, the two together doubled the usage part of a bill, from $90 to $180.^⁠[1]

Start by putting your bills side by side. Compare the billing dates, how much you used in kilowatt-hours (kWh) and this month’s charges, not the full amount due.^⁠[2] A bill with more days in it can show more use, even if your daily use didn’t change.^⁠[2]

For a rough idea of a normal bill, you can estimate a bill for a similar home. Your own bills are still the best guide.

Yes. In very hot or cold weather, your heating or cooling can work harder, even at the same thermostat setting.^⁠[3] Compare the weather during your billing dates, not just the month printed on the bill.^⁠[2,4]

First, check what heats your home. Electric furnaces, baseboard heaters and heat pumps run on electricity, but a furnace can also run on gas or another fuel.^⁠[5,8] Only count the heating and cooling that runs on this electric account.

• Compare the season.

  Some utilities show degree days on your bill or website. They measure how hot or cold it was, so you can compare seasons.^⁠[4]

• Check your heating.

  Did you add a space heater or run the heat longer? If your heat pump uses its backup electric heat, that costs more.^⁠[5]

The U.S. Department of Energy warns that some thermostat changes can switch a heat pump to its backup heat.^⁠[5] If you see a backup-heat light or something seems off, tell maintenance. In summer, do the same check for cooling.^⁠[3,4]

A price change or a missing credit can raise your bill even if you used about the same.^⁠[1,6] Compare the rates on both bills, line by line.^⁠[2]

• Check the supply price. If you picked an electricity supplier, its price may have changed. FirstEnergy lists this as one possible cause.^⁠[1]
• Check when you used power. On a plan where the price changes by time of day, using more in the pricier hours can raise your bill.^⁠[3]
• Check for other price changes. At PG&E, some plans’ prices change with how much you use. Some flat charges change with the number of days in the billing period.^⁠[9]
• Check for a missing discount. PG&E’s CARE discount, for example, can run out, so watch for notices.^⁠[6,10] If your plan’s credit depends on how much you use, check that your use reached the plan’s level.^⁠[11]

Ask your utility which charge changed and when. If the rate stayed the same, ask how much you used at each price.^⁠[1,3,9]

Yes. Sometimes earlier bills were based on estimates that were too low. The next actual reading can then catch up on power you used but weren’t billed for. If they were too high, it can go the other way.^⁠[1] An estimate or a catch-up on its own doesn’t mean your meter is broken.

1. Find the reading labels.

   Look at your recent bills. Mark which ones were estimated and where the first actual reading shows up.^⁠[1]

2. Ask what the catch-up covers.

   Ask which months it includes and how the earlier estimates were taken off.^⁠[1,2]

3. Check for a late bill.

   A late bill can include charges from earlier months, Southern California Edison (SCE) says. Ask if older months are included.^⁠[7]

If the readings still don’t make sense, ask your utility what it can check next.

Yes. Running things longer, adding new ones or having more people at home can raise your use.^⁠[3,5] Start with heating, cooling and hot water. Then look at laundry, fridges, dehumidifiers and any new electric car charging.^⁠[5,13]

• Match changes to dates.

  Write down anything new, like a device, a guest or more laundry. Compare the dates with any daily or hourly use your utility shows you.^⁠[3,7]

• Report problems.

  Tell maintenance or a qualified technician about a leaking water heater, a fridge door that won’t seal or anything running oddly.^⁠[3,5]

Don’t forget an extra fridge or freezer.^⁠[5] To see what a device costs, you can estimate what an appliance costs to run, or read about the biggest electricity uses at home.

Call the company that sent the bill and ask them to explain the difference. Have your bills and a short list of what changed nearby. Only share account or meter numbers through the company’s own contact options.

• Ask which dates, readings and earlier months the bill covers.^⁠[1,2,7]
• Ask which rate, charge or discount changed, and when.^{⁠[1,6,9,10]}
• Ask what use history or other checks are available.^⁠[7]

If your building or a billing company sends your bill, start with them. If you’re submetered, Con Edison says to take bill questions to your landlord or board.^⁠[14] If a community program supplies your power through SCE, ask that program about its generation charges, the cost of the electricity itself.^⁠[15]

Once you know what happened, our guide to ways to lower your bill over time can help with the next step.

Public Grid tracks usage and bills, so you can follow changes after a high bill.^⁠[17] You can connect your electricity account to get started; it’s free to sign up, with no contracts.

Sample meter

Meter no.See bill