Seattle City Light-$900 bill

[Barry2012]

Hi All,

I’m reaching out here as I’m seeing dead ends everywhere I turn. We have a 900 sq ft house in Gatewood. Average electric bill has been $250-300.00 from SPU. We just got hit with a $900 bill for Jan/February. I’ve been told over the phone that we used over 7,000 KLW in electricity, the guy on the phone said we would have to have been powering major machinery 24 hours a day 7 days a week to do that kind of the power. Now the bill is normal again but carrying over a the $900 balance. I’m at a loss because SPU admits its crazy high and not right but they’ve performed an audit and nothing seems to be coming of it….

anyone else deal with this? suggestions? we are racking our brain but this is impossible that we used that much electricity…. thanks!

• This topic was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Barry2012.

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[Ponderosa]

We have 800sq ft., sort of insulated, old baseboard electric heat house nearby. We have reached over $300 for those winter months (60-ish days in the cycle), and our recent bill was around $180.

Could there possibly be construction going on nearby your property? I have no idea if this was a possibility, but maybe someone is using your power supply? Or if there is new construction, the billing could have been set up wrong?

Good luck, I have never had a pleasant experience dealing with SPU regarding billing issues (though none have been this big of an error!)

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[vogel]

I would question if your “normal” bills are even accurate at $250-300 per billing cycle. I have more square footage than you and my electric bill ranges between $40 and $80 (per two-month billing cycle). One big difference may be that I have a gas furnace, so I’m not using electricity for heat, but I use window A/C’s in the summer and my electric bills still aren’t as high as yours.

I second Ponderosa’s suggestion that someone else may have tapped into your power supply.

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[CMP]

Was your bill from Jan/Feb designated as an estimate? I doubt it since the SPU rep didn’t even mention it but you never know. What’s even worse is that I thought winter rates were higher than summer so you have to pay higher KLW rates. I only mention the estimate because when I moved into an apartment a few years ago (from one unit in the building to another upstairs), my electric bill quadrupled. Turns out they were estimating it on the prior year with the prior tenant, who apparently left the heat on 24/7 unlike me. I had to pay that bill and then got a credit for almost the rest of the year but paid the higher winter rates. Lovely. If yours is not an estimate issue, I don’t have much more advice except good luck. That sounds like a huge mistake on their part and I do hope it’s researched further on SPU’s end to help you out!

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[WSB]

Hi – just checking to be sure you are dealing with the right bill and the right department – Seattle City Light is the electric utility, Seattle Public Utilities bills (which are more commonly in triple digits) are for water, sewer, and trash. If you meant SCL, I too would question your baseline bills – we have a slightly larger old house just south of Gatewood and ours barely hit triple digits the one year we had a ridiculous amount of old-fashioned (pre-LED) Christmas lights.

Have you already gone through all the dispute steps outlined here?

http://www.seattle.gov/light/paymybill/disputeres.asp

-TR

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[Barry2012]

Hi All,

TR- thanks for catching that. It is in fact, a $900 electric bill. I’ve done the online dispute process, done an audit ect. I’ve gotten no where. The fact that 2 different people there have said that they have never seen a bill that high makes me even more frustrated. Though hearing that maybe the bill I pay in general is too high makes me wonder if its the meter….they did offer to have someone come out and check the meter, I’ll ask for that tomorrow…thanks!!

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[JTB]

I would contact an electrician or engineer with experience sufficient to evaluate your situation rather than relay on SCL exclusively. I’ve seen episodic electric events in commercial settings that are hard to pin down or replicate.

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[fc43]

Twice in the last 6 months we got a bill that was about double of normal. The first time, I went and read my meter. The reading was significantly lower than the bill stated. I called and they apologized and entered the reading that I provided. I had already paid the bill, so I received a credit on the next statement. Then again, a high bill. The reading didn’t seem to be off by much, so I let it be. This month the new bill is only $30. I’ve heard many stories of incorrect meter readings. I would go and double check yours.

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[mark47n]

Speaking as a licensed electrician it sound like you’re leaking ohms. You can get a fresh bag and pour them in the meter base.

In all seriousness, before you call an electrician go out to your meter and figure out haw quickly it;s turning. If it’s the old dial type see how fast it’s moving from number to number. Now turn on the heat (just for a bit) and repeat the above exercise, you shold see a marked increase. Record the time. One last step turn off everything that you can; lights, unplug all electronics, large appliance, etc and, again repeat. This is sort of similar to looking for a water leak in that you’re looking for a high impedance load where the current isn’t high enough to trip a breaker but still draws a fair bit of current. This is a serious hazard and rather uncommon in a residential setting. It’s also akin to a wter leak as you keep drawing Kw around the clock.

A good habit, also, is to find out when the utility’s billing cycle is and then record your meter readings at the same time (I can help you with that, if necessary) and see if your readings coincide with SCLs.

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[Sue]

When I hit a dead end with City Light billing issues last year and could not resolve it on my own, it was suggested to me that I contact Kshama Sawant’s office, as she was (at the time) involved with the committee that oversees City Light. Their office was able to get me in touch with someone who was able to resolve things to my satisfaction. I don’t know if CM Sawant is still on that same committee or not, but research whoever is, and reach out to them. I know it was the only thing that helped me.

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[Semele]

The bill before this last for me was just about $400 when it’s normally between $150 to $180 in the winter. The usage was almost double from the previous year when I had an extra person living in the home. I called and was told it was not an estimate. Now my bill for SCL is back to normal at about $140. I’ve never had a bill be even close to that high before.

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[WSB]

CM Sawant does still chair what’s now the Energy & Environment Committee:

http://www.seattle.gov/council/committees

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[Barry2012]

I just wanted to thank everyone for the responses. I reached out to Ms. Sawant this afternoon after getting yet another story and excuse from SCL. Her office responded to my email within 20 minutes and said they are forwarding it directly to the head of SCl. They asked that if I don’t hear anything within 3 days that I let them know. Her office was professional, courteous and very helpful. I’m really hoping I can finally get an explanation! Thanks again everyone!

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[Bonnie]

Hi, curious if you ever got this resolved? We just got our last electric bill and while not $900 (summer rates now though) it was almost double what we usually use during the same period. Getting a $500 bill in summer was a bit shocking. I went out and looked at the meter and it is correct, so I cannot figure out what is going on. My only thought is they have not actually checked our meter in well over 6 months (maybe even 8) and we always got an estimated bill. Maybe they underestimated for the past 6 or 8 months and finally catching up?

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[Barry2012]

Hi Bonnie,

I never got anywhere on it. I worked with the Seattle City Light and kept getting tossed around to different people and promises of “we’ll look into it”. Meanwhile the bill was going unpaid and I was getting yellow/red notices. I just ended up paying it all. I have a 14 month old and work full time, I just don’t have time to devote to fighting Seattle City Light. Wish I had better answers for you. Note that on the gatewood blog there were dozens of people that experienced the same unusual hike in fees with no explanation…good luck!

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[Bonnie]

Thanks Barry! I just put my $500.91 summer bill in my billpay to get paid while I cannot for the life of me figure out how we used so much electricity during the summer. I’m just crossing my fingers next time they actually come out and take a reading it is less. I put a note on my calendar to check my meter in 2 months to make sure it is close to what my bill says next time.

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[redblack]

sorry to resuscitate a dead horse, but i breezed in after work and saw KIRO7 talking about similar instances of rate-jacking in… i think it was tacoma.

what they did was, they got jesse.

i wish i could do more right now; but the news blurb reminded me of this thread and made me wonder if any of the aggrieved posters had thought of getting jesse.

maybe he’d be willing to take on our broadband providers while he’s at it…

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[22blades]

Another unfortunate angle you might check… It’s happened to my friend as well as myself. Check very carefully at all the places power can be “picked off’. I had a neighbor 150 feet away running a heavy gauge extension cord to his shop with compressors and welders while I was away. He knew that I travelled for a living. I put locked covers on the outlets. Funny… my bills came back down to normal. He’s always been uneasy to make “neighborly talk” for him after that. :-/

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