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Electricity Usage Very High

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Electricity Usage Very High

Postby kamp95 » Fri Apr 14, 2023 10:52 am

I live in an apartment complex with over 100 apartments and have always had an abnormally high electricity bill (one bedroom apartment using around 750kWh/month). To make the situation odder, my usage is about the same throughout the year even though I blast the AC in the summer and in the winter don't use heat. We don't have any large appliances that would run up our bill either (just the typical stove/refrigerator/microwave).

I recently asked my energy provider to come and check it out to see what is going on. They replaced my meter and tested the old one to find it is 99.9% accurate, so this isn't the issue.

Do you all have any idea what is going on here? Could it be that my circuit is connected to communal lighting/HVAC?
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Re: Electricity Usage Very High

Postby TenantNet » Fri Apr 14, 2023 11:44 am

Seems we answered a similar question a short time ago (see below). In any case, electrical consumption (and cost) depend on usage, not size of the unit. I live in a small unit, but my electrical bill has always been what I consider high: a few lights, refrigerator, a TV or computer (not usually at the same time). Seems normal usage, but it adds up.

What gets me is when I ask other about their bills and they pay a lot less (and they don't live by candlelight).

My consumption on my last bill was 293 KWh (that was for March, so that's before air conditioning usage). So yes, I would think 750 KWh is very high for a 1 BR. That's 25 KWh per day. Now, if you run an electric stove, electric heat and electric laundry (I don't), then it starts to add up.

I would look into someone (or the LL) tapping into your line. It happens a lot more than you realize, and that's stealing. The tap could happen at any point in the building. It could be the LL who is doing it. So obviously some/most LLs will not cooperate in an investigation. If you can get access to where the meters are or the power lines, if it's really that much of a problem you can even hire an architect or engineer to come in an look. An electrician might also be able to look around. But I would keep any investigation quiet so the LL doesn't freak out and lock access to the basement or meter room. Do it quietly.

FYI, this is what I wrote to another tenant:

Do a search for ConEd on TenantNet
http://tenant.net/search.html?siteurl=t ... n+ed&sa=Go

or Google "NYC coned stealing electricity"

I remember something similar years ago and it didn't take 2 months to get someone out. They had a program for just such a thing. But I can't find the material on it right now. I'd call your elected officials and community board to see if they can pressure for an earlier appointment.

If you have access to the basement or wherever the power distribution is, I'd look for an engineer to inspect w/o the LL (but that can cost). They may need the LL to open the area or meter room, if you have one.

FYI, my usage last month was 293 KWh. I have a small apartment, but my computer is on a lot. Probably a good part of it is my refrigerator. You can look at your historical usage if you saved your bills.

You can get a Kill-a-Watt or similar device to measure your usage.

The Kill-a-Watt type devices can tell you a lot, but it's limited to one line in your apartment at a time. You should also give it some time, say a week or more to get a good grasp on what line in your apartment is using the most power.
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Re: Electricity Usage Very High

Postby BubbaJoe123 » Mon Apr 17, 2023 4:07 pm

750kWh/month? Yeah, that sounds excessively high. Your suspicion that something else is drawing power from your apt is almost certainly correct. Do you have access to the areas with the electric meters? If so, one way to check this would be to unplug everything in your apt that you can, and see if the meter is still incrementing upward. If so, then something else is drawing on it.
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