Sky-high energy bill? Why it went up and how to lower it

With warmer temperatures finally here, some utility customers are still paying for their high winter electric bills.

Power companies blame the extreme cold and individual usage, but critics say there's more to it.

Talk about sticker shock: “I’m looking like, what in the whole holy Jesus is going on here?!”

Maria Elizabeth Robertson, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, is talking about her February Pepco bill, which covered Jan. 4 through Feb. 4. It was $848, which is $271 more compared to the same time last year.

“Again, it just doesn’t make sense,” Robertson said. “There’s no logic.”

Robertson is one of many utility customers who’ve reached out to NBC4 Responds over the past several months to report that their electric bills went up hundreds of dollars year over year:

• “Last month, my bill was $378 and then this month it's $639.” – Adrian Blyer, Silver Spring
• “Pepco bill doubled and apparently may triple for same usage year over year.” – Sarah Lucas, D.C.
• “I received a bill for 925.00 dollars” – Dorothy Hunt, Fort Washington, Maryland
• “My Pepco bill went from $349 last month to $657 this month.” – Rodney Scott, Prince George’s County

Representatives from Pepco, BGE, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative and Washington Gas were grilled by Maryland lawmakers in March about soaring energy costs. Company representatives blamed an unusually cold winter and higher energy usage to stay warm, but lawmakers weren’t totally buying it, and neither were customers.

“I would call Pepco, and I would speak to a customer service person ...” Robertson said. “The explanation that they gave me sounded like — excuse me, this is my Irish coming out — a bunch of malarkey.”

News4 asked Pepco to look at Robertson’s bill.

“This customer has used about 15% more this winter than they did last winter,” said Will Ellis, director of governmental and external affairs at Pepco.

He said that extra usage, along with having an electric heat pump and extreme cold this past winter, all contributed to Robertson’s high bills.

Thirty-four percent of Maria’s most recent bill is for delivery charges. News4 asked Ellis what those are for.

“The delivery charges are our portion of the bill that represents the investments we need to make to keep reliable and safe power flowing to your homes,” he said. “About 10% of your delivery charges are taxes and fees not associated with the charges that Pepco charges our customers.”

And most of those fees are ultimately based on usage.

David Lapp with the Maryland People’s Counsel, an organization that advocates on behalf of residential utility customers, said while weather has played a role in higher usage, one of the primary drivers for the utilities is rapidly increasing distribution rates. He said Pepco rates have increased at a faster pace than any other large Maryland electric utility.

“That is compounding the problems of greater energy usage,” Lapp said. “So especially for customers who are heating their homes with electricity, they’re going to see a much greater increase in bills.”

How to cut your energy usage and lower your bill

As the summer months draw closer, utility customers may not get much relief as excessive hot temperatures also drive up bills. So what can be done to prepare for those hot summer days?

• Close blinds and curtains to block out the sun
• Have HVAC maintenance done regularly
• Set the thermostat to 78 degrees when at home
• Raise the thermostat to 80 degrees when not at home, according to the Department of Energy, as it takes less energy to cool your home down than to run the AC continuously at a lower temperature

Pepco told News4 Robertson should schedule a free home energy checkup, which teaches residents about their energy usage and provides free energy saving products for their home.

That is a program funded through EMPOWER, a charge which is part of the delivery charges on Robertson’s Pepco bill.

Robertson told News4 that customer service said she didn’t qualify for a free home energy checkup because she had one a couple of years ago, and residents are limited to one every five years.

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