Understanding Your Electric Bill: Look Beyond the Total

When your electric bill is higher than it was last month, it’s natural to wonder why. However, comparing this month’s total bill to last month’s bill alone doesn’t always give you an accurate picture of your electricity usage.

One of the best ways to understand your bill is to look at your kilowatt-hour (kWh) usage. Your kWh tells you how much electricity you actually used during the billing period. Rather than focusing only on the dollar amount, compare your current kWh usage to your usage during the same time last year.

Why compare to last year?

Month-to-month comparisons can be misleading because the conditions in your home and the weather can be very different from one month to the next. For example, a major heat wave, unusually cold temperatures, extended periods of rain, or other significant weather events can cause your electricity usage to increase or decrease.

Other factors can also affect your consumption, such as:

• Running your heating or air-conditioning system more than usual
• Having guests or more people in the home
• Changes in your daily routine
• Using appliances or equipment more frequently
• Extended periods when the home was unoccupied
• Major weather events or unusual temperatures
• Looking at your kWh usage compared with the same period last year helps provide a much better apples-to-apples comparison.

What about the PCRF?

Another important (and large) part of your electric bill is the PCRF. The PCRF can fluctuate from month to month because it reflects the cost of purchasing power from our transmission provider.

Because the cost of purchased power changes from month to month, the PCRF on your bill will fluctuate as well. This means your total bill can increase or decrease even if your actual electricity usage has remained relatively consistent. A higher bill does not automatically mean that you used significantly more electricity.

 

A better way to evaluate your bill

When reviewing your electric bill, consider these three things:

1. Look at your kWh usage. Did you use more or less electricity than you did previously?
2. Compare your usage to the same period last year. This provides a more meaningful comparison than simply looking at last month.
3. Consider what changed. Think about weather, heating and cooling, household activity, and other circumstances that could have affected your consumption.

The goal is to look at the complete picture rather than focusing only on the final dollar amount.

We understand that seeing a higher bill can be frustrating. Our goal is to help our members understand why their bill has changed and give them the information they need to better manage their electricity usage. By paying attention to kWh consumption, comparing usage year-over-year, and understanding that the PCRF can fluctuate, you can get a much clearer picture of what is driving your electric bill. If you ever have any questions about your electric bill please reach out to our office, we would be happy to go over it with you 361-771-4400.