Electric Consumer Information

Electricity is an essential service for residential and business consumers alike, representing a significant part of our personal and business budgets. The information that follows answers a wide range of questions about electricity service and electricity bills.

Electric Hot Topics

What can I do about my high electric bill?

What is a high bill
Why are my electric bills are so high?
What are my electric company’s responsibilities?
All those things checked out, now what do I do?
Common culprits of high electric bills
Learn to read your meter.
Next steps

What is a high bill?

Average household consumption of energy in VT is about 750 kWh per month. Obviously, this varies with number of appliances, people, etc. This covers basic residential uses: refrigeration, lighting, television and other electronic gear. If you use electricity to heat water your usage will be higher. If you heat with electricity it is not uncommon to see bills between $250-$450 in winter months.

There are two kinds of high bills; ones that are consistently high and ones that have unusual "spikes." The kind you have can determine where to start looking. A "spike" usually indicates a repair problem with an electric appliance and a consistently high bill implies the need for a very detailed examination of usage.

It is important to make sure that you are working with actual usage. Some companies estimate usage some months using data from the previous year. Make sure your determination of a high bill based on actual readings.

Why are my electric bills are so high? Is this my problem?

After your electric company has checked the meter, determined that it is accurate, and confirmed there are no problems with its lines and facilities up to your home, it has met its responsibility.

Power companies cannot "push" power through the meter, electricity is drawn in. Power surges that occasionally occur on power lines make virtually no difference in usage because they happen for such a short interval, generally less than one second. If power is traveling through the meter then it is being used somewhere.

Most high bill problems can be unraveled by a detailed, thorough examination of usage. You can request your usage history. DPS is available to review it with you.

Efficiency Vermont, the state's energy efficiency utility, has excellent resources to help identifywhy you have a high bills.

What are my electric company’s responsibilities?
Once a year your electric company must, upon request, provide you with a free meter test to make sure your meter is accurate. Be aware that they usually are. When a meter does malfunction, the error is usually running slow (in your favor) rather than running fast (in the company's favor).

Request whatever energy efficiency materials your electric utility company has. Most utilities at least have a appliance worksheet that can help you figure out the average usage for most appliances.

Request that your electric company send your usage history for at least the last two years. Are you using the same amount that you did last year? Do your bills follow a pattern; i.e. higher in the spring when your basement sump pump runs, higher in July and August when your dehumidifier and air conditioner are running.

All those things checked out, now what do I do?

When it comes to usage, any appliances that make heat from electricity should be the first change to consider. Many electric hot water heaters will consume 350-500 kWh, often far more where there are large families, leaking taps or hot water laundry usage. It is also important to make sure that your hot water heater is working properly, if you rent your heater from the electric company ask them to check it. If you own your own water heater call an electrician.

Another common source of high bills are electric space heaters placed in rooms that are rarely used. The space heaters can unknowingly be left on, leading to high usage. Also the switches on these heaters can be unreliable and the heater actually be on when the switch is in the "off" position. To ensure that heaters are off, it is a good idea to turn the breaker off at the main breaker panel.

Old refrigerators are also notorious for high electricity usage. If you have an old one in the garage or basement and can live without it, you will likely save a lot of usage by disposing of it. If you can afford to replace an old one that is needed with a newer more efficient model, this will pay off in the long run with lower electric bills.

Shut off your main circuit breaker (s) and look at your meter. It should be stopped and everything in your home should be off and unable to be turned on. If the meter is still moving something is wired into your meter that is not on your circuit breaker. You should find out what it is and who or what is using the power. Turn circuit breaker back on.

Starting in the kitchen, and with a pad of paper and pencil in hand, shut off or unplug everything in your home, noting down each appliance that you shut off so that you remember to turn it on again later. While you are writing down the appliances you are turning off, also note the wattage of the appliance and the approximate number of hours it is on each day. Use this information to complete the worksheet from your electric company or from Efficiency Vermont.

When you are all done the meter should be stopped. If not, you forgot something or there is something you don’t know about.

Here are some common culprits of high electric bills

Water pumps that are working over time, more than usual or inefficiently
Water heaters especially ones that are used a lot or have a damaged element
Water bed heaters
Space heaters
Heat tapes
Air conditioners
Aging refrigerators

Learn to read your meter.

Both DPS and your electric company have information that will tell you how to read your electric meter. By taking a regular reading of your meter you can see how much power you use in a day. You can experiment by turning off a suspected high usage appliance for a day and seeing what happens to consumption.

I have done everything you recommended and I still can’t figure out what is going on. Or I have figured out what is going on and I want to lower my electric bill. What can I do now?

Low income consumer can contact their local Community Action Program and ask about their local Weatherization Program. Weatherization contractors offer many energy saving services to incomequalified households and often know about utility programs that will help low-income consumers save on their electric bills.

Some utility companies offer rebates or incentives on certain energy efficiency investments for lighting, water heating, pipe insulation etc. Contact your utility to find out what they offer.

The DPS Energy Efficiency Division has many publications available free of charge containing energy saving ideas.

Efficiency Vermont, the energy efficiency utility for the state, many resources and much information to help you lower your usage.

I need help with paying my bill.

Many people experience financial trouble from time to time. Several resources available for financial assistance. Please see the section called Payment Assistance for more detail.

You can also make temporary arrangements with your utilities, such as repayment agreements, that may help reduce the amount of direct finacial assistance you need. Please look over the consumer guide "Utilities & You" to help you work out an arrangement with your utility.

What are electric surges? What can I do about them?

Surges come from two sources, either lightning (the most common source) or from switching that occurs on the utility system (one of the more common switching surges seen by customers comes from the switching in and out of capacitor banks).

A surge can be thought of as a short-duration spike in voltage. As appliances are only designed to withstand a certain level of voltage, a strong enough spike can damage appliances, especially sensitive electronics. Those appliances most susceptible to surges are those that have two connections to the outside world such as telephone answering machines (electric and telephone), computers with a modem (electric and telephone), and VCRs with a cable TV input (electric and cable).

Customers who are concerned with surges can do several things to protect themselves. First, a qualified electrician can inspect the grounding system of the residence to ensure that electric, telephone, and cable grounds are bonded together, at the same spot, near the electrical entrance. Second, for sensitive electronics, surge protector plug-in strips are available at any hardware store. These are especially recommended for computers. Third, a qualified electrician can install surge protectors at the electrical service entrance.

What is that large tax on line extensions?

The tax is a result of the 1986 federal tax reform provision. When property owners develop a line extension and turn over ownership to the utility (as they often must do, especially residential property owners). The tax law treats this as gift income, and tax must be paid on it by the utility, which, in turn, passes that cost along to the consumer. This tax can total approximately 37%. This is true regardless of whether the utility does the construction or if it is done by an independent contractor.

What is the Energy Efficiency Charge?

The Energy Efficiency Charge (EEC) is a charge that funds the Energy Efficiency Utility. This utility was was created by the Vermont legislature to provide energy efficiency services to Vermont's ratepayers. The EEC was established by the Public Service Board in accordance with 30 V.S.A. § 209(d)(3).

The purpose of this charge is to fund programs which ensure that all retail consumers will have an opportunity to participate in and benefit from a comprehensive set of cost-effective energy efficiency programs and initiatives. The success of these programs, and the resulting savings in electrical usage, have helped reduce the pressure for increased rates. Less usage means less need to generate additional power, at higher costs to ratepayers.

Before the energy efficiency utility was created, energy efficiency programs were funded by charges included in each utility's electric rates. That charge has now been separated out from electric rates and consumers are now able to see it listed separately on their electric bills.

The Public Service Board sets the rate every year based on methodology that is broken down for residential, commerical and industrial customers. The rate is capped by the legislature and is determined, in part, by accounting for how much was under or over collected in past years, and what the efficiency utility's budget projections are for the next year. Each utility has to send the Department and Board information about its billing from the previous year, including the number of people billed and number of KWH used.

An exception for this is the municipally owned Burlington Electric Department. If you're a Burlington Electric Department (BED) customer, your charge still pays for the energy efficiency services you receive from BED.

Efficiency Vermont can help you reduce energy costs.

Efficiency Vermont (EVT) is Vermont's energy efficiency utility. EVT helps Vermont ratepayers reduce energy costs by making their homes and businesses more energy efficient. Efficiency Vermont provides technical assistance and financial incentives to help Vermonters identify and pay for cost-effective approaches to energy-efficient building design, construction, renovation, equipment, lighting and appliances.

Check out EVT for useful information and practical assistance to help reduce and manage your energy use.

EVT is administered by the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, an independent non-profit entity which is contracted by the PSB to perform these efficiency services.

Who coordinates state electrical inspections?

Consumers seeking to contact or get information about state electrical inspectors should contact their regional office of the Division of Fire Safety with the Vermont Department of Public Safety, or call toll free in Vermont 1-800-640-2106 or 802-828-2106.