National Grid -high bills department

I am wondering if anyone has experienced this or can help with some suggestions. We recently purchased a house in ditmas and are currently doing work on it. The house has not been occupied and the heat has been set at 55 degrees. We have been receiving very high bills and national grid has come out twice to check the meter and boiler, look for leaks, etc. they haven’t found a problem but they do say the bills are too high. Am I missing something? Is it just because of an older boiler and leaky house perhaps? We have just insulated all exterior walls and attic which I hope will help. And what happens when national grid says the bills are too high but don’t know the cause? I assume at some point I am going to have to pay them (or will they adjust the bills -wishful thinking!) Thanks!

ditmasmom

in Energy Efficiency 12 years and 1 month ago

5

Please log in, in order to post replies!

5 replies

Newest Oldest

argylerd | 12 years and 1 month ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#4861 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#4872 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(5) "43760"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(8) "argylerd"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(8) "argylerd"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(21) "morrissacks@gmail.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 13:34:05"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(8) "argylerd"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(43760)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(0) {
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(0) {
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(0) {
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

Could you be using an ESCO with an inflated rate or an extreemly inefficiant boiler?  My bills this winter have been around $250 to $280 a month for a large Victorian heated between 66 and 72 degrees different days and times of day.  I’m locked in with an ESCO @ $.48 a therm.

mc33433 | 12 years and 1 month ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#4862 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#4863 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(6) "177944"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(7) "mc33433"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(34) "$P$BkF/lz4ozTCdng6xyKkggDeEMW.XY1/"
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(7) "mc33433"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(30) "marguerite.a.collins@gmail.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(22) "/forums/users/mc33433/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:17:54"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(7) "mc33433"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(177944)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

I had a similar issue in a house we recently purchased. We thought that National Grid was estimating the bill because the first one we received seemed far too high for an unoccupied home under construction. NG confirmed that they had a remote access reader to get the actual meter readings so didn’t even need to come see the property. We paid the first bill even though it didn’t make sense to us and the bills since then have been what we expected. If you are doing work with a contractor, ask them about it, and whether they can disconnect everything to see if the reading reflects this. Do you own the building or you have a unit in a building? It’s possible that the meter is also picking up someone else’s usage.

Bklnite | 12 years and 1 month ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#4866 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#4860 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(4) "7850"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(7) "Bklnite"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(7) "bklnite"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(26) "walter.wallace@verizon.net"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(49) "http://bstoner.wpengine.com/forums/users/bklnite/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:14:37"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(20) "1V5ZMAVHXeMndDuQZnyh"
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(7) "Bklnite"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(7850)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

“Bills are too high” meaning what? How many therms? Every house is different – for my house I’ve used about 1000 therms for the winter (12/10 – 3/10) for heat (forced air) & hot water (& dryer and cooking gas). Get online access to your natl grid account to look at the history. Are you bills more than mid 300s  therms per monthly bill or more than 10 or 12 therms a day? If so, definitely have someone check out your old boiler. This is the tail end of the heating season so you should be able to shut it down (if it doesn’t also provide hot water) before long. After you get things under control, I’d recommed going on the level billing plan w/ National grid in the fall – pay as you go over the summer when bills should be low , and then  switch to level billing so you pay a couple hundred bucks a month year round instead of $500/month in the winter and $50/month in the summer.

ditmasmom | 12 years and 1 month ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#4861 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#4850 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(6) "176934"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(9) "ditmasmom"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(34) "$P$BwB6Fpl5IDakLOKsq1S.SGocxuKevn1"
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(9) "ditmasmom"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(21) "lkranczer@hotmail.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(31) "http:///forums/users/ditmasmom/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:16:45"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(9) "ditmasmom"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(176934)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

They said they are actual readings (but they didn’t have access to the house so I suppose they get them remotely?)

sethamin | 12 years and 1 month ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#4862 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#4855 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(6) "177093"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(8) "sethamin"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(34) "$P$B6NoJW6gfQ1jpv7XZ0gWJHgh5bQ0wN."
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(8) "sethamin"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(18) "sethamin@gmail.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(23) "/forums/users/sethamin/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:25:58"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(8) "sethamin"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(177093)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

Are these from estimated readings or actual meter readings?