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ceeyell t1_j32k330 wrote

That’s wildly high, I’ve never spent that much in my 1BR even in the dead of august when the AC is on every day and night.

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heygoldy t1_j32ptls wrote

Newport is high, and I think it’s because the apartments aren’t well insulated and on the water, so we lose a lot of heat from the heater.

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ricky661go t1_j32j8kh wrote

Welcome to Newport. Check with your doorman about how long the apartment has been vacant. PSEG charges everything from previous bill generation to the new tenant moving in. Call PSEG and explain them everything. They will have it adjusted in the next month's bill. Best way is to insulate your windows by yourself. Cold air leakage problem is there in every building of Newport. I have stayed in few of them and even the handyman is helpless. Moreover if you stay in those buildings other than the river front, all of them have outdated heating units which adds to the electricity consumption generating huge bills.

On a lighter note, I believe PSEG and Newport have tied up to loot us with huge electricity bills.

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Yin-Hei t1_j347i7w wrote

Wait what? They didn't charge the previous vacant bill to the new tenant, in fact customer service and their manager said it's not needed to be paid. You'll need to register with PSEG first.

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SadMaverick t1_j32q4zc wrote

Yes. When we lived in newport buildings, our electricity bill was 650-750 for 3 people. It’s usually due to the older heaters and bad insulation.

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Plus_Mix6915 t1_j33lfi0 wrote

It's very high, but what I experienced in Newport too, unfortunately. I was in Newport ~5 years ago in a small 1br, and those winter electricity bills were double what I'm currently getting charged in a good sized 2br over in downtown (Columbus towers). They definitely had much worse insulation in my Newport apt.

So to your question, they can be high in JC but not THAT high everywhere. Newport was higher than other high-rises in jc in my experience.

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jeffsnguyen t1_j32i1ux wrote

Only if you have inefficient heating units and your place is leaking air like sieves.

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Curious_Confection81 t1_j32n6xx wrote

Yes, i have seen those high bills in winter when I lived there. Their insulation was weak even after asking the handyman and plus adding more myself.

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Ainsel72l t1_j33cgkf wrote

Look at your bill. Previous months may have been estimated because meter reader couldn't enter your building to read the meter. Also, be careful about "switching" to PSEG partners who are sometimes scammers (without vetting them carefully first).

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imaluckyduckie t1_j32ejai wrote

It's quite high. Are you looking at an estimated bill or an actual meter reading? Estimates can be considerably higher than actual meter readings, but they should average out over time. If it's an estimate, you can call PSEG and send them a picture of your actual meter reading or have them send someone out for one.

It's normal for electricity bills to have Supply (generation) fees and Delivery (transmission) fees. They are separate because some people opt into alternative forms of Supply (i.e. renewable). I believe these charges are also regulated differently.

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PretendSky2322 OP t1_j32ez8t wrote

This is the actual bill. I wasn’t aware of the delivery fee being so high , 25% of the total.

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imaluckyduckie t1_j32pi39 wrote

Just think of delivery as the fixed rate portion of your bill. It's always about 4c per kwh. The supply portion of your bill is variable (starting at 11c per kwh) and steps up the more you use. They provide the breakdown in case you want to change your energy supplier, but it's much easier to just look at your total rate (i.e. 15c per kwh). If you're looking to cut down on your bill, you should check out some of PSEG's Community Solar partners. I've shared my experience using Solar Landscape on here a few times. The rate written into the contract is guaranteed to be 15% less than PSEGs, and you can cancel at any time.

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FParker82 t1_j32l3wq wrote

Do you have electric heat?

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PretendSky2322 OP t1_j32u3hs wrote

Yes, electric gas and heat. I guess that’s leading to a high consumption.

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FParker82 t1_j32ueiq wrote

Yeah, that would be my guess. I think you mean electric stove, right?

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PretendSky2322 OP t1_j33t6yl wrote

Yes electric stove. I’m sure that adds up but I think it’s the heat that’s making a big difference

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FParker82 t1_j33x4lm wrote

Yes, I agree. In that case your bill doesn’t sound too off to me but obviously look into it just to be sure.

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sonobono11 t1_j33o426 wrote

Mine was $30. Don’t leave the heat on when you don’t need it. Never run it over night. When you do turn it on, set a 30min timer.

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dont_shoot_jr t1_j37qeav wrote

Utility usage is public info. You can call PSEG to check how much neighbors pay as a comparison

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Cuprunnethover2022 t1_j338s99 wrote

The electric heat is the culprit. My house has electric heat and we were there for FOUR DAYS only this month, and my bill is 300. We do leave the heat on low when we leave to keep the pipes from freezing, but that's our bill not even being there. It's crazy.

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HElGHTS t1_j34g2wz wrote

Since you said "house" and OP said "Newport" I'm going to assume this advice is much more likely to work for you than for OP, although in reality it's more to do with ownership than building type, so if you rent the house then it's not likely to work well for you:

Switch from regular electric heat (the technical term is "resistive" and it converts electricity into heat) to a heat pump (uses refrigeration technology to move existing heat from outside to inside). The electricity required to move existing heat is roughly 1/3 the amount required to create heat.

If you're unfamiliar with the concept, you might be wondering "how can I move heat from a colder place to a warmer place" to which the answer is simply "refrigerators do it, and nobody bats an eye."

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j34h4x9 wrote

That’s a half truth. Heat pumps can be that efficient if large enough.

But most apartments don’t have room for free standing exterior units. A PTAC sleeve is to small to be that efficient. If ultimately comes down to surface area to transfer heat from the air to refrigerant on the coils. Physics is at play here.

And depending on the size, at some point heat pumps given their shorter lifespan don’t even payoff. Compressor lifespan is measured in starts/stops. It’s cheaper to just get AC with resistive heat, one less valve that can fail and a compressor that will only run part of the year.

People forget wear/tear on equipment is also a cost. The fan on either setup runs all the time, but that’s a cheap fast repair.

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objectimpermanence t1_j35l44f wrote

The person you’re replying to was specifically talking about a house rather than an apartment.

However, heat pump systems do exist in apartment buildings. The high rise I live in has them (the condensers are up on the roof) and I definitely prefer it to PTACs, but this type of setup seems to be rare in JC.

In Asia, lots of high rise apartments have heat pumps, but they typically just mount the condenser units on the facade of the building, which is not aesthetically pleasing but way cheaper to install than how we typically do it in this country.

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Morkitu t1_j32ry01 wrote

That is a bit high. Check for a few things...

Check to see if there are any other companies listed on the bill as your supplier such as "Constellation Energy" or "Direct Energy". There should only be PSEG on your bill.

Check to verify if the major charges are for electric or gas. If you have baseboard heating or heating by wall unit, those tend to eat up a lot of energy. Baseboard is by far the worst, most expensive and energy inefficient type of heating.

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