Help! ‘My Bill is High! What Should I Do?’

A step-by-step approach to analyze your high bill.

This is a familiar picture. You just arrived home and proceed to open mail. Among the many envelopes, you find your latest Choptank Electric bill. You hold your breath and open it — and there it is! The highest bill in history! Even if you view your bill online, a high bill is still a disrupting event that usually feels like it arrives at the worst possible moment. Members who receive high bills can often feel confusion, anxiety, or even anger — yet the worst feeling is that of being powerless and not being able to do something about it. 
Fortunately you are more in control than you think. Like a good lawyer preparing to go to court, an empowered member could prepare and ask themselves some questions about their habits, usage, and past billing history before picking up the phone to call the Member Service Center. Energy usage and billing information can be seen anytime, anywhere, using SmartHub. Members can access SmartHub through the web portal or via mobile App for iOS or Android. 
The first step would be to review your last few bills. If you are good about keeping your billing records you can simply pull the last 12 months of bills OR by logging into your SmartHub account (or setting up an account on SmartHub if you don’t have one already) to compare bills. Look at how much you have used this month, compared to the same month last year. Is it vastly different? Or is it about the same? You might want to access up to 24-36 months of bills for reference. You will notice bills go up and down at around the same times each year, marking the beginning or end of seasons. 
But your research doesn’t end there. You should also try to remember the weather, and other particular events that may have affected your usage. Did your town experience a bad winter storm? Did you add a new appliance or replace a failing one? These kinds of events can drastically affect your bill, even account for a large portion of the difference between a normal bill and an outrageous one. SmartHub can help members by allowing you to set “markers” that track specific usage events such as when a new HVAC system is installed. Look to see how much it will save you in the long run. Similarly, since most of us don’t keep a detailed record of the weather, we can rely on SmartHub to view temperatures for each day, and even determine how much in kilowatt or dollar amount the temperature affected the bill.
Perhaps your particular case is different or not clear, and you need some assistance understanding your bill. This is where our friendly Member Service 
Representatives come in and can help you sift through the information on your bill. They can review your account history with you to help put your bill and energy consumption into perspective. Walking through the various screens with a knowledgeable representative will help.
So, what can you do with all this information? If your bill is normally high during the summer or winter months, you could look into the level-billing payment plan to better budget your monthly electric bill. Similarly, plan to reduce your usage on those days in which usage is expected to be high. If the answer is something more drastic like upgrading your home HVAC system, adding insulation in the attic or crawl space, or replacing windows, contact Choptank Electric to speak with one of our energy advisors. 
Additionally, Choptank Electric has online tools available at www.choptankelectric.coop/energy-efficiency that can help you manage and understand your usage. 
Perhaps your high bill is a one-time instance? Weather or a faulty appliance could be the culprit. Regularly maintaining your HVAC and other large appliances can improve their operating efficiency, and keep the usage down. Finally, remember that our Member Service Representatives can offer assistance and are ready to answer your questions. 
Hopefully these guidelines can empower you to prevent or manage any future high bills. Contact our Member Service Department at 1-877-892-0001.