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lantech t1_jdet7a7 wrote

What does the kWh used say on your bills?

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GrowFreeFood t1_jdeufl7 wrote

Have fun. Never in the history of r/maine has anyone who complained about their electric bill posted their actual usage.

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gregra193 t1_jdeun34 wrote

People also pretend that CMP Energy Manager doesn’t exist. Or that there’s no way to look at hourly usage charts and figure out what in their home is using so much energy during a certain hour.

https://www.cmpco.com/wps/portal/cmp/smartenergy/understandyourusage/energymanager/

Folks, look at your usage by the hour. Look for patterns, look for hours that you are using many KWH. Running a space heater during that time? Hot water tank recovering? Ancient freezer using a ton of energy around the clock?

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mmaalex t1_jdfbx3f wrote

Yep, old bill LWH usage and new bill KWH usage. I find it hard to believe with the old rates you were burning $260 worth of electricity a month without some sort of electric heating/cooling involved, or some other major draw, because you're probably well north of 1000 KWH/month.

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MuleGrass t1_jdheu6q wrote

There was a thread yesterday where a whole bunch of people did 🤷

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[deleted] OP t1_jdev4xw wrote

[deleted]

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Starboard_Pete t1_jdf9zxl wrote

In addition to the suggestions here, when you do call, ask them to confirm the meter number attached to your account. (Not sure if you recently had a new meter put in or any changes like that?) One time (albeit in a different state), the power company transposed two numbers on my meter during some update, and I started getting crazy bills. Took months to straighten that one out.

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[deleted] OP t1_jdfcw5c wrote

[deleted]

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JosiesYardCart t1_jdh6wni wrote

Not sure if someone else posted, but in the fine print of your bill is the number for the Public Utilities Commission. In 2019 I spoke at their hearings w/CMP lawyers present. I plan to again in the very near future. Possibly contacting your town's legislative representative.

This is why we have on the fall referendum the option to vote for Pine Tree Power, which is consumer owned. Madison Electric, Kennebunk, Boothbay Harbor and other towns have their own community based company. I have friends that live in those areas and swear their bills are lower and don't have the outages like the rest of us.

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plywooden t1_jdhdl21 wrote

Yes. Kennebunk residents always speak highly of KL&P. I'll be voting for PTP.

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home-for-good t1_jdh8qae wrote

I know more than one person who had CMP billing them for the wrong meter number and claimed to have fixed it only to not have fixed it.

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gregra193 t1_jdew8l2 wrote

Look at CMP Energy Manager, and look for patterns in your usage. What hours are you using a lot of energy? Is it like this every day? Only on weekdays?

Space heater? Secondary old fridge/freezer? Identifying patterns in your usage will help you reduce it.

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[deleted] OP t1_jdewhcf wrote

[deleted]

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West_Ad_8279 t1_jdfk943 wrote

And lights do not draw that many KWh. Especially led. I leave lights on every night all year and only costs me a couple dollars more per month

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gregra193 t1_jdex7a7 wrote

So…check your hourly usage and find out what times during the day there is excessive usage. Look for patterns and go from there.

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[deleted] OP t1_jdexeol wrote

[deleted]

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gregra193 t1_jdexubq wrote

You don’t seem to be responsive/wanting to learn more about your energy consumption.

If they aren’t reading your meter, check if the PDF/paper version of your bill states “estimated usage.” The vast majority of homes are on Smart Meters that don’t need to be read.

If you are being billed for 2000kwh, find out if that’s an estimated billing or actual usage. Energy Manager can show you all of that in a few clicks. ✌️

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lantech t1_jdhixu7 wrote

he might be one of the luddites that opted out of the smart meter because radiation or something

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Agitated_Date2251 t1_jdhtuqf wrote

Quite possible. Talked about his meter being read, refuses to look up his hourly usage, then deletes his post when everybody asks him about his energy usage.

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w1nn1ng1 t1_jdf404k wrote

Meters are smart, there is no “reading” if you have a smart meter, they automatically update usage. The only reading that is done now is if the meter fails to check in or to verify accuracy.

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rich6490 t1_jdfhfoa wrote

They don’t “read” your physical meter anymore. It’s all digital. He’s suggesting a logical step to rule out an appliance issue causing to much draw which is much more likely than a CMP meter error.

Ignoring the good advice given here won’t lower your bill.

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bennydasjet t1_jdf30py wrote

Tell everyone you know and get them to vote for Pine Tree Power

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dinah-fire t1_jdh596i wrote

They're giving you really good advice, if you really want to figure out what the problem. Where is CMP getting those numbers from? This is how you would find out.

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demalo t1_jdh2uyk wrote

Bad or old wiring? You can always rent a kilowatt from a library to check appliances to see how much they are drawing power. Could check breakers (on/off) to see what’s drawing power.

Could be a sign of a dying well pump if you have one. Or a sump pump.

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plywooden t1_jdhd7xg wrote

A relative's neighbor had bills like this when the house was unoccupied for a couple months. CMP won't budge.

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