What to do when the electricity bill is much higher than usual

[Austin Sanders]

2 of the tenants in a 4plex I manage have been complaining that their electricity bills are almost double their normal amount. They both say that they have not been using more energy than normal but the bill for a unit with a single tenant was $200 and another unit with 2 tenants that are gone for most of the day was a little over $300.

Is there anything that I can do as a landlord in Macon, Georgia to either get the bills down for them or help them understand why it’s so high? Are these just topical prices in the summer time? Should I simply tell them to keep their AC units at 78 degrees when they are not home?

Georgia Power is not sending people out to do energy audits right now because of COVID-19 concerns.

[Bjorn Ahlblad]

@Austin Sanders Someone coulda' left a window open, setting temp to 78 is a good idea when not there. The PUC does not always read the meter-they do averaging for a number of months and 'catch up' in a month where they actually read the meter; that is very likely the case. Last but not least someone could be stealing power from an outside outlet. All the best!

[Austin Sanders]

@Bjorn Ahlblad thank you so much for the wisdom. I really appreciate it.

[Philip Joseph]

@Austin Sanders this is normal in our area. My electric bill is normally $100+ more in Jun-Aug. unless the owner made some recent changes to the place, it’s probably the A/C usage.

[Austin Sanders]

@Philip Joseph got it. Thank you for the reply! Wanted to make sure this was not something out of the ordinary that was a symptom of a larger problem. I appreciate the wisdom.

[Jonathan G.]

@Austin Sanders

Could be some inefficiency in the HVAC units. Check to see the evaporator/blowers / conduits are leaking cold air from their seals / paths.. Change filters yourself. See if outsiders compressor coils are dirty. At the end of the day, probably just regular old August/September middle GA / Macon heat.

[Austin Sanders]

@Jonathan G. Got it. We’ve only checked condensate lines thus far because of some water accumulation in the ceiling. I’ll sure to get on that. Thank you for the info!