Extremely high utility cost

[Calvin Lin]

Hi folks,

I have a sticky situation at one of my condo rentals in Raleigh, NC.  It is a 4 BR unit where I pay the utilities.  The renters are all students at the nearby State U.  The electricity cost is paid by me due to the fact that it is easier to rent that way and some of the renters were holdovers when I purchased it late 2015 and that was what the old lease said.  For some reason the last few months the electricity bill has gone up to almost $300 per month.  The lease does not have a utility cap.  Questions:

1) I have a manager for this unit but she has not responded to my concern about the high electrical bills while other issues do get her attention.  My guess is that she doesn't think this concerns her and her only job is to collect the rent and pay the bills.  My contract with her company does not mention anything specific about a situation like this where tenant technically did not break any rule but is costing me a fortune nevertheless.  What do you think a property manager's responsibility should be in such a situation?  

2) If my manager does not get involved I feel that I still have to find out what is going on myself by sending the renters a letter to ask them what is going on in the condo, like are they just setting the thermostat too low all day every day or is there something malfunctioning in there.  What is the best approach here, given that they are under no contractual obligation to help me to lower the utility bill?  Do I just flat out ask them to reset the thermostat or something or is there a better way?

Thank you for your inputs.