WCEC Residential Billing Summaries

Why is my bill so high?

There are many reasons for an unusually high power bill. 

The first step in determining why a bill might be high is to look at the weather during the billing cycle dates. WCEC bills for the power used during the 28-31 days before the billing date.

As cooling and heating systems are the most significant power-consuming devices in the home, residential use is most affected by weather. During extreme temperatures, your A/C or heater will work longer and harder to maintain the comfort of your home. 

Even if you don't change the thermostat settings, the outside temperature does change. As the difference between the outside temperature and your thermostat setting increases, so will your power usage.

As seen in the chart above, keeping your thermostat at 68° during a moderate winter with temperatures in the mid-40s leaves a 22-24° difference for your heater to make up. However, during a cold snap with temperatures in the 20s, that difference increases to 40-45°, and your heater runs longer to maintain the desired 68°.

Keeping your thermostat at 72° during the summer means your A/C must cool a 10-15° difference during the mid-80s and up to 28-30° if temperatures reach 100° or more.

Keep in mind that heaters generally use more electricity to warm your home than an A/C to cool it. The temperature differences during extremely cold weather are also higher than summer extremes. (To reach the same 40° difference seen in the extreme winter chart above during the summer, the temperature would be 112°.) Therefore, extreme cold temperatures often result in higher bills than extreme hot temperatures.

Other factors that might explain why a bill is unusually high are:

Outdated or faulty appliances: Newer appliances are more energy efficient, and appliances that are well maintained and running properly use less energy as well. The most often seen appliance problems are leaks in water heaters and heat strips not turning off in HVAC systems. You can often tell if you have a faulty appliance if your daily energy use does not fluctuate with the daily temperatures. You can track your daily energy use through the SmartHub mobile app or online portal. 

One of the most often overlooked faulty device in rural homes, is the pump for the water well. As water wells are often out of sight, problems often go unnoticed until a spike in energy use is seen on the bill. A small leak or even an ant infestation can cause a pump to run continuously or power to leach into the ground. 

Adding to the Household: Whether it is a new little one, kids home for the holidays, or moving a parent in to take care of them, adding more people can mean running more electronics or appliances. Higher use is also often seen during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other holidays due to entertaining and guests. 

Inadequate Insulation or Air Leaks: Poor insulation in the attic and walls can make your HVAC system work harder. Air leaks around windows and doors allows conditioned air to escape. 

Vampire Loads: The number of electronics and appliances used in today's household has grown over the years. Each devices plugged into an outlet or power strip uses a little bit of electricity even if it is turned off. Make it a habit to unplug anything that is not in use to avoid wasted power.

For more energy efficiency advice, visit our Use Less; Save More page or give us a call at 979-543-6271.

What are Billing Degree Days?

WCEC's Billing Degree Days are based on the assumption that when the outside temperature is 70°F, most members will not need to run the A/C to be comfortable or when it is 65°F, members won't need to run heaters to be comfortable.

Cooling Degree Days (HDD) are the difference between the daily temperature mean (high temperature plus low temperature divided by two) and 70°F. If the temperature mean is above 70°F, we subtract 70 from the mean and the result is Cooling Degree Days.

Heating Degree Days (CDD) are the difference between the daily temperature mean and 65°F. If the temperature mean is below 65°F, we subtract the mean from 65 and the result is Heating Degree Days.

CDD Example 1: The high temperature for a particular day was 90°F and the low temperature was 66°F. The temperature mean for that day was: ( 90°F + 66°F ) / 2 = 78°F
Because the result is above 70°F: 78°F - 70°F = 8 Cooling Degree Days

HDD Example 2: The high temperature for a particular day was 33°F and the low temperature was 25°F. The temperature mean for that day was: ( 33°F + 25°F ) / 2 = 29°F Because the result is below 65°F: 65°F - 29°F = 36 Heating Degree Days.

The calculations shown in the two examples above are performed for each day of the year and the daily degree days are accumulated so that we can compare months and seasons.

HOW TO USE DEGREE DAYS:
The most common use of degree days is for tracking energy use. Without degree days, comparing the energy used over two periods would be analogous to calculating the miles per gallon rating for your car without knowing how far you had driven. If you wanted to know if the attic insulation you added over the summer was saving energy, you would use your energy bills to determine how much "fuel" was used before and after the retrofit. Then, you could determine "how far you went" during those periods using the degree days.

Instead of calculating miles per gallon, you would determine kWh's per degree day.

OTHER FACTORS:
When comparing energy use, you should also consider other energy uses that are not impacted by weather, such as lights, appliances, etc. You can estimate the energy used for these purposes by examining the energy used during the temperate months, such as May and October, when little heating or cooling energy is used. The energy used during these periods reflects your base monthly consumption. Subtracting the base use from the total consumption during a winter month will yield an estimate of the energy used just for heating.

What is PCRF?

WCEC purchases electricity from South Texas Electric Cooperative at a wholesale cost, and then we deliver that power to our local communities. That wholesale cost accounts for a significant portion of the cost of providing electricity to homes and businesses—and the price of fuel used to generate that power fluctuates based on supply and demand. While these fluctuations impact the cost of electricity, we work closely with STEC to plan ahead and help stabilize electricity prices for our members.

WCEC members see fuel cost on their bill as the Power Cost Recovery Factor (PCRF). PCRF is an adjustment shown as a charge or credit each month and reflects of the fluctuating costs of fuel used for the generation of power. These costs are incurred by STEC when power is generated and passed through to WCEC and its members through the PCRF. There is no markup on fuel cost by STEC to WCEC or WCEC to our members.