Energy Bill fluctuations are inevitable and depend on a variety of different factors. Two of the most important are the current weather your home is experiencing and the current price per Kilowatt Hour (which fluctuates more than you might think). We know it can be frustrating when your energy bills are higher than you originally expected, but we hope this article can explain some of the reasons why.
Weather
In simple terms, any time the outside temperature is drastically different than your desired in-home temperature you’re going to see higher than normal energy bills. A typical scenario is having higher bills during the hot summer months as well as the cold winter months. The more mild spring and fall months generally produce the lowest bills.
But even months close together (say, November cost VS December cost) can be drastically different. This is often the result of experiencing a winter storm or colder-than-average temperatures. Homes that have had energy efficiency upgrades done will be affected less by extreme weather than homes that have not upgraded recently.
Price Changes
Over the past 15 years the Average price per Kilowatt Hour (kWh) has gone up by between 42-63% depending on where you live. The national average is currently around 13 cents per kWh, and most statistically analyses expect this to keep increasing.
Unfortunately, energy prices are also capable of fairly drastic fluctuation. Different providers have the ability to alter price based on customer demand, time of year, and even time of day!
If you want to learn more about time-of-day pricing, check out this article: http://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/2015/01/27/all-electricity-is-not-priced-equally-time-variant-pricing-101/
It would be worth your time to check with your energy provider and see how their prices change and potentially alter your usage accordingly.
