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A few weeks ago, Eve and I were standing in my kitchen when she pulled out her phone.

 

 

This is apparently how most of my adult conversations have started lately.

 

She told me the number, and I winced. She'd been trying everything: turning the thermostat up, keeping the blinds closed, shutting off lights, doing laundry later. And yet, every month, the bill seemed to march stubbornly higher.

 

A few days later, I was talking to my friend Emily and somehow we ended up having almost the exact same conversation. Except her bill wasn't just high. It was insane — the kind of number that makes you wonder whether you accidentally started providing electricity to the entire neighborhood.

 

And these aren't isolated conversations. I have talked about electric bills with a lot of people this summer. Friends. Family. Neighbors. Everyone seems to be asking some version of the same question:

 

 

The good news — if we can call it that — is that you're probably not imagining things. Electricity really has gotten considerably more expensive, and this summer has been particularly painful.

 

The bad news is that there isn't one neat culprit we can blame. There are several things happening at once, and most of them aren't things you can fix by religiously turning off the kitchen lights.

 

Still, there are some things you can do.

The average U.S. household was expected to spend about $792 on electricity from June through September this year, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. That's up 10.5% from last summer — and nearly 40% since 2020.

 

Here in Texas, the estimate was even uglier: about $936 over those four summer months.

 

Part of the problem is obvious. When it's brutally hot, we use more electricity keeping our homes comfortable. But we're also paying more for the electricity itself.

 

In other words, we're getting squeezed from both directions.

For more than a decade, U.S. electricity demand barely grew. Now it's climbing again, driven by everything from population growth and manufacturing to electrification and, increasingly, the enormous data centers needed to power cloud computing and AI.

 

At the same time, the grid needs a very expensive makeover. Utilities are replacing aging infrastructure, expanding transmission capacity and trying to make the system more resilient to extreme weather. Fuel matters, too: Natural gas prices help determine electricity costs in much of the country and have been volatile.

 

Then add a hot summer, when millions of air conditioners are running overtime, and you get the bills we're seeing now.

 

Unfortunately, none of us can personally fix the electric grid. But we can make sure we're not paying more than we need to.

 

Before obsessing over who left the bathroom light on, look at your actual electricity rate.

 

If you're in a competitive market like much of Texas, compare your current plan with what's available. Look beyond the advertised rate to the Electricity Facts Label, contract terms and what the plan costs at your normal usage level. A better plan could save money every month without requiring you to sit in a dark, sweaty house. A few years back, I switched plans to something great, and every time the contract is up, I extend it out as far as I can.

 

 

There's no way I would ever keep my house at 82 degrees in Texas in September, so why would I suggest it to anyone else? Also, I would like us to remain friends.

 

But nudging the thermostat up a degree or two — particularly when nobody's home — can reduce how hard your AC has to work. A programmable or smart thermostat can handle much of this automatically.

 

 

Check the filter regularly and replace it when it's dirty. If the system seems to run constantly or struggles to reach the temperature you've set, it may also be worth having it serviced.

 

And use those ceiling fans. They can make you feel cooler without lowering the thermostat — just turn them off when you leave, since fans cool people, not rooms.

 

 

Replace worn weatherstripping, seal obvious leaks around windows and doors, and close blinds or curtains against direct afternoon sun.

 

This is the big problem Eve has been dealing with at her apartment. She's combatting it with some temporary door and window covers to keep the cold air in and the hot air out. We'll see what kind of difference it makes in her next bill.

 

Our sun does not need your financial assistance. It seems to be doing just fine.

 

 

Running the dishwasher or charging your EV at night can save money if you have a time-of-use plan with cheaper off-peak electricity.

 

If you pay the same rate around the clock, moving your laundry from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. generally won't change what those kilowatt-hours cost. Check your plan before reorganizing your life around an electricity-saving trick that doesn't actually save you anything.

 

 

Compare the kilowatt-hours on this month's bill with last month and, even better, the same month last year. (Some bills will automatically supply this information each month.)

 

If your usage jumped, investigate what changed at home. If your usage stayed roughly the same but your bill soared, look at your electricity rate and fees.

 

That tells you which problem you're actually trying to solve.

 

 

Which brings me back to Emily.

 

That outrageous bill wasn't just the unfortunate new reality of paying for electricity. There really was a problem with her meter.

 

She challenged it, got the issue investigated and ultimately got it resolved.

 

That won't be the explanation for most high bills, but don't automatically assume a bizarre number must be right. If your usage suddenly skyrockets for no obvious reason, check the billing period, rate and meter reading and call your provider. In Texas, customers who believe a meter reading is inaccurate can request a reread or meter test.

 

Sometimes the bill that looks completely crazy actually is completely crazy.

There are bigger forces pushing electricity costs higher right now, and we don't have much control over them. Electricity is also a particularly frustrating place to feel inflation because it's not exactly optional. You can skip the expensive dinner or postpone buying a new couch. It's considerably harder to decide you're simply done purchasing air conditioning when it's 103 degrees outside.

 

But there's a difference between a bill you can't control and one you haven't investigated.

 

So take 15 minutes and figure out what's behind yours. How much electricity are you using? What are you paying for it? Has either number changed substantially? Is your current plan still competitive? And does anything on the bill simply not make sense?

 

You may find a few painless places to save.

 

Or, like Emily, you may discover you were right to be suspicious all along.