Who Really Has the Power over Power?

Today I shall complain about my power bill.

Alabama Power Complaints

We live in Southern Alabama - in a downtown suburban neighborhood of Mobile - and have noticed a very unusual thing; exceedingly inconsistent power bills. Now, granted, power usage will fluctuate due to factors like seasonal usage (a/c and heat), power surges, daily activities, etc. However, when you look at the history of usage and see that every once in a while, for no reason known or imagined, the power will spike into multiples higher than any other month; it gives you pause to consider that something is amiss.

For the last 5 years we've seen a huge jump in our power bill - usually every January - by about three times (3x) the typical monthly amount, or more. And on the bill it shows a remarkable enormous spike in the supposed Usage. In the past we have complained, but were told it was "Normal" for the cold winter months for it to climb; due to running the heat more often (same goes for the A/C in the dead of summer). Being from the far north, I can understand how that goes. Although, when comparing it from one month to the next, it seems unlikely to be so vastly different. They have sent a tech a few times, and claimed everything was working properly. Despite our insistent grievances, nothing more was done, and we were forced to pay the bill; the AL Power CSR convinced us it was on our end, and suggested we get an electrical inspector to check our internal lines. We did and, other than having many older wires that are worn and should be replaced when possible - as well as a lack of whole-home grounding (only partial) - everything else checkout out fine. Plus, we were told, if there were a problem with power-bleed, bad grounding, or anything else, that it would be a CONSISTENT problem; i.e. our power consumption would ALWAYS be irregular (high or low).

One year we weren't even home for almost a month, and it still absurdly spiked up to 3-times the amount (from about $90 to a whopping $287). And there is seemingly nothing you can do about it; they just tell you, "We have a new digital meter that CLEARLY shows your usage. It's a "Smart" meter and can never be wrong.". Riiiiight, sure, because nothing ever goes wrong with electronics [sarcasm]. I would suspect that since it is a digital meter, that means it is susceptible to any number of potential factors that might cause a problem, including; mechanical/component malfunctions, bad/corrupt programing, system errors, outside influence, and incorrect installation. I would assume that it has also been designed to be shielded from things like power surges or electro-magnetic interference, (I would suppose/hope), however I cannot be certain. Therefore, I also wonder if rogue signals might cause a misreading as well? Likewise, since it is digitally controlled, it can therefore can also be remotely manipulated with falsified readings. I'm not saying they do this, but it is POSSIBLE that something like that COULD be done - by who or whom is up for debate.

For further examples, this winter (2011-2012) the weather has been more like spring; unseasonably warm with temps in the 60s & 70s, with almost no cold days (and no lower than 27 at that). Therefore, we have hardly ran the heat-pump at all. I work all day, and my wife works evenings so she sleeps until at least noon. She typically keeps the air off if possible, or at the lowest setting to reduce usage - this year she's told me it has not been running much, if at all, during the day. And yet, this January (2012) I have received a bill of $244 - when the previous month's bill (Dec 2011) was only $85, with no significant change in our known usage. I just don't see how that is possible in the least; the numbers add up, but seem falsified. I was an electrician in the US Navy, and I know how to read a meter - there is no way that thing is working properly, OR they are fudging the numbers on their end to increase winter revenue. Plain and Simple. I am about to have my own electrician take a look at it and give me a full report. Likewise, I intend to send a series of letters, in detail, to several Government officials; it will show our usage rating and monthly charges from the last few years, as well as a record of the temps from those dates, and  - which should cast doubt on the legitimacy of the bills.

UPDATE - April; the bill for last month (March 2012) was for $86, which is on the lower end of our average. Which makes sense because we were not home for about 5 days. So we'll see what next month's bill is.

I plan to come back and place a chart with a year worth of recorded usage and the amount we were billed - it's seriously crazy when seen in chart form.

UPDATE - May; the bill for last month (April 2012) was for $120, about the average for what our power bill normally is.