Electricity Costs - does .35 cents per kwh sound ridiculous?

I think NYC electricity rates run about double the national average, but $650 is insane, especially for this time of year, so it sounds like your usage isn't being metered correctly. $650 is so high that I can't even imagine it's a matter of someone stealing your electricity, unless it's a store in the building.

$0.154/KWH was the base rate for a wirednewyork poster earlier this year, which is about what you're stating for the current national average -- so that's surprising in itself.

Don't know about rights. Start with your lease terms. Do you pay for your own heating (very unusual in NYC)? And if so, are they averaging the annual cost to provide you with more stable monthly payments year-round?

It still sounds extremely high even if 'yeses' all around.

.35 dollars, or 35 cents is about average. Cost of living is higher in NYC...

The larger question is how did you manage to use so much electricity? Was your AC never turned off? While I am not a huge fan of AC, I do have an inefficient refrigerator and I usually consume no more than 150 kwh per month.

I'm in a 2 bedroom apartment with the AC units that are self contained. I did run them a lot last month since it was really hot (the bill is for august, not september). But, it does seem very high all around. When i first moved in i got the bill for the month when the apartment was vacant and it was almost 400 kwh. So - i guess i will have them check and calibrate the meters

You are not with con ed? my con ed bill shows exactly how much kWh I used and at what rate they charge per kWh. I did notice the august bill was around 10% higher than usual, but didn't really look into it. my current bill (sept) received today says supply charge is 10.4410 cents/kWh + delivery charge of 8.0830 cents/kWh, plus bunch of flat fees, 4% sales tax, etc.

For individual residential customers, rates are tiered, with higher prices as you exceed each threshold of usage. Perhaps your landlord is not on the right bulk-usage plan for submetering.

i live in williamsburg at 500 driggs. my first bill was $850 in July (when i moved). i thought it was impossible. they rechecked in August and it was $750!!! The A/C was on alot b/c like everything else in my apt it is broken (would not suggest this building unless u want a non-a/c, leaking toilet, busted lights shit-hole) so I had to set the thermostat really low to get it to work...I have decreased A/C use in Sept dramatically although the apt is extremely hot all the time. Maybe I'll get lucky and my bill will be under $500. makes me miss manhattan since any decreased rent price has easily been eaten up by the electric bill - i was paying less than $200/month for coned there for 700 sq ft apt and now living in 1000 sq ft it has quadrupled (and i have less appliances now than before)...

i got no help from mgmt and no help from coned. i can only hope winter won't be a freezing nightmare with $800/month util bills. can't wait to move back to the city.

snostr and anonymousbk,
Do you guys live on the top floor of your building?

i do live on the top floor. Why do you guess that?

The sun beats down on the unshaded, inadequately insulated (often black) roof. Your a/c can't keep up.

Unfortunately, that's not an advantage in most NYC centrally-heated buildings, so it's broiling in the apartment during the winter also.

Hopefully, the trend toward "green" roofgardens will help alleviate that problem a bit. Or would have if the credit crisis didn't intervene.

do you have a cannabis plantation at home? otherwise $650 is on the crazy side.

Electric in NYC is not $0.35 per kwh. It's about 0.14-15. Just switch the electric supplier company. ConEd Consolidated has a good rate for supply and ConEd will continue to deliver your electric.

snostr,
Your electric bill should've been around $300 at most. Look at the statement of ConEd to see if they are indeed charging 35cents, if so, call other electric supplier company at 14cents.

i dont live on the top floor but i face east...i also didn't have blinds initially. that being said, $850 still sounds like a bit much. i guess the only good thing is that i am finally thinking about my energy consumption in general and am realizing that i have been wasteful. more freaked out that it quadrupled w/o any other change than a/c. they state i am using 100kwh/day which would mean that it is 100 x 30 x .30 per month which is $900!!! i just energy providers...hopefully that will drop it to about 0.15 per kwh