Summer Heat Brings High Electric Bills in Annandale

Day after day of sizzling heat is more than just uncomfortable—it's expensive.

The summer of 2010 has broken all-time records for the hottest summer, and a related record could easily be broken—the cost of staying cool. As temperatures soared this summer, so did electricity usage electricity.

Jim and Blossom Vitalie of Annandale are on a budget plan with their electric utility, Dominion Virginia Power. This means that they pay the same amount every month, with an adjustment once a year to balance out any over-payments or under-payments. When the bill came in August, the Vitalies just paid it and didn't think to look at their power usage.

When Blossom finally looked at the couple's consumption of electricity, her comment was typical of many bill payers in Annandale: "Wow…big difference!"

In August 2009, the Vitalies used 1,408 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity. In August 2010, their consumption was 2,060 kWh, an increase of 46 percent.

The big culprit at the Vitalie home and many others across the region is air conditioning. The Vitalies have central air conditioning, with one unit cooling the main floor of their home and another unit cooling the second-floor bedroom. Keeping the house comfortable as temperatures edge toward 100º F degrees means keeps the air conditioning units running more than usual, and they consume a lot of power.

Blossom noticed that her air conditioning systems have been getting a workout this summer.

"It runs all the time and we keep it at 75 degrees," she said, "and that's not that cool."

All you have to do is take a couple steps outside to know that it's been hot this summer — hotter than usual. The heat invariably turns into high electric bills as residents do what they need to do to stay cool.

"Energy demand was higher than normal for June and July of 2010, during one of the hottest summers on record," said Karl Neddenien, spokesman for Dominion Virginia Power. "Customer demand for electricity did not surpass the record set on Aug. 8, 2007, however." That day, temperatures across the metro area broke the century mark that day.

Neddenien said higher electric bills this summer might seem worse because April and May were mild and consumers generally had lower electric bills. One factor that worked to lower consumers' electric bills was that the fuel rate Dominion Electric Power pays actually went down in July and Dominion Electric passed this savings on to customers.

However, the droning of air conditioning units more than made up for the reduced fuel rate.

For those who want to learn more about how to reduce their electric bills, Dominion Virginia Power has tips for customers at www.dom.com/about/conservation/summer-tips.jsp.

"The best way to take control of an energy bill is to become actively involved in reducing the amount of energy you use," Neddenien said.

In these tough economic times, getting smacked with a significantly higher electric bill is the last thing a stretched budget needs. Beating the heat was a high priority during the summer of 2010, but the cost is just beginning to be felt in Annandale and across the region.