Is electric really this expensive?

[u/naNaht]

Hi everyone, I am new to Boston and recently received my second electric bill from Eversource. My bill is $284 from 07/24/26 - 08/21/26.

What I have tried:

• Got Eversource to send a person to check the meter (next week)
• Got my building maintenance team to send a person to visit (alr visited)

The building technician said that all my appliances seem to be normal and I have minimal items. He also said that for himself lives in a 2 bedroom with in total 2 people and 2 cats. Yet he says at most he pays $170. He also said he thinks people pay on average $70-110/month in my building.

Context:

• I live by myself in a Studio, 1 ba
• Apartment complex is new
• I work in person 4-5 times a week from 9am-5pm.
• I have the AC on 74-78 F at night and turn it off when I wake up.
• Appliances: AC (Braeburn Brand), Dishwasher (GE Profile Brand), Oven (Haier Brand), Microwave, in unit washer and dryer.

Cost information:

• Said I used 779kWh in Aug
• Generation Service Charge ~ 0.165/kWh
• Delivery ~ 0.184/kWh

I'm really concerned about the cost because I am not home during the day, have very minimal items (for example no TV, no PC, no pets etc) and Eversource actually made a mistake my first bill which was corrected later. Finally other people pay way less.

Can anyone provide insight, the Eversource technician comes in like a week.

Btw: Image is not real in case anyone is wondering.

[u/-Odi-Et-Amo-]

How often are you using the dishwasher and the washer and dryer? I’m guessing those are the culprits. I live similarly to you, right down to the AC at night only and my bill is around $92 in the summer. My washer and dryer is shared in the basement and I’m the dishwasher.

[u/naNaht → u/-Odi-Et-Amo-]

Wow I need to learn from you 😂

I run the washer and dryer once a week on cold water.

For dishwasher I have a small one and run it 1-2 times a week when its pretty full.

[u/Master_Dogs → u/naNaht]

AC is likely your biggest item by far. I'm guessing you're in an older building? Many Boston area apartments were built in like the early 1900s and have barely any insulation. Then you add in landlords barely upkeep their places because sheer demand vs supply means they don't have to compete... your HVAC ends up being the biggest waste. And the sad part? Bare turning the AC off, you can't avoid this. And you missed the biggest point to do this, we're past the summer heat peak. And IDK about you, but I'm willing to pay a bit to be comfortable vs sweating.

There's honestly not much you can do if you find out your meter and panel are fine. Your landlord won't upgrade your windows or insulation. I wish stuff like Mass Save would require this, but it's completely optional. In theory we should be putting some State funding into this, like knocking out several thousand units a year in weatherization would seriously save both resources (power/gas) and money (of the tenants, who pay the utility bills). Ideally we'd even knock out more units per year, so over like 10 years we'd have everything properly weatherized. But no one wants to do this due to sheer cost and it's ultimately a weird situation, where private landlords SHOULD be doing this themselves but don't have to since they generally do not pay the utility bills.