OT:Need HELP with Con Ed

[jhale]

Guys I am so MAD, there is no smiley that will convey how mad I am.

Something has happened with the electrical service in my building and I don't know how to deal with it.
In June construction started in a large commercial space in my building. they completely gutted the basement area and con ed could not get in to take a reading for four months. I had just switched the the level payment plan, so they just billed the regular 200.00 a month. when they did get in to read the meter the bill was insane it was twice as much as it should have been for that four month period.
I called con ed and there was not much they could do other than read the meter again. they told me to shut everything off in my apartment and read the meter. I tried this but could not tell if the meter was moving or not.
I called my buildings management company and they told me the construction company had tapped into the buildings main house line only. but over the summer they kept shutting off the power to the building so they could do upgrades for the commercial space. so I have no idea what they were doing.
I just got the latest bill and again it's twice as much it should be.
It's $350.00 that's more than a bill for the summer with all the ac's running, and obviously that was not happening.

Since this is the electric company I have no idea where to start in dealing with them. Something is very wrong but I have no way of proving it. fortunately this is happening to other people in the building so there are at least three other apartments with bills that are way to high.

Does anybody know someone who works at Con Ed that could help,
or do you have any advice? I really don't know how to start here I've got four groups to deal with, Con Ed, the management company, the construction company, and the guys doing the electric work, they are separate from the construction company.

:headache: x 1000 = me

 

[ECFENCING]

Jonathan:

I share your pain.

Not much advice but for future periods is there anyway you can read your meter each month and jot down the actual reading to compare to the estimated reading so you have something to show to them in case you get hit for a huge amount one month?

With PSEG in Jersey the electric is on the outside of my house so that's always read by PSEG. However, the gas meter is in my basement. So last year the same thing happened as I was wacked with a $500+ bill for one month for gas charges and it was from Sep-Nov which are not peak months.

 

[FRY]

you have to turn everything off and test the load to see if you are using any power but they may have other loads on your meter that might not be on when your checking your meter,your going to have to trace the wireing to your loft to make sure that any other wires are connected to ypur meter,con ed will not check anything after the meter, you have to use a electrican, allso dont check the dollars on your bill but the KW useage on your bill. if any other ??? feel free to ask

frank

 

[FRY]

is all the electrical service work done with the service in the building,

 

[michael stern]

Unfortunately, I think you have a long road ahead. I've had problems in the past with Con Ed, and they simply don't give a S*!%

 

[FRY]

the problem is not with con ed ,they only go as far as the service after that point its up to the owner to use a electrical contractor,if there was any miss wireing is was any miss wireing it was done by electrican,

 

[jhale]

I don't think Con Ed is the problem, but they are the ones I have to deal with to keep my electric on.

I just did a spread sheet of the last three years, it shows an obvious jump, more that x2 of our past two years of usage, the longest record I have is for
November,
2002- 115.49
2003-144.38
2004-140.10
2005-342.87

then for the months between June and september the usage doubled over the past three years, 500 compared to 200-300. but this was under level billing and them not being able to read the meter for four months.

frank I'll go back and map out the KW used, thanks.

But who do I scream at first? I'm going to call and write to con ed, but where am I going to get reimbursed from? the construction company. the electrical contractor. or do I withhold rent? the amount I'm being overcharged is up to $700.00 now.

 

[michael stern]

Con Ed is only going to care what your meter says. If that is what it says, you'll need to pay it. If you think something is tapped off your meter, you need to find out for sure. Can you shut everything off in your apartment. I mean everything (refrigerator, alarm clocks, vcr's, aquarium....). If so, do it. go down in the basement and watch your meter. You may need to watch for an hour or so. If it moves, I would think you could call the NYC buildings dept. For you to trace all the lines would be big $$$. If you can show building fraud, I would think they'll make the building do it. Then you can fight over back charges.

LOL

 

[FRY]

in a building with more then one meter turning off everything just might not find if somebody electric is on your meter cause that electric might not be in use at time your checking it out you have to trace out the wireing onther way is to install a meter in the apt thats if your circuit panel is in your apt.and all the branches come of that panel,and compare the reading with the meter in the basement, then if there is fraud or theft of electric by owner of the building or tenent,you can take it from there ,in any case you will have to find this out by yourself ,NYC city buiding dept will not get involve in it

 

[jhale]

I tried that once, I did not watch it long enough.

the problem is the meter room is now part of a major construction zone, I have no way to get into it. I did it once it was not easy.

I redid the chart showing the kWh usage,

in 2004 from June to september we used 3,841 kWh, in 2003 we used 5,253 kWh,
this year we were charged 7,085 kWh for the same period, curious the construction started in June.

Con Ed has a number to call if you think there is something going on with your meter, I will try them first, I will also call HPD for the heck of it. From dealing with them in the past I know it's going to be frustrating.

 

[FRY]

let me ask onther ??? do you have a con ed meter for your loft or does the onwer has there own meter,if you want you can call me

YGM

frank

 

[jhale]

there are ten apartments in the building, each has there own meter in the basement,
the house meter is seperate from the apartment meters.

 

[kimoyo]

Does anybody know someone who works at Con Ed that could help,
or do you have any advice? I really don't know how to start here I've got four groups to deal with, Con Ed, the management company, the construction company, and the guys doing the electric work, they are separate from the construction company.

I would start screaming to the mangagement company tomorrow.

If your and other apartments KWh usage (not bill) has doubled since they started the construction and then they have that area tapped off...please. You already know what the deal is.

 

[[JWS]wasabi]

ah man that sucks so bad... I had a simmilar thing happen at my old place when the landlord was renovating the basement into another apartment, of course in my case, the landlord was such an idiot he never bothered to find out that it was illegal. but for a while I got huge bills for the exact same reason, the moron construction workers had tapped into any old electric line and it was mine.
What I did...
Start a paper trail. get all copies of your old and current bills, any photos you can snap, get them to a laywer and explain to him whats going on. That way you have a real third party witness to it all. You can have a nice lawyer signed letter sent to coned and to the construction crew/owner of your building explaining whats going on. Ideally the existance of that letter alone would be scary enough to motivate them to take care of the problem.

$0.02

 

[FRY]

from what i see right now the only way is to get a watthour meter and install it temperary in the apt from the circuit breaker panel and at the end of the month compary the both readings that way you have the correct numbers to fight it with the landloard

 

[DRZL]

Got any electrician friends?

IMO someone should follow your electric lines for illegal tapping, take a pic of it and send it to con ed, heck of a lot easier than runnning around and calling/writing/looking for everything. If you need to do any legal action, tell your neighbors Id bet breaking it 10 ways the will be low and everyone would get their money back

 

[jenniebutterfly]

well, the thing i think might be the problem is the level billing. at the end of the year you are hit for all the extra usage that you used plus the previous month. i was on it. i was hit with a 400 dollar bill last december and got right off that plan. it was so unexpected. also it could be tapped, but most likely they could have already undid what they did. go back through your bills and figure out all of your kwh and see if things match up. maybe it is just from the level payment plan

 

[DEEPWATER]

well, the thing i think might be the problem is the level billing. at the end of the year you are hit for all the extra usage that you used plus the previous month. i was on it. i was hit with a 400 dollar bill last december and got right off that plan. it was so unexpected. also it could be tapped, but most likely they could have already undid what they did. go back through your bills and figure out all of your kwh and see if things match up. maybe it is just from the level payment plan

srry to hear this Jhale ,
Well i would say if they took it off already you are in trouble ,so as everyone ask ,try to go downstairs and see if your meter is spinning(shut off your breakers upstairs .as far as Cod ed ,they suck ,the bigger the company the less they care ,they have nothing to lose ,they only supply you with eletric ,you may want to do as DRZL said ,Lawyer do tent to be a better way to go ,althou i may cost you more.
try calling 311 they are good and can dierct you in the right direction.

 

[jhale]

frank might be able to find a meter for me to rent, that would help.

and now I've been on the phone with con ed for 45 minutes, I'm getting transfered to a high bill specialist. ugh.

 

[nycmat]

johnathan maybe i can return the favor this way. that is a criminal act if they did that i will call you to explain mat