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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_jcry3vw wrote

You were vastly underpaying for water if that's the case.

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IJellyWackerI t1_jcs14nu wrote

A lot of the west does.

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jwill602 t1_jcs6q0d wrote

Utah just relies on the Salt Lake and now it’s almost dried out. Their costs are about to go waaaaaaay up

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thunderGunXprezz t1_jcs0kcy wrote

Im about 20 mi north of Pittsburgh. My latest monthly gas bill is $77. Electric is $170. I pay water quarterly and the last one was $180 (which now that I look at it is a lot higher than it used to be) but still that's only like $300 a month. Where the fuck do you live?

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Pink_Slyvie t1_jcs2lkb wrote

Sprinkler, for what? Native foilage doesn't need it.

If you own, install solar and an electric heat pump, and get rid of any gas utilities. The (second) best investment you can make.

If you rent, well, we are fucked, anywhere. They won't invest in properties, and it costs us more every year.

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PirinTablets13 t1_jctx225 wrote

What is the sq footage and age of your house, and what part of the state are you in, if you don’t mind me asking? We are going to need to replace our gas furnace at some point in the near-ish future and I’m interested in switching to a heat pump. We have the ductwork in place since we have forced air heat, but don’t have central air, so a heat pump seems like a win-win.

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Pink_Slyvie t1_jcu3q36 wrote

I rent, but I grew up in a large house with a heat pump.

My in-laws are building up near Rochester and putting in geothermal, same idea, but better.

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momlin t1_jcs2pea wrote

I feel the opposite. I spent most of my life in NY and in comparison utilities are a bargain in PA.

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gslavik t1_jcs7lj7 wrote

No wonder the west is running out of water ...

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balal07 t1_jcs2j8j wrote

It sucks, but you have to shop around for electricity. If you don't, you end up paying 2x-3x as much as you could otherwise. It's a stupid hoop you have to jump through, but you have to do it to save money nonetheless.

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GraffitiTavern t1_jcryjrc wrote

What subregion are you in? That's more than my rent+utilities put together

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a-lazy-white-guy t1_jctrcet wrote

Surprised no one is talking about electricity shooting up over 40% year over year depending on the utility. Gas had spiked I thought nationallly after oil restraints from our government and war on Ukraine. Cost of living has never been higher and it's not going down so good luck

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worstatit t1_jct2qtr wrote

Utilities are "average" in price in Pennsylvania. You don't give a breakdown, but I'm assuming electric heat, a far bigger house, or some other costly outlier here.

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PhyllisTheFlyTrap t1_jcrzkxm wrote

We had the same experience! For electric heat our bills were $400-600 per month!! So we got natural gas heat to alleviate that cost but now the gas costs $150 and the electric is $150 so some savings but still more in utilities than we ever paid in Maryland

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MRG_1977 t1_jcu2b52 wrote

What age you paying per kWh for electricity?

Same for per gallon of water consumed?

That’s the only way to compare.

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coysmate05 t1_jcujp5s wrote

Please give more specifics about your living situation. Because even in the more expensive areas of PA, that is overpaying. I pay around 200-300 a month for all my utilities depending on the month. That’s for a 3 bedroom house in Lancaster, PA.

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KayseaJo t1_jcybjzh wrote

In a small municipality southeast of Pittsburgh, our sewage costs at minimum $80 a month…The last I checked, nearby municipalities pay around $25-30. That’s a stupid specific case though.

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emk544 t1_jcut3dc wrote

Pennsylvania is a massive state with a bunch of different climates and housing stock. Utilities are not expensive in PA. There must be something unusual about your situation. I live in Philly and I pay about $250 for all that, and this has to be one of the most expensive areas to live in the state.

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Outrageous-Divide472 t1_jcuv2qn wrote

I’m in Delaware County not too far from Philadelphia and my gas/electric is 170 my water is about 80 per month. Been these prices for at least 4-5 yrs, I’ve not had any major changes

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Nicole_Bitchie t1_jcv2q9d wrote

Also in Delco. PECO (gas/electric) runs $200-$250 in high consumption months and $150 in lower months. Our water is around $40/month.

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Left-Occasion-8445 t1_jcs7etb wrote

I have a 1,400 sq. foot house - $89 water & sewage, $85 gas, $81 electric a month. For gas and electric, I do the plan where it splits it up over the year.

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alternatingflan t1_jcv7xmf wrote

Because the citizens elect enough corporate suck-up “representatives” who allow this to happen.

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heartcore0210 t1_jcwjr4q wrote

I live in a 4000 sq ft home. We have gas heat. We keep doors closed and never raise thermostats over 67. We have zone heating as well and keep certain floors of the house off when not occupied. We had the same sq footage in Utah and our utitlies were less then half what they are here. I didn’t realize we are able to “shop around” for different electric companies either. Might have to try that. I’ll check what my electric kWh is and water usage and get back with that info. We try to be pretty conservative. We are in Berks county.

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Dispatcher12 t1_jcs1ivy wrote

WHERE I am right now it's $60 for water, sewer and trash, $50 for electric and $118 for gas for an 800 sq ft house.

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BonusUpbeat t1_jcs2b0w wrote

It could have to do with population. PA's population is nearly 13 million compared to Utah's 3.5 million. There are just a lot more people to serve, so demand is much higher.

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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_jct1yo9 wrote

Demand brings supply...

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OneTrueDweet t1_jcuh4lk wrote

Theoretically, yes. In practice, demand just brings increased costs and the promise of future supply which never materializes.

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lady-of-the-woods t1_jcs3icc wrote

Gas and electric for me fall around $500/mo. I have a well and septic so can't speak to those costs. For perspective, my home is 4000 sqft with 2 adults and 4 teenagers.

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kcakpa t1_jcucqpq wrote

09.45 cents per kWh in Chambersburg on municipal run service.

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AbsentEmpire t1_jcuwz5f wrote

We need some more details to figure out your situation. What are the rates for electric, gas, and water that you're paying? How high do you set your thermostat, and how big and old is your house?

Also I have to laugh at the idea that in Utah you were using a sprinkler most days and it didn't cost you. It's no wonder that state, along with the other western desert states are running out water and going dry if that's case.

I have a 1600ish Sqft row house and my total in utilities is about $250 a month.

PECO for electric is $0.09727 per kWh

PGW for gas is $0.82282 per Ccf

PWD rates for water/sewer which they make needlessly hard to find but 4ccf is $69 bucks.

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carp_boy t1_jczbp4u wrote

Your PECO number is generation only. Add ~2/3 for transmission.

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ronreadingpa t1_jcv5wlm wrote

Presuming you have electric baseboard heat or something like that. That's fine in a pinch, but heating that way all winter will be very expensive.

Gas is generally the cheapest way to heat overall taking into account the upfront cost of the system and maintenance. Heat pumps, especially split systems, are very good, but less ideal for houses in the colder parts of PA.

Water / sewer varies widely, but doubt that's where the issue is. If it is, look at the bill carefully. If the usage seems way off, could be a leaky pipe pass the meter and/or the meter is faulty.

Without more detail, all anyone here can do is speculate. Hope you figure it out, since that amount is double or more what many pay.

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Flimsy-Lie-1471 t1_jcvwrur wrote

We sold the Utah house last year. Price per KWh here has been lower always. Gas is about the same. The water is not a federal welfare program which all the America hating states seem to rely on so you actually pay what it costs here. Sewer is more expensive because we don’t have a salt lake to dump our sewage into.

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ScorchedOak t1_jcwe57q wrote

Say what?! 😂

I paid $600 per month for just electric in Indiana. My bill is like $175 here.

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Professional-Pay1198 t1_jcsdup4 wrote

Because Republicans control the legislature most of the time.

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4000Tacos t1_jcs1by6 wrote

Welcome to Taxslyvania where we find every way possible to take money…. Except on clothes and food… gotta make it up somehow.

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jwill602 t1_jcs6llt wrote

PA is pretty average with taxes. The GOP control of both legislative chambers (until recently) assured we don’t have a fair income tax structure. So we rely on bullshit things like the Johnstown Flood tax

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