10,000 kwh in a quarter ? Is that even possible ?

fabforty said :

My guess is they mis-read your meter. Ask them to come and have another look.

+1

Had this happen to me. The thousand needle was just shy of the next numeral and got over charged for a 1000 KWh. Meant that the next bill was $0.

OP, could you give us a list of electrical appliances and an average of each device in on/off/standby mode.

Along with the age and condition of the more significatnt ones (say >80W).

Oh and @ “Truthiness” – you are a retarded human being. Never speak again.

frontrow said :

Average household use is around 7000kwh per year. You won’t get an extra 10,000 in a quarter from anything remotely normal. Do you have a neighbour doing renovations with a long extension cord?

Query it with your retailer. If you get no joy there is an electricity and water ombudsman scheme that may be able to assist. They don’t have a separate office in the ACT and the role is performed by the ACT Ombudsman.

http://ombudsman.act.gov.au/pages/contact-us/

Whilst the OP should complain to their energy retailer in the first place (if they need to), your second comment is wrong. There is no national energy ombudsman, each state has its own dispute resolution body – some industry based & some government based. In the ACT it is performed by the ACAT – http://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/consumer-rights-and-support/complaints
http://www.aer.gov.au/node/1292#Australian_Capital_Territory

Agree that this works out to be about 4.5kw per hour. In slab heating can do this quite easily. As glen said, two bar heaters can do this or a hot water system on full blast 24/7. We had the council fuse in a rental house melt with the power of over 10kw of in-slab heating going in winter [and by melt, I mean the whole fuse holder was a molten blob and Actew had to replace the fuse holder, fuse and the wire to the main switch.]
One way to check what is using the power is to go to the fusebox/meter panel, watch the meter spinning flat out, turn off circuits one by one until the speed reduces substantially. That will be the culprit.

Rusalka said :

Agree with checking the meter. I had a huge bill for a vacant flat for a quarter. When I called ACTEW to query it, they told me that sometimes they don’t even check the meter and “just guess”. That did wonders for my confidence in their company…

It is doubtful if ACTEW read your meter. A company called Fieldforce is contracted to read electricity, gas and H2O in Canberra.
Further, if your meter box is not accessible due to a lock, vegetation or a dog; the company should leave a card asking you to self read. If you don’t send it in during the specified time, the company will estimate your reading.

My guess is they mis-read your meter. Ask them to come and have another look.

Average household use is around 7000kwh per year. You won’t get an extra 10,000 in a quarter from anything remotely normal. Do you have a neighbour doing renovations with a long extension cord?

Query it with your retailer. If you get no joy there is an electricity and water ombudsman scheme that may be able to assist. They don’t have a separate office in the ACT and the role is performed by the ACT Ombudsman.

http://ombudsman.act.gov.au/pages/contact-us/

Could it be that they have ‘guessed’ for three quarters of the year and have finally actually visited your meter box? I believe that this is how it happens – I have had some bills that seem either low or high depending on when actual visit is.

The other possibility is that you have had estimated readings in the past, and they’ve estimated them low. So if they now have actually read your meter, you’re also being charged for the unbilled units from previous months.

In Victoria some meters went unread for almost 2 years, then lots of people got huge bills. The electricity companies there are only allowed to estimate for 6 months, so consumers won refunds.

Otherwise, 2 heaters left on full power all day for the quarter would do it.

Truthiness said :

apart from heaters, the big power munchers are hot water heaters, big screen TVs and powerful computers. do you leave a lot of things plugged in when you aren’t using them? most things suck down standby power even when off.

our society is so used to cheap electricity that we don’t even realise how wasteful we are

Big screen TV’s don’t use that much electricity at all around 150-300 kWH per year. Nor do computers. Its heating that is the main driver for electricity. I remember turning my hot water up 5C and the bill jumped $200 a quarter. Fridges and freezers would also contribute to high costs, poarticularly if the seals are not good.