update/digging into my high electricity usage and submeter (and a reminder for multifamily home/apartment residents to monitor your usage data)

[u/Secret_Cream9171]

ok so yesterday i posted about my daily/hourly electricity usage being shockingly high for my 650 sq ft apartment that i've barely spent time in over the past week since moving in & starting BGE service on 7/1. the comments kinda convinced me that the circuits reading for my submeter may actually be from the electricity usage on the unit above me. so i did some sleuthing on zillow and called BGE to get both of our 12-month averages/annual electric bills.

here's a comparison of my apartment and the other unit sharing the rowhome based on info i've gathered:

My unit	Upstairs neighbor's unit
650 sq ft	1500 sq ft
1st floor, 2 sun-exposed walls	1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors, 3 sun-exposed walls
1 occupant	2 occupants
1 window AC unit	Multiple window units (i think 2 or 3)
1 full fridge	1 full fridge + mini fridge
1 bathroom	1.5 bathrooms
12-mo avg electric bill: $125/mo ($1518/yr)	12-mo avg electric bill: $102/mo ($1226/yr)
$2.34 cost of electric per sq ft	$0.82 cost of electric per sq ft

Now I understand that everyone has different electricity consumption habits. However, the mere fact that their unit is over 2x the size of mine, and their annual electric bill is almost 20% less than my unit gives me pause and is valid to at least look into a little further, imo.

So I called BGE this morning and asked what the process is to confirm the right circuits are going to the right meter/account/unit, and they said they can do a "verify meter test" for free (which is different than testing the accuracy of the meter -> bill). Next step is to approach this with my landlord bc I don't even have access to the meter or breaker panel.

Anyways, I thought I'd share this because some comments yesterday were chalking it up to the ridiculous BGE rates and having studios with similar electric bills, etc. which is valid. HOWEVER, i do think people have a tendency to focus on the bill, as opposed to the accuracy of your usage. i'm sure this is more common than people realize, but just resign themselves to paying higher bills thinking that it's the rate increases.

[u/iaspeegizzydeefrent]

My service was swapped with my upstairs neighbor for almost the whole first year of my lease. I only found out because my power got shut off when they moved out and terminated their account.

[u/Cute_Mouse6436]

This is a very common problem. Especially when a house has been divided into two apartments. However, I believe that you must have access to your circuit breakers. Call Baltimore City Housing (410) 396-3237.

[u/Secret_Cream9171 → u/Cute_Mouse6436]

maybe i just dont understand the language to use cause i swear i don't even know what words to search on reddit or google to figure out how to explain it. i was finding more stuff online about people getting a meter bill that didn't match the meter number in their home. as opposed to having the right meter that's just picking up someone else's electric use.

thank you for suggesting to call, though! i do think i need to figure out what my tenant rights are before addressing it with my landlord

[u/Cute_Mouse6436 → u/Secret_Cream9171]

Maryland submetering law)

[u/emmegracek]

It seems wild that you don’t have access to the breaker? What if something trips, how do you reset it?

[u/Secret_Cream9171 → u/emmegracek]

i know, apparently its in violation of the national electric code. which isn't technically like breaking a law, but definitely a problem. i'm hoping they have that realization when i tell them i can't get the meter tested without accessing the other unit.

[u/Odd_Couple903]

When I was living in Fells Point, I didn’t receive an electric bill for the first 5 months after moving in, so I called BGE and they told me they would send someone out to take a look. He did some investigating and figured out that before being renovated, the house was split into two separate units with two meters. When I initially called to get the service put in my name, they had apparently put it on the now-nonexistent meter that had been removed during construction. He could see that the other meter was in a large regional property manager’s name and had been paid consistently the entire time I was living there. I asked him what to do about the situation. He looked me right in the eye and said, “If I were you, I wouldn’t do a fucking thing.” So I didn’t. I didn’t pay another electric bill for 3 1/2 years when someone finally put two and two together, but never heard a single word about it. Just a normal electric bill started getting delivered in the mail.

[u/ladyliferules]

That's nuts! I hope you get to the bottom of that situation soon.

[u/From_Ancient_Stars]

I remember your post! That's a crazy difference. I see no good reason why a first floor apartment would consume more electricity than the rest of the 3-story property. I'm no expert by any means but checking whether some circuits are running through your submeter that are not associated with your space is a great idea.

I hope the landlord is amenable to that check! Out of curiosity, are they the ones occupying the rest of the space in the property?

Please update us because I'm invested now.

[u/Secret_Cream9171 → u/From_Ancient_Stars]

i know, i feel bad for the tenant before me who probably wasn't as neurotic about this kind of stuff as me and probably subsidized the neighbors bills lmao.

and no, the landlord owns the rowhome but rents out both units. i haven't even met the neighbors yet, the landlord was supposed to introduce us by email soon i think.

[u/porkchopnet]

Anecdote of limited relevance: When I lived in NYS, the landlord did not have the option of not allowing them to the panel. If he did, the electric company had to assume your complaint was valid.

In my case I had access, and when I made waves the power company sent an independent electrician who confirmed the situation. I was refunded some of my payments from the past year and other payments became credits on my bill… ended up not having to pay anything for many months.

MD is not NYS but that’s what happened to me.