Can you help me with my electricity problem?

Are you sure there aren't 6 more meters somewhere else? They can't lump it in, apartments that don't have individual meters normally pay for the electricity out of your rent and charge a higher rent to cover it.

Ask your apartment manager which meter is yours. Then prove it to yourself. There could be a little spinning disk that you see the edge of as you look at the meter - go turn on every burner on the stove and see it spin way faster. So, with the TV and everything off but your alarm clock it should spin very slowly. If not, start unplugging things. How old is your fridge - older than about 15 years and that could be the problem.

The spinning disk shows consumption rate - the little number dials show how much has been used, but you really don't need to leanr to read them.

I'm not sure what the newer digital ones do to show consumption rate, but I bet you can figure it out.

And consider the calculations. Your consumption is 481 kilowatt-hours - a kilowatt is an instantaneous measure of flow rate and a kilowatt hour is a measure of that flow rate integrated over time. Your plasma tv might pull 500 watts (you should be able to find this info) 500 watts is half a kilowatt - so if you watch the thing for 4 hours then that's 2 kWh right there. You watch the plasma for 240 hours a month and the electric bill starts to make sense. A 60 watt light bulb is .06 kW and burns .06 kWh for each hour you leave that light on. Your stove is probably 5000 W per burner and so 5 kWh per hour of boiling water for your mac and cheese (which you are on because the electric bill is eating you alive). Work it out, is 481 really outrageous?

Go read your meter yourself. Verify that the numbers are close to what the electric company says they are. What happens is the electric company will only read the meter about every 3-4 months, the estimate what you may use by comparing previous occupants of that location. Ask for an actual reading if the numbers are way off. They will then adjust the reading rate and the cycle of the readings for the location. This is quite common with all long term residence meters. Also a TV will use a lot of power as will a computer and your water heater. Good luck.

Every apt. should have it's own electric meter and fuse panel. If you can get the apt. manager to help you, go to the meter and fuse box.

First shut off the main breaker and look and see if your meter is still turning, even just a little bit. If it is then there is a miss wiring at the meter. If that checks ok, then tun the main breaker back on, unplug everything in the apt. turn off all lites. Then then check the meter again.If it is turning then there may be a problem with the inside wiring.

If you leave all the little electronic battery chargers plugged in all day, they are always using power, even when not being used. try these things and see if it helps.

Every appliance uses a 'set' amount of electricity. Therefore, you COULD do the math and add up the KW hours that your appliances run and multiply it by the rates (peak hours) that Pg&E charges for each KWhr.

Your mom may be on a special-rate plan (if she qualifies). Since your household income is much more than hers, that's probably the difference.

I've heard that LCD and plasma tv's use alot of electricity and your mom may not have one??????