EPB power bills spiked in March following a late winter period with multiple stretches of cold weather and higher fuel costs. The increase in monthly charges took some customers by surprise.
“We definitely have heard a lot more from customers this year about challenges with high bills,” EPB spokesperson J.Ed. Marston said in an interview.
Two factors led to higher power bills at the tail end of winter, Marston said. Most customers used more electricity than normal to heat their homes as Winter Storm Fern brought prolonged low temperatures to the region in late January.
EPB broke its all-time power demand record during the storm Jan. 27, delivering 1,359 megawatts of electricity to residents and companies, enough to power more than 800,000 homes at once.
Even with the same power usage, the average bill for an EPB customer rose $17 between February and March, according to data from the local utility. The average residential power bill was $141 in February and $158 in March. Monthly bills vary drastically depending on a home’s size and efficiency.