Hey all,
Wanted to post up my readings for all my utilities… I use to pay NO utilities, when I first rented this place (1000 sq. ft. for $1000 a mo.) but the guy next door to us went out of business so we ask the landlord if we could rent that as well, to put in a bar and storage room area. We did rent it, but we also have to pay all the utilities that go with both places… because we were doing so well in the restaurant, I figured, NO PROBLEM… oh how wrong I was.
So here is what I’m currently paying for everything… which I am breaking totally even. I make just enough “extra†to pay for me and my wife’s health insurance, food, and gas for the car.
Rent: 2500 sq. ft. for $2500 per mo.
Electric (Comed): Ave. Daily Use:
Current mo. 318.2 kWh – Last mo. 359.5 kWh – Last year 405.9 kWh
Gas (Nicor – which I have 2 meters)
Pizzeria Meter: Ave. Daily Therms: 7.25 (I had to average this over the entire year because I’ll get 6 months of charges at like $100, then 1 month it will be $1800 because their idiots.
Furnas and Hot water heater Meter: Ave. Daily Therms: 8.20, this also makes no sense, how can I have 2 pizza ovens, a grill/broiler, and 2 fryers running on gas 11 hours a day 7 days a week… but the meter that JUST my Furnas and Hot water heater are on use MORE GAS!?!?!?? Btw, the average daily temp here is 65F for this month.
Water (which this was the first month I have to pay this… and the reasoning behind this is because the Urinal the LANDLORD had installed into the bathroom keeps running… he had the plumber come out and fix it 2 months ago and gave me the $200 bill for him… and now it’s broke and running again. Yeah.
Anyway, the water bill this month says:
Prev. Reading: 267, Present: 285, Usage 18
So, how do these compare with your bills? Am I getting the total shaft here or what? I have all my licenses due at the end of this month but am so irritated with all of this that I don’t even know if I want to continue.
Re: Am I getting the shaft from my Landlord and Utility Co.’
You don’t say what your average utilities cost. I guess you used to have a deal… but I can’t say whether anyone is ripping you off from the info you provide. (I don’t read my meters, I just pay the bill)
I pay about $1000 a month in utilities with no grills or fryers. Your rent is a bargain. 2500’ here would cost $6000 a month.
Re: Am I getting the shaft from my Landlord and Utility Co.’
That is a pretty big electric bill. The gas bill seems a little high but not knowing what your heat is set at… well. I don’t know. Our heat is not on yet and our night time temps are in the 20s. The ovens keep the place plenty warm and we do not need the AC any more… Oct is often the lowest expense month of the year for utilities for us.
If you are sure that nothing else is connected to your meters, I would shift your focus to energy savings. What kind of ovens do you run? With our Middleby Marshalls, we leave them off until we get the first order of the day and turn them off again after lunch. When I worked in a shop that had deck ovens, we turned them down to 200 at closing and then back up at opening. Insulate your water heater and turn it off when you leave for the night, consider insulation for your ceiling. How much refridgeration do you have running? Do you need all of it? Is it running well? Are the cooling fans clean? Do you have a thermastat for the store that has time settings so it will automatically set the temp for different times of the day?
Re: Am I getting the shaft from my Landlord and Utility Co.’
Bill #1 just has Heat and water Heater on it. And the Heat has been off since April… and I still havent turned it on. So i’m pretty much paying $500 a mo. for hot water.
Bill #2, I have 2 small deck ovens, they stay at 500F from 11am - 10pm then are turned off… the griddle and fryers are also on only during business hours. As far as Coolers, I have a 3 door reach in freezer, a 3 door reach in cooler, a 2 door reach in cooler, a 2 door pizza prep, a 1 door (12 1/6 pan) sandwich prep, a 5 keg direct draw cooler, a 96" bottle cooler, and a 2 door bottle cooler.
every piece of equiptment is less then 3 years old and I keep them cleaned and maintained.
I have no idea where all this gas and electric is going… i’ve looked at where the lines come into and where they go, as far as i know no one is “tapped” into any of them.
Re: Am I getting the shaft from my Landlord and Utility Co.’
Does anyone know how to read the meters? I’m going to start going out and writing all of this down. I just read an article on a lady in PA that started reading her own meters, turns out she was paying the huge bill for the business ACROSS THE STREET!
Re: Am I getting the shaft from my Landlord and Utility Co.’
Is there a time in the morning or at night that you can turn off/unplug everything in your place - and then take a look at your meter to see if it is still spinning? That might give you an idea if there is some miswiring going on.
Re: Am I getting the shaft from my Landlord and Utility Co.’
I was gunna say what registered guest said. Turn the main off and see if the meter is still spinning. Or- Call the Power Company and ask them to come down and do an energy audit. They usually can do this at no charge.
Re: Am I getting the shaft from my Landlord and Utility Co.’
My electric is anywhere from $750 to $1350 depending on the time of the year. We have one big rotating deck oven and no other gas consuming equipment other than the water heater and our gas bill is $450 a month. Our water is about $90. Your gas seems way out of wack.
Re: Am I getting the shaft from my Landlord and Utility Co.’
#1) Previously, your neighbor was paying for your utilities. You might be paying for someone else’s now. You could be paying for building exterior and parking lot lighting. Your water usage might include outside faucets that others use or that leak.
#2) Many utility companies use subcontractors to read meters. They routinely check their accuracy. Have them check things out for you and leave you instructions for reading your meters so that you can check vs. your monthly utility bills. Your monthly bill likely says what date the meters were read. The date will likely vary slightly month to month. If you’re not always aware of when your meter reader is on site, then just start reading and recording the readings the day before, the day of, and the day after the typical date shown on your bill.