Electricity Agony

If you haven't opened your Mount Dora electric bill this month, you're in for a shock. And if you have already seen your bill -- then deepest condolences.

The city of Mount Dora announced recently that our bills would increase about 28 percent because of the skyrocketing cost of natural gas, which is used to generate electricity. But whether or not that 28 percent is accurate is now in question, as residents flock to social media to share their horror stories.

At Casa van Tilburg, our August electric bill increased 100-percent over last month's invoice, and a whopping 118-percent jump compared to our August 2021 bill. We've heard similar stories from neighbors and friends.

Some of that increase is surely due to increased consumption; it's been HOT in central Florida, and our air conditioning has been running more than usual! But how much of our bill increase we can blame on increased usage is unclear. It will probably take another month or two -- and some additional information from the City of Mount Dora -- to sort out the impacts of the price hike.

In the meantime, conserving energy to keep usage down in our homes probably isn't a bad idea. Here are some common-sense tips that might help keep the kilowatt hours to a minimum. The Lake Dora Villas is also working to keep our electric costs low, doing things like keeping the Clubhouse air conditioning set to 78 degrees, replacing incandescent light bulbs with more energy-efficient LEDs, and ensuring that systems like our pool pump and street lights run on a responsible schedule. But, despite all efforts, it looks as though everyone's electric costs are going to take a hit for the foreseeable future.

If you'd like to dig deeper into Mount Dora's situation, here's an explainer that you can download:

Final Website - Electric Rate Adjustments - 08-01-22.pdf

Download PDF • 328KB