LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As temperatures drop this winter, gas and electric bills are starting to rise.
One LG&E customer said his bill tripled last month, so WHAS11 went to the utilities company for answers.
Chris felt something wasn't right when he was notified by LG&E that his December bill was $669.17. He thought the increase was from his Halloween and Christmas lights but looking at his bill from October, which was $188.49, he knew there had to be more to it.
In November, his bill was $188.11 -- and now a massive jump to nearly $700 for December. He keeps questioning why the bill is so high.
"We have a gas furnace, it doesn't make it whole lot of sense," Chris said.
Most times, he and his family try to keep the house as cool as possible by very rarely turning the heat on.
"We kept the house pretty cold," Chris said. "We kept the thermostat, I think, [at] 68 [degrees and] up until that big winter storm pushed through."
Then, he says, they turned the temperature up to 72 degrees and turned it right back down when it got warmer.
Daniel Lowry, a spokesperson for LG&E, says customers tend to use more gas and electric than they realize when temperatures are colder.
"In December, especially around Christmas, our heating systems really had to work a lot harder to maintain a steady temperature at home," Lowry said.
He says that extra usage shows up when customers get their bills.
"When it is so cold like it was around Christmas we really see a big boost in our energy use," he said.
Chris used 2820 kilowatts of electric in December in comparison to 1021 kilowatts in November.
Lowry explains that it's important to look at the metered kilowatt usage on bills.
LG&E is asking anyone who is having any trouble with their bill to reach out to them right away, so they can assist customers by finding a program that meets their needs.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.