Melinda Robertson did everything she was supposed to do. She set her thermostat to 68 degrees, sealed out drafts with tape around her balcony door, and religiously turned off lights she didn’t need. But her February electricity bill came back nearly double her usual average, over $700 for the second month in a row.
“So as a result, like this month, maybe I have to cut back on the groceries,” says Melinda, noting that she is now on a payment plan, to which she’ll need to add this month’s bill.
The Prince George’s County resident might have simply absorbed the increase, albeit with some frustration. Then she visited her elderly aunt…