A Redditor took to the platform to ask for help with their incredibly high energy bills. 

Posting in the r/electrical subreddit, the Central Texas resident shared their plight. 

They opened by writing, "I know this has probably been posted ad nauseam but I am at a loss of words for the amount of money I am spending on my electric bill. I have done plenty of research but haven't been able to find the culprit of this money pit."

"I have paid nearly $2,000 in the last 3 months for electricity," they wrote. "I realize it is summer and the bill will naturally increase during these months, but there is clearly something causing this spike. I got a bill in July for $780 and saw that we used 3,500 kwh. We were running the AC at 72 pretty much all day. 

"After that, I have turned the AC off in the morning and we only run it when we get home from work around 6:30 p.m. We still somehow used over 2,500 kwh for August and my bill was $550. We are approaching 2,000 kwh for this month, and that is when the energy company bumps their rate from 11 cents/kw to 17 cents/kw."

They explained that they weren't using energy for more than "normal day-to-day life" and weren't sure what was causing the sky-high energy bills. 

Skyrocketing energy prices are a massive problem in the United States, and it's only going to get worse. According to NPR, the price of energy is rising at twice the rate of inflation in the U.S., largely driven by increased demand from data centers powering large language model platforms like Google's Gemini and ChatGPT. 

With energy costs soaring, there are lots of ways to cut your power bills, but one of the best and most effective is solar panels. TCD's Solar Explorer is a great way to save money on getting your panels installed, helping you to understand your options when starting the solar process. 

The Solar Explorer helps you to discover and connect with trusted partners who can help simplify the process of getting solar installed, and save you up to $10,000 on getting them installed by curating bids from local installers. 

It also allows you to find solar leasing programs that cost no money down, like Palmetto's LightReach leasing program. This can save you up to 20% on your monthly utility rates, and allows you to take advantage of federal tax credits that have been retired for individual homeowners. 

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EnergySage is another Solar Explorer partner that is a great resource for finding solar providers and curating bids on panels. 

Commenters in this case were quick to point out some ways to find where they were sucking up power. 

"Taking a $15 basic clamp meter around your panel to each circuit would tell you a lot, but be careful and don't do it if you're not comfortable doing it," one said, "Ask for help here if you need more information."

"Use the display on your meter to go circuit by circuit looking for the culprit," said another. 

A third commenter had more direct advice to fix the problem: "Get solar panels." 

Another fantastic way to cut your utility bill is with an upgraded HVAC system. TCD's HVAC Explorer can help you find the system that's right for your home and budget. 

And to help your budget further, the free Palmetto Home app can earn you up to $5,000 in rewards to spend on home upgrades via simple tasks in your daily life. 

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices — and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club.