If you have the pleasure (LOL) of paying the monthly bills at your house and haven't opened up your latest heating/electric bill, be prepared for quite the shock!

Most Hudson Valley residents have already experienced the extreme shock that I went through the other night when I opened up my Central Hudson bill. I'm a little behind because I never open my mail when I first get it, but when I saw and heard everyone talking about how the monthly bills have gone up I thought I should probably open mine to see if mine was any different than it normally is.

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As I opened it, the first thing I saw was that there were more numbers in the balance section than ever before. Once I got it unfolded, I looked and saw that my bill was $232.64. That might not seem really high for some, but I live in a small two-bedroom apartment, and heat and hot water are included in my monthly rent, so how in the heck is it this high?

After I calmed down, I went online to look at my account to see if I have ever had a bill this high and as you can imagine, I never had one bill that was over $100 in a month. The highest bill I ever had in a month was last winter and that bill was $82.

I understand that Central Hudson has done what it can to explain to all of its customers why bills have gone up so much in the last few months. From what the Central Hudson website says it has to do with "volatile energy markets impacting energy supply costs".

Why is my Electric & Heating Bill so High?

To Central Hudson's credit, they did warn customers in February that bills would increase according to Hudson Valley Post, but for customers like me who must have missed the memo, the shock of a bill more than doubling in a month stinks.

My bill more than doubled and honestly, I can afford to pay the increase this month, but what about the families that can't afford it? I know that we've received calls and text messages from families that have bills that are over $1,000! For one month!!

How high was your bill this month? Call or text us through the station app and if you are looking for more information on rising bills, check out Central Hudson online here.

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