"It's more than major, it hurts!" said Mark Klein, a Midwood resident.
Mark Klein of Midwood, Brooklyn emailed Eyewitness News to find out why he's been suddenly zapped by his power bill.
$385 this month compared to just $312 last month and both bills had nearly identical readings from the meters on his house.
"You're using the same amount of power," said Josh Einiger, Eyewitness News reporter.
"Yeah, I'm just paying that much more," Klein said.
It's right there in the fine print. The supply charges he pays to Con Edison. Each kilowatt hour was 20.2 cents this month, up 37% from last month, and 125% from just last November!
Con Ed says it isn't their fault.
Throughout the city and around the region, ratepayers are feeling the pinch.
It's because power companies use tons of natural gas, and demand for gas has skyrocketed, thanks to unrelenting cold here at home, and across the country.
"But we're not at historical highs for natural gas, and we were at historical lows. And yet we did not see our electricity go down much but as soon as it goes up a little bit they charge it to us. Not quite fair," Klein said.
For more information on how to save energy please visit: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_index
