Summer heat reflected in rising utility bills - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

If you think the record heat and drought are brutal, wait until you open the mail.

The first full month of summer, water and electric bills are coming. With sprinklers running and electric meters spinning, homeowners are paying the price of this brutal weather.

The cost of keeping his small Broad Ripple home cool, Andrew Cox says, tripled.

"I didn't really know what to expect until I opened up the bill," Cox said, trying to smile.

IPL says June's average residential bills jumped 15 percent from last year. Duke Energy says, so far, electricity usage is up 50 percent in July, which is no surprise - all but one day has been 90 degrees or hotter.

Stephanie Detamore's air conditioner has been running since March. Her son has severe allergies.

"Because of a mild winter, the allergy season hit earlier. That meant I had to keep it shut up," Detamore said.

And when the bill comes?

"It's just part of daily life," she answered.

Homeowners keeping their grass green without the benefit of a well, Carmel's water utility says, are seeing their bills double or triple. John Hieronymus says keeping his postage stamp-sized yard and flower garden healthy costs twice as much.

Is it worth it?

"Yes," he said.

Several homeowners Eyewitness News spoke with say they are trying to keep their cool this summer, remembering the mild winter and how much month they didn't spend trying to keep warm.

Pat Hinshaw tried to be optimistic.

"Look at the money we saved last winter. Now we are getting to spend it on air conditioning and we are," she said with a laugh.

If you are concerned about paying your utility bills, power and water companies recommend signing up for budget or other payment plans.

Although scattered showers moved through central Indiana Wednesday, real relief from this weather and its bills is more than a rainstorm away.