My $5 electricity bill, redux

MNN's lifestyle blogger shares a snapshot of her latest low electricity bill.

Wed, Jan 12 2011 at 4:05 PM EST

Photo: Adam/Flickr

When I wrote about my low electricity bill, most people responded positively. Some asked curious questions about my apartment, others shared their own efforts to reduce energy costs, and yet others left encouraging messages to keep up the good work.

Then there were the haters.

Now, I generally resist writing back to unnecessarily negative commenters, trolls, and flamers — but I thought you might find it amusing to read about how angry some can get about other people saving energy. One confident but misinformed reader who went by the handle “itsme” wrote:

every electric company in the usa has a minimum charge, it is impossible that you only had a $5.00 bill, you may have lowered it somewhat, but you lowered your standard of living to that of someone on the street along with it.

A Nicholas Maniatis was equally incredulous. He wrote on Facebook:

I… call SHAM on the $5… you haven’t referenced any blogger or website and have given NO data… Your posting is WORTHLESS without credible documentation. MNN is a sham when it comes to credibly documenting their assertions. Siel Ju… yes… this is a BS call. Show your bills for a 6-month period.

Well if you read the post, Nicholas, you know that I don’t have bills for a 6-month period because I only started getting bills when I moved a few months ago. At my old apartment, electricity was included in the rent — so moving finally gave me a chance to see how much energy I was really saving.

In any case — Without further ado: Here’s another snapshot of my last electricity bill.