My highest electric bill ever was less than $45 (I'm 54 years old). My average electric bill the previous three years was about $18 a month, with $8.03 plus tax of that being a fixed monthly hookup charge. Rates are about $0.125/kWh in my area. So I was averaging about 90 kWh a month, or 1100 kWh a year.
January this year I finished having my house converted to run on solar photovoltaic power. To date, I'm generating over three times as much electricity as I'm using and selling the surplus back to the power company. More info on this system may be found at
Stone Marmot goes solar.
My house is about 1100 sq-ft, of which 900 sq-ft is heated and cooled. I have over 30 years worth of mods, too many to list, to get the electric use this low. But some include:
Extensive effort in insulating
Ground water referenced (geothermal) heat pump
Solar attic fan
Awnings or roll down shutters on all windows (partly for hurricane protection)
Compact fluorescent lights
Extensive effort in eliminating phantom loads
Careful appliance choice (not just Energy Star, but the lowest energy use on the market)
Some other articles on the above website discuss some of these things.
And I'm still making mods (presently fixing some weak spots in the insulation and sealing my ductwork).