electricity bill question

I just moved into a 2 bedrom 1 bath apt. I have lived in apts this size for a few years and my electic bill was never over $200, now this bill is $475 for this small apt. We actually got moved in on july 3, but the electricity was turned on, on june 29th. When we got moved in the AC was broken and ran contionously. So I believe that may be part of the reason for the high bill. If the units appliances are to blame should the apts. help at all with the bill. I called the electric company and they said the meter was right and they said the AC was probably the problem. I spoke with the apt. manager and Im not sure if they are going to be willing to help. Are they suppose to help and what should I do. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks

[OHlandlord]

A broken A/C unit may be the reason for a high bill. But there are other things that would make units of the same size have different electric bills too. Consider the room height. Taller ceilings mean more cubic feet to heat or cool, causing the same A/C unit to have to run more. How about the other appliances? Newer appliances in one unit (stove, fridge, DW, etc.) are much more energy efficient than those made only a few years ago. Wattage of light bulbs eat up electric. If the wattages at the new unit are higher than those in the old, they will use more electric. Also, regular lights eat up lots more than fluorescents. How about the A/C unit itself, too? Is it the same size (BTU or ton) as the old one? An older, less efficent model? Does it use 110w or 220w? Finally, have you gotten any new electric products lately? Some items use phantom electric. That is, they use electric whether they are on or not. Things like cell chargers, microwaves, TVs, etc. use energy as long as they are plugged in, even when they are not in use or have a cell plugged in. Does this unit use an electric water heater, stove, or furnace when the last one had gas? Check these things out to see if anything is different or has changed from the last unit. Additionally, keep in mind 2 other things. This year has been hotter than usual so the A/C (even when they are operating normally) has been running much more than they did last year. And energy prices have gone up. We are paying more per KWH than we did last year. Consider all of these things, then see if all of that larger bill is because of the broken A/C. And to answer your question, the LL did fix your A/C unit. How long did it take to be fixed? If it was fixed quickly, they may have no liability for this bill.