IIRC, they live outside Dallas, have a McMansion, probably have the lights on in every room all the time, and like the house to be at 70 F. I think he's a manager with some big defense contractor. They don't like the high bill, but think it's normal and don't think there's much they can do about it. :-/

That's mainly speculation though, based on my likely faulty recollection. But I think the $1k/month is right.

Cheers,
Scott.