 That's to keep the bills down. Even so, Martin's power bill can go as high as $450 a month. Researchers at the JPMorgan Chase Institute wondered how people are coping with those big summer electric bills. Institute President Chris Wheat and his colleagues studied bank records from thousands of customers in Houston, Los Angeles, and Chicago. When the weather gets hot, you've got to make a choice of some sort. Either you're going to spend less on other things, or you're going to cool less and be hot, or some combination of the two.