Insane Electric Rate Increase $508.68/1522 kWh
- Thread starter gathermewool
- Start date
What is completely ridiculous to me is you can switch "billing companies" and get a cheaper rate. What a crock of crap. The electricity is coming down the same wires, from the same substation, from the same power-generating station. Prove me wrong.
Our utility likes to state they have a low cost of $0.122/kWh, but add in the customer charge and all the other riders/adjustments I’ve been paying closer to $0.18-$0.19/kWh.
And I just saw they want to raise rates on electricity ~16.5% or $19 more a month if you use the “average” of 670kwh. But they promise that they’ll pass on the savings of shutting down their coal plants back to consumers, a whopping $6 a month or a net gain of $13
Some boneheads in WA wanted to remove some of the big dams that produce like half of the power here, at the same time pushing everything to go electric and outlawing the sales of ICE and only EV vehicles by 2035 (it was 2030 initially, lol). Can you imagine the cost of power if they couldn't build about 3 new nuke plants, and even then, the power cost rates would have to skyrocket to pay for new infrastructure. Pure lack of logic chaos dream weavers.
gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
You were somehow on my ignore list. I don’t ignore anyone (it’s kind of silly to do so), but if I did you wouldn’t be on that list. Weird.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
It's not hard to hit really, if you were hovering over a username and went to click off it, you could probably hit the button. That does however explain your lack of replies to my posts, lol.
gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
Lol, sorry about that. First time I’ve seen done/seen it!
I checked my “ignoring“ list and no one else was on it.
I haven't read every post here, but I'd definitely add extra attic insulation and also look Into insulating the basement rim joists and will plate where you can.
gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
I know there are only a handful who might actually be following this, but the latest:
Entertainment Center: 12.9 kWh/past 7 days, 62.7/past 30 days
Main fridge: lost data (had to reset plug)
Downstairs Fridge: 3.21, 13.8
Chest Freezer: 4.13, 17.6
Assuming the main fridge is chewing up 1.82X the rate of the downstairs fridge, that’s 5.84, 25.12
That means at least these main components are costing me just over $32 (119.22 kWh) based on my $0.27/kWh rate.
My March bill was $275 for 1017 kWh burned, and an average temp of 40F.
-That’s compared to $340 for 1266 kWh (35F) Feb and $509 for 1522 kWh (39F) in Jan
-Last year (J/F/M):
J: $456/1987/26F
F: $446/1942/33F
M: $267/1105/42F
//
As far as improvements I’ve sealed up a few spots and shored up some basement insulation. I’ll need to strongly consider upgrading my water heater.
I also plan to user a smart plug on the washer to see how much it’s using.
Like I mentioned earlier, the majority of your usage is eaten up the the electric radiant heat. Unless you address this, everything else will get you minimal savings.
I would say based on what you posted, that you may save an additional 10% Not much more.
I would have to look it up, but my average electricity usage in winter is probably around 400-500kwh, summer with AC running I think it was around 800kwh. But I can look it up if you want the exact numbers.
And while I’m not wasteful, I’m not watching every kWh I can either.
You’re in New England so heating takes priority over AC and solar panels may not make too much sense there.
Not sure if you have access to natural gas, but that would make the most sense IMO.
I would say based on what you posted, that you may save an additional 10% Not much more.
I would have to look it up, but my average electricity usage in winter is probably around 400-500kwh, summer with AC running I think it was around 800kwh. But I can look it up if you want the exact numbers.
And while I’m not wasteful, I’m not watching every kWh I can either.
You’re in New England so heating takes priority over AC and solar panels may not make too much sense there.
Not sure if you have access to natural gas, but that would make the most sense IMO.
In my area, natural gas is about $1.5/therm, electricity at tier 2 (I'm still not on a TOU plan because most of my usage is during peak hours and I have no EV to charge), is about 42c/kwh (tier 1 is the first 280 kwh at 32c/kwh or so). My bill is usually about 280kwh in tier 1 and 30kwh in tier 2.
People from other area ask me why won't I use heat pump, and the answer is typically 1) adding heat pump cost about $5-10k more at least in equipment, I'll never get that back, 2) despite heat pump being more efficient than gas, electricity is still way more expensive and at higher tier cost way more than gas per degree heating, I'll save money burning gas even from a water heater to pump around the house in radiator floorboard than to install a heat pump.
Electric resistive heating is the worst thing you can have, I'd rip them out and replace with natural gas instead.
People from other area ask me why won't I use heat pump, and the answer is typically 1) adding heat pump cost about $5-10k more at least in equipment, I'll never get that back, 2) despite heat pump being more efficient than gas, electricity is still way more expensive and at higher tier cost way more than gas per degree heating, I'll save money burning gas even from a water heater to pump around the house in radiator floorboard than to install a heat pump.
Electric resistive heating is the worst thing you can have, I'd rip them out and replace with natural gas instead.
gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
You’re absolutely right, but the month I posted was pretty much minimal electric heat usage. I used even less this past month and my kWh went up a bit, because I had to run the AC for several days due to an unusual spell of hot weather.
I’ve put off solar for exactly the reason you mention. It’s not Portland cloudy here, but nowhere in NE is considered sunny…I’m also going to need a new roof sooner than later, so…
No NG here. I’d have to pay for LPG tanks, which doesn’t seem to make much sense. What makes the most sense is upgrading my water heater to a hybrid and heat to half-splits. I did just buy a MUCH more efficient 12k window unit to replace an old 10k unit for the living room. This should work as a nice stop-gap measure to keep summer bills a little bit lower. It won’t be substantial, but the lower noise levels and better cooling should make it worth it.
gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
I know you were being a bit facetious, but the ONLY benefit of resistive heat is that it’s pretty much bulletproof when it comes to reliability. If I upgrade to anything, it likely won’t make sense to literally rip out the baseboards. Seriously, if whatever I replaced them with died 50 years from now the baseboard heaters would work 100% and immediately. That is also knowing that I have plenty of space in the breaker panel.
Yeah, born, raised and spent most my life on Long Island NY.
We all know the Shoreham fiasco and why Long Island rates are around the same as you.
I woke up, moved south and pay 10 cents a kWr 24 hours a day. I have the option for peak usage rates that if played right can even be lower but going to hold off being in a new home Ill go with the safe cheap bet.
I'm no energy/economic expert but it seems to me we are adapting to a situation we ought to be working to correct.
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OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
There's no way Shoreham is still affecting rates, that 3% scheme started in 1989:
So it ended 4 years ago.
A 3% surcharge is $3 on a $100 bill, it doesn't in any way even begin to explain any form of nutty rates.
gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
A heavy metal fan, I see...
I pay $0.1409 Canadian per kwh here in BC Canada.
You know you’re right.
So many years have gone by that all I can say is I know something else is involved where we ended up with the highest rates in the country.
I myself now I’m curious because you are correct about the surcharge, but something else is in play here I could swear, but I’m not sure maybe I’m wrong but out of my own curiosity, I’m going to look more into it if and when I ever have the time.
Maybe it’s just the outrageous school tax the utility had to pay on its infrastructure I don’t know.
I wish I could remember and it’s driving me nuts but whatever.
When time you might find this a good read.
It’s a pretty good story about how this all took place at a time that our own government was encouraging the building of this power plant.
You will understand the megawatts more than me, but they just recently spent a couple billion dollars I think for 285 MW on a wind project a decade ago.
Hope this all makes sense. I’m using text to speech and I got a run, but check out the story. The Long Island press is a now out of business newspaper that used to compete directly with Newsday still in existence.
I am I really want to find what the rates were at the start of building the plans and how they were escalating before we even got to the 3% thing
It even reference in there about 16% of the power bill going toward that so once they tacked on the 3% surcharge I don’t know I just don’t know but there’s something to it
Nuclear Waste: 20 Years After Shoreham’s Closure | Long Island Press
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