Natural Gas Bill

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Shhh...we all got together and we're charging just Al more for his lp, just trying to see how much we can get him to pay before he calls shenanigans on us. The "punk'd" people are waiting in the wings.

 

[BigMoneyJim]

No gas in my apartment, but I thought I'd throw in that I set my thermostat between 65 and 68 so far and I hardly ever hear the heater come on. Night before last was the first time in weeks I recall hearing it. My neighbors are apparently cold blooded and are probably subsidizing my heat bill. The apartment is failry new, so it's probably well insulated, too.

My indoor thermometer rarely shows below 68. I do have a small ceramic element heater fan that I like to use on my feet while using the PC; it and my computers probably help warm the apartment a bit.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I had the same experience in my apartment, and in a first floor rental in a house where the owners lived upstairs. Never turned on the heat and it stayed in the 60's all through the winter.

 

[tryan]

Did a pre-buy in August at 1.82. About 30% higher than last years prebuy.

Since I am FIRE'd now I'll burn closer to 3 cords of wood (vice 2 while working). Hopefully this will off set the gas bump.

The tenants - on the other hand - are b*tching. And refuse to acknowledge that I told them to lock the price in a pre-buy back in August. This will impact me more than heating my own home (2 still owe me for Dec).

 

[BUM]

I know we are in for it when Dec.'s bill shows up but all things considered (so far) we are way ahead of the game. We've heated with NG for decades and when we compared bills with neighbors using electric or oil we felt they were getting screwed. Now its our turn.

Funny... in Saudi Arabia they often burn off the pesky natural gas to get to the oil.

 

[Arif]

Not to piss anyone off but we stopped the gas truck and asked them how much to fill up our tanks. The guy said it runs $45 and lasts about 2 months. Gotta love Panama.
BTW- the only thing we use gas for is for cooking and the rare hot shower. Since it is currently summer here I think our gas will last longer.

 

[azanon]

Damn you guys house's are cold.   Mine says about 70 degrees.  I let it drop to 63 at night though and just pile on the blankets.

 

[Eagle43]

Since we have an programmed thermostadt, temp is set for 56 at night. Never/rarely comes on. Most nights the house does not drop below 60. At 6 a.m., it's programmed to advance to 70 degrees. With the rise in natural gas prices, I am now trying to keep it cooler during the day. Example, today the weather is forecasted to near 70. So, no reason the heat should come on at all.

 

[justin]

You're a smart man Justin. I especially like your comment: "As long as no shortage..."

As long as there's gas, I can always lower the thermostat to save money. If the gas shuts off due to shortages, my wife and kid get cold, we have no hot water. I wouldn't ever want to have "rolling outages" of natural gas a la Californian electricity a few years back.

 

[bbuzzard]

My wife, who owns a small interest in two east texas gas trust, appreciates your willingness to pay high prices for natural gas . Now, instead of paying for only our gasoline bills, the checks also pay for a couple of meals out.

 

[justin]

My wife, who owns a small interest in two east texas gas trust, appreciates your willingness to pay high prices for natural gas . Now, instead of paying for only our gasoline bills, the checks also pay for a couple of meals out.

Your welcome, just keep the gas coming!

 

[justin]

Update: Our local natural gas company - PSNC - has asked our state utilities commission for permission to reduce their rates by 12%. They say this will decrease the average heating bill by $20. The rate reduction is in response to an unexpected drop in the wholesale prices that PSNC pays for gas.


http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/383307.html

Great! Now I can buy 1.764 more shares of my favorite mutual fund every month!!!

 

[BUM]

Just got the gas bill...600 bucks for 2 months. We wernt even home for 30-40% of the billing period. Usage for the period was down substantially from the same time last year but we ended up paying more money. I see another spreadsheet in my future.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Mine was $336 for 1 month! - Yikes - New house and great insulation. Home the whole time

 

[BUM]

Mine was $336 for 1 month! - Yikes - New house and great insulation. Home the whole time

Hi C-T,
Road Trip! Its the only answer. Shut down the house. Head someplace warm.

HNY!

 

[Dawg52]

Mine was $169 for December. I live in a very small house, had the thermostat set on 60. Kind of high under that scenero. 

 

[LEX]

Though I live in the Phoenix area we still use our fireplace on cooler nights and it makes a difference.  No one is going to freeze to death during a Phoenix blizzard.  8) My cost for utilities is driven by electricity in the six months of summer, but I am somewhat of a traveler in summer and like to head to the coast or milder climes.  Fall and spring we can get buy with neither heat or a/c for at least three months or so each year.  The guys in the islands and SOCAL have it truly made when it comes to utilities, either open or close a window and call it good.

I would guess that the economics of being a snowbird has become more compelling with higher energy prices.

 

[grumpy]

Just paid the gas bill covering 11/21 thru 12/21. It's been fairly cold here for this time of year (northern Virginia). The bill was $183. I'm sure that there will be a few months of $200+ coming up. This is for an 1800 sq. ft. single level home. I put extra insulation in the attic (R-49), sealed around all the electrical outlets on outside walls, and installed a storm door. Looks like the "Purchased Gas Charge" rate went up 34.5% from last winter. The "Distribution Charge" also went up 30.8% from last winter.

We are keeping the thermostat set at 71 during the day (programmable thermostat I installed myself). I bought a separate digital thermometer because the house felt chilly with the thermostat set at 70. The digital thermometer shows that when the thermostat says its 71 in the house it is really only 68. I am usually cold when others feel comfortable so I always wear a warm up jacket in the house.

Grumpy

 

[73ss454]

Grump,

68 sounds good, some on this board like it in the 50's.

To me they might as well live in a tent.

 

[Jarhead*]

Mine was $336 for 1 month!  - Yikes - New house and great insulation. Home the whole time

Actually, that doesn't sound bad considering where your temps. are during the winter months.

Also, considering you have over 3,000 sq. feet to take care of.

What do you set your thermostat at? What type of heating do you have?

You may answer the above questions at your leisure!

We are working on our 10th. day of rain, and golf course under water. (51 inches or rain since Nov. 1st.) S---. it's a damn rain forest this year.

Stay warm, Jarhead

 

[Eagle43]

Actually, that doesn't sound bad considering where your temps. are during the winter months. 

Also, considering you have over 3,000 sq. feet to take care of.

What do you set your thermostat at?  What type of heating do you have?

You may answer the above questions at your leisure!

We are working on our 10th. day of rain, and golf course under water. (51 inches or rain since Nov. 1st.)  S---. it's a damn rain forest this year.

Stay warm, Jarhead

Sir,
I can sweat more than it's rained here in months. Let's trade houses. You can come play golf, and I'll move in and listen to the rain. Just a few days, till we each get our fill.

 

[MJ]

I have an old house that is not very insulated so my bill has always been high. Starting the 2nd week of Nov for 32 days my bill was $451 (ouch). Before my tenant left 2 weeks ago, I kept thermostat during the weekdays at 62, in the evening at 68 and at night @ 63. Now that he's gone, I keep the stat at 60 during the day and night and 66 during the morning and evening. I hope to reduce my bill by 1/3 to 1/2.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

$98 for gas last month and $108 for electricity. Not too bad.

Hey Jarhead...wet enough for ya? We're about 7 miles from the confluence of the feather and bear rivers. The whole area's starting to look like a giant rice paddy.

 

[Jarhead*]

Hey Jarhead...wet enough for ya?  We're about 7 miles from the confluence of the feather and bear rivers.  The whole area's starting to look like a giant rice paddy.

No doubt about it, games on!

River watch for flatlanders.

Hope you don't have any serious problems in this area. (Living in the mountains, it's all run-off for us personally).

 

[Dawg52]

If the weather stays like this for a few days my gas bill will be almost nothing. The temp reached 79 today. Took my dog to the Reservoir for a long walk and there were people jogging and walking in shorts. It's not unusual for MS to have mild winters but this is insane. December was a little cooler than normal so who knows what it will do from here.