Electric Bill to go up by 47% next month

[t49eng]

Not so simple

I'm pretty sure all utility rate increases have to be approved by a state's PUC before they announce them.

In states with "free market" energy, the PUC regulates the distribution company (the Utility) but the market determines the price of energy offer by supplier companies.


So there is an array of fixed and variable rates of various terms so shop among. Let the buyer beware!

 

[Turbo29]

I think in Arizona rate hike request have to go through a state commission and it can take time. My local paper mentioned that Tucson Electric Power recently submitted a 12% rate hike increase and if approved would go in effect in Sept 2023.

SRP (the electric side, not the water) is actually a political subdivision of the State of Arizona, they don't have to run their rates through the Corporation Commission.


"SRP, itself, is two entities: the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, a political subdivision of the State of Arizona; and the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association, a private corporation."


https://www.powertogrowphx.com/whoweare/about.aspx

 

[Koolau]

I was thinking about the inflation effect on the fixed charge portion.

Finally!

This is what I was talking about.

 

[t49eng]

But there were options...

PA just went up 47% on June 1.

https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania/electric-in-pa-increasing-up-to-45-beginning-june-1/

If you are in the PPL service area, you could have taken the "standard offer" option before June 1 and locked in a rate of $0.08315 for a full year (7% less than the then current PPL "price to compare" default supply rate). I don't know if other utilities in the state made a similar offer.

 

[plex]

It is going to vary drastically by state. Each state has a very different mix of energy sources. The states with a majority of their power coming from hydro, wind, solar, nuclear, and coal will see normal increases at or even well below CPI. The states that rely on natural gas and petrol are going to see huge spikes, the larger of a majority these take up, the more likely a 50%+ jump could occur.

The two states I've lived in the last year have had modest or low increases, Austin relies on about 50% renewable and a bit of coal, so it had increases around CPI, Lexington uses a majority from...coal, and a modest chunk from renewables, so the increases seem to be a good bit below CPI.

 

[Koolau]

First of all, if you live in Pennsylvania this is what I tell my friends and neighbors. Whatever you paid to heat your home last year, just double it for next winter because the cost of home heating oil here has doubled. Second if you are living on social security, you will have two choices this coming winter. Starve to death or freeze to death. With the way fuel prices and food are right now this is my prediction.

You might be surprised how enterprising folks can be when they have to be. In the time frame of 1973 to 1978 our propane rose from $0.17 to $1.20 per gallon.

We added insulation. We repaired weather stripping. We lowered temps. in the day time when we were at w*rk. We lowered temps. at night when we slept. We even lowered temps while "living" at home. We wore sweaters and even long underwear. We found ways to isolate living spaces for heating. We finally added a wood stove and used fallen trees in the area to feed it. Lots of efforts, but we saved a lot of money. It can be done though YMMV.

 

[cnocmmz]

Yesterday the news announced that NH's largest provider of electricity, Eversource, was increasing their "Energy Charge" from 10.7 cents per kwh to 22.7 cents per kwh due to increased fuel charges primarily related to the natural gas used by power plants. Eversource electric bills are made up of 7 line items of cost and the overall projected increase in residential electric bills will increase by 47% next month.

In my mind this is the second of three economic gut punches. First is the $5 or more gasoline, now a 47% increase in the electric bill and next will be the arrival of home heating oil trucks come late fall delivering 180 gallons every 4 weeks or so for $1000 or more.

I believe everyone's actual inflation rate is far higher than the government's 8.7% due to the increase in energy costs alone.

https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-increases-electricity-bills-61622/40314355

Solar!!

 

[NW-Bound]

Solar can certainly reduce the electric bill for the homeowner.

At night or on cloudy days, he relies on the grid.

The grid in turn has to rely on nuclear plants, or thermal plants burning coal or natural gas.

Having solar during the day does not eliminate the need for nuclear and thermal plants, but does reduce the amount of coal and natural gas that is burned.

 

[NW-Bound]

Germany is sweating bullets right now for lack of natural gas from Russia, despite having lots of solar and wind power. The problem is when the wind does not blow, and the sun does not shine.

Germany is fretting with the future of a long cold and dark winter. And it's still mid summer.

Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands already announced going back to coal burning due to natural gas shortage. The future looks bleak.

See: https://apnews.com/article/russia-u...and-politics-bc7bdf033d249f673275b537bf2d3d19

and: https://www.euronews.com/green/2022...-coal-as-russia-threatens-to-turn-off-the-gas

 

[Koolau]

Germany is sweating bullets right now for lack of natural gas from Russia, despite having lots of solar and wind power. The problem is when the wind does not blow, and the sun does not shine.

Germany is fretting with the future of a long cold and dark winter. And it's still mid summer.

Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands already announced going back to coal burning due to natural gas shortage. The future looks bleak.

See: https://apnews.com/article/russia-u...and-politics-bc7bdf033d249f673275b537bf2d3d19

and: https://www.euronews.com/green/2022...-coal-as-russia-threatens-to-turn-off-the-gas

Who would have ever guessed it? No renewable energy when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine! Gotta hand it to the Germans. We could learn a thing or three from them. And I hope we do - but we probably will learn it just like they did but YMMV.

 

[NW-Bound]

Perhaps having more wind+solar than neighboring countries, Germany now knows that going all renewable is tougher than people figure.

Norway is fortunate to have lots of hydro power, more than it uses hence can export to the UK.

Other countries will need nuclear to back up wind and solar, but Germany does not want nuclear, so does not have a way out.

From Euronews:

Germany's government is refusing to agree to European Union plans to effectively ban the sale of new cars with combustion engines from 2035, according to Finance Minister Christian Lindner.

In its bid to cut planet-warming emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 from 1990 levels, the European Commission has proposed a 100 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars by 2035.

 

[FIREarly]

Originally Posted by shotgunner View Post
Yesterday the news announced that NH's largest provider of electricity, Eversource, was increasing their "Energy Charge" from 10.7 cents per kwh to 22.7 cents per kwh due to increased fuel charges primarily related to the natural gas used by power plants. Eversource electric bills are made up of 7 line items of cost and the overall projected increase in residential electric bills will increase by 47% next month.

In my mind this is the second of three economic gut punches. First is the $5 or more gasoline, now a 47% increase in the electric bill and next will be the arrival of home heating oil trucks come late fall delivering 180 gallons every 4 weeks or so for $1000 or more.

I believe everyone's actual inflation rate is far higher than the government's 8.7% due to the increase in energy costs alone.

https://www.wmur.com/article/new-ham...61622/40314355

Solar!!

+1

 

[Chuckanut]

Who would have ever guessed it? No renewable energy when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine! Gotta hand it to the Germans. We could learn a thing or three from them. And I hope we do - but we probably will learn it just like they did but YMMV.

Meanwhile my Guv and at least on of my Senators wants to breach four dams on the Snake river that also generate power. Go figure. Given certain predictions of future power shortages, I wonder if that is wise. IMO, they need a plan put into place, legally OK, and up and running before the dams are breached.

 

[Perryinva]

Fixed charges (e.g. "facility fee") should never have been allowed by any PUC...they are completely arbitrary.

There is no way any utility can accurately allocate their overhead among each type of user (residential, commercial, industrial)

ALL costs should be recaptured via the per-kWh rate.

Wrong on every account. Utilities know exactly what their carrying costs are. They are in no way arbitrary. Fixed fees have nothing to do with /kwh usage except to determine the type of customer, residential, commercial, or industrial. I worked in engineering in the electric utility business my entire career.
It amazes me how little most everyone thinks they “know” about electric generation. Upgraded infrastructure costs money, and the time to upgrade is not when all the lines are down and everyone is in a blackout. It takes planning far far in advance, and as mentioned, must be sized for future expectations and peak loads. Just because you don’t see anything changing doesn’t mean it isn’t.

The Texas debacle from freezing temps is a prime example of poor planning for short term savings.

 

[Turbo29]

The Texas debacle from freezing temps is a prime example of poor planning for short term savings.

As was the California fire caused by ancient transmission lines that PG&E neglected.

PG&E knew old power line parts had ‘severe wear’ months before deadly Camp Fire

 

[NW-Bound]

In democracies, we have many factions, and they are all fighting for individual economic advantages. The car makers see their job as building better cheaper faster EVs than their competitors, they don't have time and resources to tackle the electric supply problem. The utility companies say, show me the money.

And if the government steps in to say "we will do it this way", do we know if the bureaucrats have it right? And then, how to keep it from becoming fascism?

I dunno. It's tough. All a guy can do is to protect himself. It takes money, of which I have some, to put up a solar+battery system so that if and when rolling blackouts happen, I will not die of heatstroke.

I am a sissy, and even upper 90F temperature without AC was tough as I found out in Paris in June 2017 in a heat wave. Many of y'all don't know what 122F in the shade feels like, and that's the record high where I am.

 

[cyber888]

Interesting, after 9-10 years, my Electric bill average went down (same house). in 2013, my electric bill averaged to $94.60. Now, halfway thru 2022 (I plugged in my electric bill from July - Dec.2021), and it averaged around $90.18. My average yearly gas bill went up from $156+ to $164+. We had a heft gas bill last Feb. 2022 when DW and I splurged on using our 2 Fireplaces during winter.

So, in about a decade, my electric + gas bill increased by about 5.2%. Gas is the cultprit, because my electric bill went down

ELECTRIC BILL 2013 GAS BILL 2013
Bill amount
Jan. 68.77 Jan. $111.08
Feb 57.00 Feb $92.91
Mar. 70.55 Mar. $34.00
Apr 69.19 Apr $18.00
May 128.27 May $16.00
June 186.47 June $16.00
July 160.65 July $16.00
Aug 78.66 Aug $18.00
Sept 74.93 Sept $31.00
Oct 69.64 Oct $78.00
Nov. 82.6 Nov. $162.00
Dec 88.51 Dec $144.00
Elec + Gas
Average 94.60 Average $61.42 $156.02
Electric Cost Gas Bill

Year 2022/2021 Gas Bill 2022/2021
Jan.22 91.99 Jan. $115.41
Feb.22 84.19 Feb $258.34
Mar.22 76.83 2022 Mar. $145.73 2022
Apr .22 68.31 Apr $62.00
May.22 67.39 May $45.97
June.22 98.99 June $22.98
July. 21 130.87 July $19.55
Aug. 21 131.58 Aug $18.78
Sept. 21 127.84 2021 Sept $17.43 2021
Oct. 21 60.93 Oct $18.78
Nov.21 76.95 Nov. $23.08
Dec. 21 66.31 Dec $140.50
Elec + Gas
Average 90.18 Average $74.05 $164.23
Electric Cost Gas Bill

 

[W2R]

It's tough. All a guy can do is to protect himself. It takes money, of which I have some, to put up a solar+battery system so that if and when rolling blackouts happen, I will not die of heatstroke.

I think that's the best reason I have heard yet for having solar energy. None of us are immune to the effects of aging, which IME tend to creep up on us as the years pass by. It's amazing how may old folks die from extreme heat. Not that we're old! But we aren't as young as we once were.

I am a sissy, and even upper 90F temperature without AC was tough as I found out in Paris in June 2017 in a heat wave. Many of y'all don't know what 122F in the shade feels like, and that's the record high where I am.

You're right, and in my case I can't even imagine what 122F is like. Yesterday it got up to 103F in my suburb. I didn't go outside at all, all day long. Today it's already 100F at ~1 PM. Great day to stay inside my air conditioned Dream Home, happily playing video games or posting on the internet.

AC bills are going to be insane this summer, here in New Orleans anyway. Our May and June bills were 145% of what they were the year before, and the heat wave has been mostly during the period covered by the July bill. I have started moving the thermostat up to 75F, hoping to lower the cost a little bit. I should turn on the ceiling fans, too, and then maybe I could turn the thermostat up a little more. It's so much hotter outside than usual.

But no, I'm not getting solar panels. According to long time residents here, this is not a very good location for them due to hurricanes here. It seems that in New Orleans, hurricanes pick them up and they become projectiles causing a lot of damage. But in other locations they sound like a good choice to explore.

 

[NW-Bound]

I think that's the best reason I have heard yet for having solar energy. None of us are immune to the effects of aging, which IME tend to creep up on us as the years pass by. It's amazing how may old folks die from extreme heat. Not that we're old! But we aren't as young as we once were...

I think I am old. How else they gave me Medicare and SS?

When in college, I drove a car with such a puny AC that it was nearly non-existent. The AC was an after-market add-on, and specifically made for the 69 Mustang. How could it be cheaper than a factory one, with the labor for custom installation? But I digress.

I was able to tolerate the heat a lot better. I used to do yardwork when it was 110+F. Now, just standing outside in the shade in that temperature made me miserable.

 

[Koolau]

I think I am old. How else they gave me Medicare and SS?

When in college, I drove a car with such a puny AC that it was nearly non-existent. The AC was an after-market add-on, and specifically made for the 69 Mustang. How could it be cheaper than a factory one, with the labor for custom installation? But I digress.

I was able to tolerate the heat a lot better. I used to do yardwork when it was 110+F. Now, just standing outside in the shade in that temperature made me miserable.

At the risk of starting a Four Yorkshiremen episode, my car during those days of yore had no AC. True, we didn't have 115 degree temps, but we did have 95 degrees with 80% humidity in the heartland (you could hear the corn grow!)

 

[ERD50]

At the risk of starting a Four Yorkshiremen episode, my car during those days of yore had no AC. True, we didn't have 115 degree temps, but we did have 95 degrees with 80% humidity in the heartland (you could hear the corn grow!)

Here, here. A/C was just not that common back in the day. Our first family car with A/C was in 1967, None of the beaters I drove in the 60's and early 70's had A/C.

Cars back then had better ventilation though, open the vents at +35 mph, keep the rear windows open, and you at least got a decent breeze. Today's cars have poor ventilation, you need the A/C much more.

And yes, you could hear the corn grow (DW didn't believe me).

-ERD50

 

[Turbo29]

I had a 1977 Toyota with no A/C. Drove it several times between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the summer, during the day. I remember telling the friend who went with me, "If I hit the jackpot, I'll have A/C installed before we drive back." I didn't hit the jackpot, so no A/C.

 

[Koolau]

I had a 1977 Toyota with no A/C. Drove it several times between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the summer, during the day. I remember telling the friend who went with me, "If I hit the jackpot, I'll have A/C installed before we drive back." I didn't hit the jackpot, so no A/C.

Another Four Yorkshiremen episode: My last car without A/C was a 78 Datsun B210. It was pretty much a nothing car, but reliable as the sunrise. So I finally replaced it with an '82 Toyota WITH AC - I've never looked back (well, one of my AC cars eventually lost its AC and I didn't fix it.) DW took the car with functioning AC and I took the beater with broken AC. In Honolulu, that is love (or being cheap - or both, I guess.) YMMV

 

[ncbill]

Wrong on every account. Utilities know exactly what their carrying costs are. They are in no way arbitrary. Fixed fees have nothing to do with /kwh usage except to determine the type of customer, residential, commercial, or industrial. I worked in engineering in the electric utility business my entire career.
It amazes me how little most everyone thinks they “know” about electric generation. Upgraded infrastructure costs money, and the time to upgrade is not when all the lines are down and everyone is in a blackout. It takes planning far far in advance, and as mentioned, must be sized for future expectations and peak loads. Just because you don’t see anything changing doesn’t mean it isn’t.

The Texas debacle from freezing temps is a prime example of poor planning for short term savings.

There is simply too much shared infrastructure for any utility to accurately determine how their fixed costs should be allocated between different types of customers.

As a practical matter the per user fees charged mean lower-consumption customers (e.g. residential) end up subsidizing higher-consumption (commercial/industrial) users.

 

[Koolau]

There is simply too much shared infrastructure for any utility to accurately determine how their fixed costs should be allocated between different types of customers.

As a practical matter the per user fees charged mean lower-consumption customers (e.g. residential) end up subsidizing higher-consumption (commercial/industrial) users.

It also means that lowering actual usage is no longer as effective at lowering your bill as it used to be when per-user fees were more reasonable. YMMV