Electric Bill to go up by 47% next month

[Bamaman]

makes up 2.8% of electrical power generation in the United States.

Natural Gas!!! makes up 38.3% of power generation
Coal (big bad dirty coal) makes up 21.8%
Nuke's!! makes up 18.9%

Just about my entire family worked for TVA, the big U.S. government owned electrical utility. TVA depends greatly on their three big nuclear complexes and a few very large coal steam plants for energy. They've shut down and demolished a number of post-WWII coal fired plants even though they were still productive. Only in recent years have they started using some natural gas produced power. We're still got moderately inexpensive electricity @ 10.5 cents per KWH.

The only reason the really good coal fired steam plants are as clean as they are today is because TVA's scientists and engineers wrote the book on air pollution and what it takes to clean up fossil fired generation.

 

[Koolau]

I would not call the connection fee ridiculous. The utility companies are responsible for the power lines and a lot of equipment to connect our homes to the grid.

Industrial-quality equipment is expensive. I needed a good 240V/120V transformer, and the following 1.5 kVA transformer costs $330. The sucker weight is 38 lbs, so shipping cost is another killer.

I was fortunate to find a used one locally for less. The thing is a far cry from China-made transformers you get on eBay.

The distribution transformer that's pole-mounted up in my high-country home got to cost a bit of money.

The electric company's costs for established connections has not doubled one year to the next. Our building has been here for almost 50 years. I'm sure there has been some maintenance along the way, but the bulk of their costs have been amortized by now. In fact, in our area there are virtually no new connections.

This all came up IIRC because some electric companies raised their connection fees substantially (perhaps doubling - again, IIRC.) IOW we keep trying to use less and less electricity and the electric companies just raise their connection fees to get the same revenue.

I understand THEIR point of view, but WE have a point of view as well. Dealing with utilities is always an adversarial relationship.

Not saying electric companies are evil but neither are customers who don't like paying more and more of their bills JUST to be connected. From 2007 to today, I have reduced my average usage from about 9 KWh/day to just 5 KWh/day. My bills have varied about $5/month over that period of time - with connection and other fees being the largest increase - NOT increased per KWh charge. YMMV

 

[NW-Bound]

Not saying electric companies are evil but neither are customers who don't like paying more and more of their bills JUST to be connected. From 2007 to today, I have reduced my average usage from about 9 KWh/day to just 5 KWh/day. My bills have varied about $5/month over that period of time - with connection and other fees being the largest increase - NOT increased per KWh charge. YMMV

I do not have specific technical knowledge of the power industry, but think that they have to size the equipment and transmission lines to the peak demand. And people using less on the average does not mean the peak demand is reduced.

For example, I am cruising on my off-grid solar throughout the day, but when my battery runs out in the evening, boom, suddenly all the circuits switch over to the grid.

Even before Putin's murderous war, Germany already had to pay some coal plants money just for maintenance, so they can be fired up on a short notice. And sure enough, they are now paying to stockpile 1 month worth of coal supply next to the plants.

Anyway, electricity infrastructure does not come cheap. How else a rich state like California keeps getting its powerlines on fire?

 

[ERD50]

Running power to a house is different than running power to a fridge and a couple of lights in house that is off grid with solar panels. "Energizing" a house through even a heavy duty extension cord would probably be a very bad idea. Running your neighbor's fridge is just being neighborly if their power goes out. I'm suggesting just a matter of degrees. Heh, heh, at this point, I'm willing to agree to disagree. I just thought it was a good way to stick it to the electric companies who are now trying to make their money on "connection" fees since folks continue to cut back on electricity and are adding solar panels. YMMV

We aren't disagreeing, I was talking about sharing whole house power full time, not just powering a fridge during an outage - no problem with that at all.

edit/add: I looked back at your post:

They pay the central house guy for his power they need at night to run their TV, AC and a couple of lights.

Well AC is mostly 220 and heavy amps, so we are talking more than an extension cord. Even for a window unit, for that length, I don't think even a heavy-duty cord would do, you have the length of house wiring, plus the cord. It would help to plug into a 20A outlet, at least you'd have 12 GA in the house. [/edit/add]


In fact, I need to find a way to get friendlier with our next door neighbors, DW and I have only spoken with the Wife/Mom a few times, and she was super nice to us each time. But they aren't out much and our paths don't cross.

But I see they have a Generac generator, so I wouldn't want to be so much of a stranger if I knock on their door one day with an extension cord in hand! I hope it works, I've never heard it do a test cycle (but it's on the opposite side from us).

-ERD50

 

[Koolau]

I do not have specific technical knowledge of the power industry, but think that they have to size the equipment and transmission line to the peak demand. And because people use less on the average does not mean the peak demand is reduced.

Wow, seems I must be talking at cross purposes. I wasn't talking about peak usage or anything else specific to the electric company's costs. In our case, the usage in the Islands has been going DOWN per customer for a long time. Our rates are the highest in the nation. That tends to get folks to conserve electricity. Some of this reduction is because of the advent of home solar. But mostly it is due to folks reducing usage - through management and more efficient appliances.

MY point was that folks attempt to reduce their costs by lowering their electrical usage. (9 to 5 KWh in my case.) It is our only lever for electrical bills. I've done that (painfully) by buying more expensive electrical devices moving from incandescent to fluorescent to LED lights, replacing fridge with a more efficient one, cooking most things in microwave instead of on/in stove, buying newer/more efficient TV, etc.

So why is my electric bill the same as it was 14 years ago? It's not because they have to add more electrical poles at our 50 year old building. (Yes, per KWh has gone up some.) BUT mostly, it is because of the increase in several "fixed" costs that one pays before the first KWh is used. It is my contention (without proof - but only logic) the electric company is selling less electricity per customer and must get its revenue from raising fixed charges. YMMV

 

[NW-Bound]

So why is my electric bill the same as it was 14 years ago?

In dollar amounts? Well, there's inflation. From Jan 2008 till now, it's 1.38x.

 

[Koolau]

In dollar amounts? Well, there's inflation. From Jan 2008 till now, it's 1.38x.

True, but it's not in KWh charges (for the most part). In our case, it's more due to all the increasing extra charges (connection charges, etc.) that you pay whether you use electricity or not. Using your figures of 1.38x, I need to multiply that by my actual usage (9 KWh in 07 and 5 in 22). So 1.38 X 5/9 = 0.77. SO, my bill should be $80 x 0.77. But it's still $80.

 

[Time2]

What law would that be breaking? I'm sure the electric company wouldn't like it, but is there a law forbidding sharing of electricity? I actually did that very briefly with a neighbor years ago when they had a fuse-box issue. They needed to keep their fridge going and I had a commercial grade 3-prong extension. Worked like a charm for several hours. YMMV

I also did this after an ice storm, we had no electricity, but then I noticed steam coming from my neighbors dryer vent. The break was between our houses, and included all the houses down the road after mine. I shut of the main breaker, and several others, and plugged a home made cord with two plugs installed into our outside outlets. I did this to power the fan of my gas furnace. The first night before I borrow power, we slept in the bathroom and used hot water to heat it. NOT a good idea, water condensed on the ceiling and it rained down on us. The was in the winter in Michigan.

 

[ncbill]

Wow, seems I must be talking at cross purposes. I wasn't talking about peak usage or anything else specific to the electric company's costs. In our case, the usage in the Islands has been going DOWN per customer for a long time. Our rates are the highest in the nation. That tends to get folks to conserve electricity. Some of this reduction is because of the advent of home solar. But mostly it is due to folks reducing usage - through management and more efficient appliances.

MY point was that folks attempt to reduce their costs by lowering their electrical usage. (9 to 5 KWh in my case.) It is our only lever for electrical bills. I've done that (painfully) by buying more expensive electrical devices moving from incandescent to fluorescent to LED lights, replacing fridge with a more efficient one, cooking most things in microwave instead of on/in stove, buying newer/more efficient TV, etc.

So why is my electric bill the same as it was 14 years ago? It's not because they have to add more electrical poles at our 50 year old building. (Yes, per KWh has gone up some.) BUT mostly, it is because of the increase in several "fixed" costs that one pays before the first KWh is used. It is my contention (without proof - but only logic) the electric company is selling less electricity per customer and must get its revenue from raising fixed charges. YMMV

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.

 

[Koolau]

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.

Can't recall the "names" of the various charges (some were variable.) I'll get a forwarded bill here in a few days, maybe. In any case, They all continue to go up, even though the actual per KWh charge changes relatively little. I don't count on PUC to be our friend but YMMV.

 

[NW-Bound]

True, but it's not in KWh charges (for the most part). In our case, it's more due to all the increasing extra charges (connection charges, etc.) that you pay whether you use electricity or not. Using your figures of 1.38x, I need to multiply that by my actual usage (9 KWh in 07 and 5 in 22). So 1.38 X 5/9 = 0.77. SO, my bill should be $80 x 0.77. But it's still $80.

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

For example, the fixed charge at my high-country boondocks home is $31. The only load when I am not there is the fridge, which burns $12 worth each month. My recent lowest bill is $43.12.

I did not care to save the old statements to see what the $31 fixed charge used to be. Quicken shows that in 2010 my lowest bill was $29.74.

Even if I do not use any power, there's still an increase in the fixed charge due to inflation.

 

[NW-Bound]

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.

I don't think it's arbitrary. Large industrial users like my former megacorp had their dedicated substations, separate from the residential substations. And the high-power transmission lines that are common would have the cost allocated by the kWh, I would hope.

 

[Mulligan]

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.

Their reasoning as understood by what I read from utes is this keeps “solar users” from dropping an “unfair burden” onto traditional users. It still costs roughly the same amount to maintain and provide service lines whether one is using 1kw a month or 1000 kw a month.
I doubt this is a trend that ever goes away. Probably see more of it being utes probably see this as a base reliable income source.

 

[NW-Bound]

In many places, Texas as well as the UK as confirmed by posters here, the cost of the grid connection is completely detached from the cost of electricity generation.

You pay a fixed cost to the local company that owns the lines and equipment that get you connected to the grid. You can choose an electric supplier far away from your location, who pumps the power into the grid for you to draw out at your end.

Here in AZ, they were trying to do that some years ago but abandoned it for some reasons. I did not follow up to find out, as I was too busy with my work.

 

[Alan]

In many places, Texas as well as the UK as confirmed by posters here, the cost of the grid connection is completely detached from the cost of electricity generation.

You pay a fixed cost to the local company that owns the lines and equipment that get you connected to the grid. You can choose an electric supplier far away from your location, who pumps the power into the grid for you to draw out at your end.

Here in AZ, they were trying to do that some years ago but abandoned it for some reasons. I did not follow up to find out, as I was too busy with my work.

Yes, the companies who maintain the grid in the different regions of the UK are not energy suppliers. There are also companies who generate electricity and a large number of energy suppliers who buy electricity from the generators and sell it to the consumers.

UK subsidies for home solar generation used to be contracts with solar panel owners to buy their electricity at prices linked to the going cost of electricity on the open market. I personally have a couple of nerdy friends who have closely tracked their savings and the prices they received for what they exported and their payback on their installation costs was between 6 and 7 years.

In 2019, before we bought our solar installation, the rules changed. Energy companies are required to pay for electricity exported to them, since they are essentially buying at a very low price then selling it to other consumers at a much higher price (no minimum price is mandated). This means that when looking to switch to a new energy supplier, solar panel owners since 2019 have to weigh up cost of electricity they import as well as cost of electricity they export since the energy companies have a wide range of prices.

 

[GoodLife59]

Fortunately we have Electric Choice in Pa so I’ve been able to mitigate significant price increases by shopping with different suppliers and contracting. I also have a solar lease system with a 25 year price plan. It offsets about 80% of my total electric over the course of the year.

 

[Mulligan]

In many places, Texas as well as the UK as confirmed by posters here, the cost of the grid connection is completely detached from the cost of electricity generation.

You pay a fixed cost to the local company that owns the lines and equipment that get you connected to the grid. You can choose an electric supplier far away from your location, who pumps the power into the grid for you to draw out at your end.

Here in AZ, they were trying to do that some years ago but abandoned it for some reasons. I did not follow up to find out, as I was too busy with my work.

I just paid my bill a few seconds ago so I actually looked which I never do. We have Ameren and its a traditional triple vertical regulated ute. It showed I used 800kw this past month. That works out to 7.34 cents KW, but actually less because I lumped $9 connection fee and $10 of state sales and city sales tax tossed in my $108.96 bill. I keep it 72 during day and 68 at night for a modest 1600 sq ft or so ranch home. ~$3.50 a day to be totally comfortable 24/7 seems like a bargain to me.

 

[Maximus]

Is this requested price increase already approved by whatever body governs New Hampshire public utilities?

 

[FIREarly]

Originally Posted by shotgunner View Post
Yesterday the news announced that NH's largest provider of electricity 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.

but dont worry, buy that electric vehicle!

+1 and rent it out on Turo. Never done it. What could go wrong?

 

[BasketCase24]

Not true. Illinois allowed ComEd (at the time) to divest itself of the fossil fuel plants, and become "merchant generators" with the nuclear units. None of the coal units could compete on cost or cleanliness of generation. The unknown was shale gas, which drove the price of natural gas way down. Your legislature recently moved to make a level playing field for all non-carbon generation, which allowed your clean nuclear stations to continue to operate.

 

[mojavesue]

Here in NM, PNM rates are 7.7 cents per kwh for the first 450 kwh. Then 12.4 cents kwh for the next 450. Then 14 cents for anything above that. Luckily we dont use much power in the summer because where we are at we can get through the summer with just an evaporative cooler. These rates are for summer months. The rest of the year its less.

 

[RobLJ]

but dont worry, buy that electric vehicle!

Or get solar installed, then an EV, like me. We are mocked, on the solar thread, however, where the cognoscenti will tell you, in depth, how foolish you are. I realize in NH and other areas that it may not be a good choice, but charging with electricity here is about 17-20% the cost of driving my Forester with premium.

 

[mojavesue]

Our rates in Las Vegas is 11.4 cents per kwh. We arent at our place there during the summer so the tstat is set up to 95.

 

[mailbagman]

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.

 

[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!