All ready have turned the heat on

[arbilab]

Your electric goes DOWN in summer? Ours goes up. All the better to gouge you with my dear.

Week ago was record high 101F. 2 days later it was 57F at night (and this ain't the desert). No need heat on but did turn air off and got the blanket out.

Not to get too political but if this is what Algore was talking about a while back, have to conclude there might be something to it.

 

[whirlcool]

Electrical deregulation in Texas always has been a joke. When they first went to it the rates were about $.08 per Kwh. Soon afterwards the rates were north of $.18 per hour.Everyone was cashing in on the windfall and prices were skyrocketing.People complained but the regulators would just say "Hey! It's deregulation doing it's thing!" Finally after a few investigations into deregulated practices began the prices fell back down to about $.07-.09 per Kwh.

Now in Illinois when they deregulated their rates went from about $.12 or so to $.04-$.05 per Kwh. Why did theirs drop so dramatically when ours climbed sky high due to deregulation. Maybe the Illinois version of deregulation had some warnings in the law about profiteering?

 

[twintubdexter]

The "rate" goes down from June first thru end of September. You get X number of kilowatt hours at Tier #1 and then move on to the more expensive tiers. The electric bill is of course much higher in the summer. May, an Edison "winter" month, can be very hot here. October, the first winter month after summer is usually not all that hot, but the temps...they're a changin...somethins blowing in the wind (humidity and the stink from the dying Salton Sea.)

Every month I see another home or two in the area adding solar electricity. The price I was quoted for a 20 year lease for solar was about $300 more than I pay Edison per year. I don't like the idea of signing a long lease and would prefer to buy the system outright. Selling my home with a lease attached seems like it would create a liability considering many buyers are only here seasonally and avoid the heat as well as feeding power-hungry air conditioners. I'm curious as to what others think.

 

[arbilab]

The regulators would say "hey, gawd's will".

Electric in DFW, still a monopoly dictated by Oncor, the generator and distributor, just jumped from 11c to 13c. Two cents? Yeah but that shxt adds up when you multiply it by a thousand. Sure it's "deregulated" (sadistic snicker) but your 'choice' is who sends you the bill.

"Oncor" is a snide nickname for TXU-- what it always was but is now an 'encore' of what it was before-- and TXU is one of the 'choices' of billing entities. On paper, they are also bankrupt. Thence, I strongly suspect, is where the 2c/kWh goes.

OBTW, the utilities commission 'approved' (sadistic snicker) Oncor charging each of their customers $250 to re-fleet to "smart" meters. When else in the history of electricity did customers get a line-item bill for infrastructure?

Texas. We're number one. In corruption among many other undesireable things.

 

[petek]

Corruption you say... Ontario is far worse for that. I think we're paying the highest rates in N.America now. It's been one debacle after another with the provincial govt from closing down gas fired plants to garner votes and save legislature seats in one area and guaranteeing wind and solar firms outrageous amounts to purchase their power at more than the cost of what it's sold for.

 

[artcurus]

The regulators would say "hey, gawd's will".

Electric in DFW, still a monopoly dictated by Oncor, the generator and distributor, just jumped from 11c to 13c. Two cents? Yeah but that shxt adds up when you multiply it by a thousand. Sure it's "deregulated" (sadistic snicker) but your 'choice' is who sends you the bill.

"Oncor" is a snide nickname for TXU-- what it always was but is now an 'encore' of what it was before-- and TXU is one of the 'choices' of billing entities. On paper, they are also bankrupt. Thence, I strongly suspect, is where the 2c/kWh goes.

OBTW, the utilities commission 'approved' (sadistic snicker) Oncor charging each of their customers $250 to re-fleet to "smart" meters. When else in the history of electricity did customers get a line-item bill for infrastructure?

Texas. We're number one. In corruption among many other undesireable things.

========> Actually, no. Oncore primarily handles the "grid" side of the connection, the actual high voltage wiring and distribution itself. Oncore is who you call the connection fails at the weatherhead outside on the pole. Oncore is responsible to the meter, customer is responsible from the meter onward. TXU handles billing. Completely seperate entities.

In Ft. Davis, it's AEPS.

 

[whirlcool]

In Houston Centerpoint/Entergy is the carrier of the electricity. There are a bunch of "billing companies" to choose from. Two years ago we got $.0075 for a year, now we are up to $0.92 for this year. Combined with the American Standard system we installed in 2012 our biggest electric bill this year so far was $105.00. That's not bad at all.

 

[arbilab]

Er, um, well, this substantially cooler summer cost substantially more than last year in the same space with the same equipment and settings. Underzaggerated if anything, $15/month more. Typical 2013 high $75, typical 2014 $90. NOAA is not yet publishing statistics like comparative 100* days, just have to take my word it's fewer.

Yes I understand that Oncor is the new name for the generation/distribution arm of the former TXU which did that plus billing and the 'new TXU' only bills along with idunnohowmenny others. But Oncor sets the price of the product and the billing agents simply pass that along plus their own markup which varies marginally. I'm not billed through TXU anyhow, but Champion.

11c to 13c doesn't sound like much but it's 18 percent increase, rounded, same as the bill increase. Natural gas price-- what they usually blame rates on-- is NOT up 18%, scarcely at all. But in looking it up, I found that the delivered price of natgas is 3-4 times the market price. That's a helluva lotta wear and tear on 40yo pipes. But whaddya gonna do, burn weeds?

 

[Ultramatic]

NYC is positively balmy next to some of you guys...

 

 

We may hit a low of 52 tonight. No central heat is on yet. Just a space heater to chase away the chill. I like to sleep with the windows open in cool weather.

 

[launderess]

Totally no heat in Manhattan, NYC either

Which is perfectly fine far as I'm concerned.

At night have the wool filled duvet and during the day when home it is the comfy flannels and thick socks on the feet. Just love this time of year. May even get cool enough to bring the Oko-Lavatherm condenser dryer back to duty.

 

[davey7]

Same in Chicago

It's been cold, but not really enough to start up Grendl in our basement (though we got one complaint about cold - City requirements are for an average of 68 during day in dwelling units, so one room at 66 don't cut it). It's good sleepin' weather.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Wednesday was the first day I wore a jacket to work. It felt good at 5:15 and was not needed when I left work at 3:00. I was in the majority since lows in the suburbs were in the high 40s to low 50s. The weather folks said there will be some sharp drops followed by gradual warmups through the fall.