New electricity rates for the new year

[sudsmaster]

The subject of electric rates came up a few weeks back.

Now I found a list of the old and new rates for this area... my bills wind up with the last few KWh in Tier 3. Didn't know the higher tiers were nearly fifty cents a KWh!

 

[dj-gabriele]

Well, quite expensive, isn't it? But where do those tiers start?

With my tariff I pay around 23 Eurocents per kWh (0,33USD) starting from zero to infinity and from today there was a raise of 2,7%

 

[sudsmaster]

This is from PG&E's web site.

The baseline quantity varies by location, season (winter/summer), and service (all electric vs. gas/electric). For my home, which is gas/electric, it's about 330 KWh/month.

TOTAL RATES
Total Energy Rates ($ per kWh)
Baseline Usage $0.11877 (I)
101% - 130% of Baseline $0.13502 (I)
131% - 200% of Baseline $0.27572 (I)
201% - 300% of Baseline $0.40577 (I)
Over 300% of Baseline $0.47393 (I)

 

[seamusuk]

Over here....

My standard rate is` 11.22p (approx $0.17) per Kwh but
between 12.30am and 7.30am this drops to 5.01p(approx $0.08) per Kwh. Its designed for storage`heating and water heating but anything used between those times benefits from the reduced rate so my dryer and dishwasher normally go on overnight .
In addition I pay £1.17(approx $1.70) per week standing charge.
Seamus

 

[rolls_rapide]

Seamus

That is true of 'white meter' electricity.

However, if you are on the 'Total Heating with Total Control' beloved of Scottish & Southern (formerly Hydro Electric), the only appliances that can be run at the cheaper rate are the heaters and water heaters wired into the dedicated circuits.

Of course, you could always do some 'electrical work'...

 

[danemodsandy]

I Don't Understand...

...How anyone can afford to live in California the way Pacific Greed & Extortion carries on.

 

[sudsmaster]

You have to conserve...

And, adding solar panels to one's roof can be a break even or even profitable decision. The price of the panels still needs to come down, though. I've put it off because the best roof for the panels would be on the main house, which has heavy cedar shake top layer. And I think it would be awkward to install panels over that, esp since they will need replacing in 10 years or so.

When I moved in, thirteen years ago, the house was using over 1,000 KWh/month. I replaced two fridges and put in CFL's in nearly all the light fixtures. The consumption is now around 650 KWh/month. It would be lower except for the chest freezer (a must-have) and the fish pond pump (equivalent to an Energy Star fridge). I also shut off the computer system when I'm asleep or at work, and have put all the battery chargers (well, most of them) on a switch that gets turned on only when the batteries need recharging. Gradually various consumer electronics have dropped in standby power consumption from 5 to 10 watts down to 1 watt. I even put the Neptune set on a switched outlet, which eliminates some 10 watts of continuous standby draw. The landscape is irrigated by a well with a pump, and I try to keep that to a minimum as well, although it's a tradeoff between higher electricity charges and higher water charges that I've never fully calculated.

Why are rates so high here? Well, you might recall the disastrous energy deregulation of 2000... with rolling blackouts, manufactured shortages, and exorbitant spot price gouging from out-of-state energy traders like Enron. It even cost the governor (Gray Davis) his job, and his successor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, hasn't done any better with energy prices. All the billions we were overcharged have never been fully refunded.

The only good thing so far is that natural gas prices have dropped a lot in the past year, so that part of the monthly bill has shrunk considerably. I'm enjoying the luxury of being more comfortable when assuming the couch potato position, although heavy shirts and sweaters are also in the mix.