>I would be interested in knowing what sort of prices and price increases
>are going on and where, if you don't mind sharing that information. My
>state is cheerfully selling deregulation to the public as a way to lower
>costs and save the planet, but any half-wit knows that the lowered costs
>will be enjoyed only by those purchasing in huge blocks, while the
>higher costs in air pollution and other disutilities will be enjoyed by
>all of us.
As mentioned before, my electric bill has averaged $50 for the last
year. Highs of $60+ using AC and low at $30 for electric lighting
only. Propane heat, HW, and cooking. April was $38.74, May $28.76,
June $69.10, July $90.68, and August was $186.17. I have cut back and we
used the AC very little even during the heat wave.
Those were the bottom line figures. Now for how they did it to us. On our
bill electricity usage is a separate line item from delivery.
Jan $.03451
Feb $.03502
Mar $.03284
Apr $.03340
May $.04068
Jun $.06538 - First doubling
Jul $.13412 - second doubling
Aug $.19324 - working on the third doubling
Not the triple increase the news media talked about but a six times
increase in electric rates. 600% increase, and this is from my bills for
this year, not media hype.
>There is a supply charge and a delivery charge. Both appear to be based
>on usage, they are roughly equal, so my figures above are the sum of
>both. There is also a service charge and who knows what that's based
>on, and a "restructuring rate reduction," also with no information
>provided.
That is the way ours is structured which is why much of the increase id
kept hidden from the public.
>Now for the gas bill. The unit used is the "therm" which is not a
>familiar unit to me.
A therm is a unit that describes the energy content of a cu ft of gas.
The bill is structured to show any rate reductions clearly and any
increases less so. Go back and research the battles for public ownership
of utilities at the end of the last century.
Don Bowen [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Valley Center, CA Senior Software Engineer
Internet development and software engineering
http://members.cts.com/crash/d/donb
http://www.oldengine.org/members/ihc14
http://www.oldengine.org/members/ferguson/
http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter920/
