Hi Stephen. Fair enough, my rate goes down from 16.46 to 16.05 after 250KWH. I should add that although I am using the 16 cents figure, the actual cost is 10.1 cents. the extra 6.5 cents is the markup Con Ed is charging, in addition to a fixed cost of 10.50 for the service. Like I said, they always overestimate because their estimates are based on estimates, not on real per/month usage. What really bothers me is with all this estimating and fudging it becomes impossible to judge fairly what's happening. Such a situation is ripe for fraud; and sadly we have enough of that here in NY to propel Eliot Spitzer to the governorship. Hey, every cloud has a silver lining ( grin ).
I was hoping this discussion would prod some other members to post their costs, I'm curious what others are paying for electricity. The last time I looked, the _actual_ cost ( currently 10.1 cents ) was competitive compared to other providers. I could shop around again, although all the markup and fixed costs make it not so promising. We're about to head into summer, and I've upgraded the old AC unit I had to a new high efficiency device. We generally need only one, it sits right next to my desk so I only need to cool one room. Still, I expect to see huge bills as a result. K. -----Original Message----- From: Stephen A. Lawrence [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 1:29 PM To: vortex-l@eskimo.com Subject: Re: What if all cars ran on electricity . . . Jed Rothwell wrote: > > The cost of collecting data from the meters is only a small percent of > total expenses because meter readers only come around two to four > times a year, as Nagel noted. Your bill is based on your previous > history consumption. I do not see why anyone objects to this. I never objected to that -- I love the system! It saves me money! If all kWh were the same price it would make no difference (nonzero discount rate aside). But they're not -- if you use more electricity in a particular month, you pay less per kWh, at least in New England. (Or anyway you used to -- haven't read the fine print on a bill in a few years.) What that means is that a given amount of electricity, consumed at a constant rate, costs _more_ than the same total amount consumed in a "lumpy" fashion. Well, guess what? If they don't read my meter for a few months, when they finally get around to it there's likely to be a substantial discrepancy -- a big "lump". Result: I get the benefit of a few kWh of cheaper electricity. :-) > Electric power consumption is usually quite predictable. The power > company may overcharge you during some quarters, but it is bound to > undercharge you in others. Occasionally after you have been > overcharged you get a statement saying you own no money, but this > seldom happens to me. > > - Jed
