If your electric bill this month was sky high, it wasn’t just scorching summer heat that was to blame, and you’re NOT alone. Many Southern California Edison customers are feeling the heat living with the TOU pricing system: That’s ‘Time of Use.’
Put into effect in 2020 and 2021, TOU pricing is exactly what it says: You pay different rates for your electricity depending on the time of day you are using it. As SCE puts it, it costs more to produce and deliver electricity during different times of day, so this is supposed to provide “an incentive for customers to shift electricity use away from more expensive peak hours.”
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An electrical bill that runs anywhere from $600 to $1000 (or higher) a month?
Fuck that. My electrical bill runs me about $140 - $150 a month no matter what time of the day our usage is. Not only that but we don't keep our thermostat at whatever the electrical company recommends. If Lisa's feeling hot, I turn the AC on, it's as simple as that.
My parents house, which was my grandparents house, which was my great-grandparents house was built in the late 1890s. In the 1990s their electric bills got up to $800/month. My dad started poking around, under the floor, in the attic, and in the walls, and found that there was no insulation anywhere in the entire house. They installed insulation that cost several thousand dollars, but lowered their electric bills by around $700/month. The insulation paid for itself in less 6 months.
ReplyDeleteThe way around the TOU is a battery bank and a 9k inverter. Run the house off the inverter and have the batteries charged at low use time. Augment the battery bank with solar panels.
ReplyDeleteDo this with (very expensive) equipment listed by UL for residential use, or kiss goodbye your homeowners insurance, and your CO if a building inspector findd out about it.
Deletecorrect me if I'm wrong, but didn't a number of cities in southern California opt for a "green" system - zero "fossil" fuels
ReplyDeletethe sun doesn't shine at night, not even in southern California
Aye, well...someone's gotta pay for those tens of thousands of solar panels...and then again when they get hit by hail...and then again...when they wear out.
DeleteIf'n these folks were smart...they'd buy stock in solar panel companies. (sarc)
The sun doesn't shine at night? How about His Holiness Nuisance? His light is an inspiration to all of us.
DeleteEven the sun is sick of leftist bullshit about climate change...
DeleteIf it gets dark where you live, you're on the wrong side of the planet, and in California...
CA gov't wants the state to go solar and have the ability to claim all kinds of "green" jobs, so this is one way to force the population into compliance. The power companies lobbied the state to reduce the price they pay for the solar from the people while increasing how much they get to collect.
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ReplyDeleteHere's to all those Green, save the planet, asshole douchebags:
He who lives in a fantasy eventually dies in reality '......Harr Harr!
You are so anti-social. You should ONLY run the air-conditioning around midnight. And do your laundry at 3 am. Save the planet you know....
ReplyDeleteSince this disproportionately affects black people, we can all assume that Cal. Electric companies are racists.
ReplyDeleteI'd be at $600 a month if I hadn't taken steps to reduce and become more efficient; (new house) insulation, high efficiency windows, ceiling fans so it feels cooler at higher internal temperatures.
ReplyDeleteBut last month was still over $300.
In the NE where the cost of natural gas that is used for generating electricity by the utility is over $2.40 CCF. That is completely due to state government interference; no new pipelines, no new off-shore LPG terminal permitted, massive wasted funds on boondoggle wind and solar projects.
The latest off-shore wind project, only just finished in it's first season had the huge turbine blades shatter, splitter and cover the beaches of MV and Nantucket. Closing those beaches at the height of the summer season for the five thousand a week cottages on those islands.
There are costs, and then there are costs.
These numbers come from my actual PG&E bills that I've saved. In 2014 my Tier 1 rate was 13.2¢ per KwH. On my latest bill earlier this month the Tier 1 rate is 38.8¢ per KwH while the Tier 2 rate is 48.8¢. The Tier 2 rate kicks in with the use of my water well pump and small A/C unit that I run when it gets hot. My most recent bill was $580. These outrageous rates are because California is in pursuit of a 'Carbon Free' policy which is exactly where we're headed under a Kamala Harris 'Geen New Deal' presidency.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind my home has a propane water heater and cook stove. Imagine what my bill would be if they too were also electric, which is required with all new construction here.
Over the last two years, it fluctuates from 37 cents to 50 cents per KwH.
DeleteNot surprisingly, I'm NOT getting an EV...
Yowza!
DeleteI have two meters, one for an all electric house, the the other is for a barn, well house, out buildings, chicken coop.
My largest bill was about $500, this last winter when I had a bunch of extra radiant heaters and heat lamps to keep all the critters and well house alive. They ran 24/7!. Otherwise. My farm bill runs about $200-$300...
I wish you had mentioned what state you're in.
DeleteAlso, the total bill is meaningless. It's the cost per KwH you're paying that counts. If it's less than 20¢ per KwH you're living in a free state that believes affordable energy is the key to prosperity for it's citizens. If it's over 40¢ per KwH you're living in a state run by ideologues that worship at the altar of Mother Gaia and are beholden to the country that builds two new coal fired power plants a week while selling the U.S. what it needs to 'Go Green'. That would be Tim Walz' and Gavin Newsom's favorite place, Communist China.
DANG !!!!
ReplyDeleteI live in Illinois and have a 1000 sq ft foot house with gas heat and my electric may be at most average $70 a month
it's not just California. In NJ, my rates went from $0.12/kwH in April to $0.19/kwH in June and July, and this is the new rate - it is not seasonal. I have one of the major providers for generation and delivery. I checked "the market" for competition on cost of generation, none were less expensive. This is thanks to governor Phil Murphy and his talented minions of Democrats. They had set up contracts for offshore wind farms "to save money". Well, the contractor for a $300 million wind farm (a European company, by the way) wanted to get out of the contract after it became financially unfeasible mainly due to interest rates and inflation. Costs estimated years ago when interest rates were 2% to 3%, and before several years of 5%+ inflation worldwide, plus the devaluation of the US Dollar making purchase of European electrical equipment more expensive killed the viability of the project. NJ settled with the company to cancel the contract, NJ paid $125 million. and guess who is paying for that?
ReplyDeleteI rent in a small 2 bed MH. It was only supposed to be temp. until I could find a house, I dunno now. I live in NC and it's well shaded and I only cool the core and 1 bedroom. No dryer or washer. Last bill was $90. I couldn't imagine having to pay $300 or more. Crimmeny.
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