Totally OT, but GRRR! I hate PG&E!

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 12:00 pm

Any other Californians out there get a nasty shock in the old power bill this month? I was actually looking forward to getting mine, as I figured it would be lower than usual...after all, we spent more than four days last month using no electricity at all (and precious little gas) thanks to power outages. We didn't cook much at home either last month because of Christmas shopping (it was just easier to grab a quick bite out). Further, we've recently started a fairly aggressive energy reduction program in our home...keeping our thermostat to 65 during the day (and turning it off at night), being rabid about turning off lights and appliances, and even replacing all our incandescent bulbs with low-watt "power savers." Silly me...I just figured that all that would make SOME kind of dent in the bill, especially as PG&E owed me $25 credit for not getting the power turned back on within the promised time frame.

So, would you believe that my power bill is actually $50 MORE than it was last month? (and that's with the $25 credit...it would have been $75 more). And $100 more than it was in November? This is just insane...I can't believe I'm paying close to $400/month to heat and power a 1,200 sq. foot house, despite power outages and energy saving procedures.

I swear, if I had an extra $10,000 (fat chance of that!), I'd have solar power and battery backup installed so fast it would make corporate heads spin. I HATE being enslaved to this company!

OK...here endeth the rant

Redwolf (aka Whistling in the Dark)

MandoPaul · Post by **MandoPaul** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 12:14 pm

Yup. They're slime... Greedy corporate slime.

If you do get serious about solar, let me know. An engineer friend of mine did *lots* of research on all this and found all sorts of options on gear and financing. It's not cheap, but he's up in the Santa Cruz hills and kept losing power for days at a time, so he did something about it.

JMcCYoung · Post by **JMcCYoung** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 12:23 pm

On 2003-01-14 13:00, Redwolf wrote:
Any other Californians out there get a nasty shock in the old power bill this month?

Yes, and that despite both paying last month (they were doing some sort of computer switch and sent only a pseudo-bill with an option to pay for two months in January or to pay their guess of what it would have been had they been able to figure it out) and being on their "balanced payment plan" which is supposed to average out the bills over the course of the year.

We also have a small (and crowded) house and do our best to save energy.

John, in a cold kitchen

Gary · Post by **Gary** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 12:29 pm

It's not just PG&E my dear, it's all utilities. A few years ago, California voters were defrauded when the Enron types said, "Vote for deregulation and your rates will be lower." Then, they ripped off Californians with higher rates after fraudulently generating a "shortage."

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/article ... 0145.shtml

Next, the Governor PANICKED and bought electricity in advance at astronomical prices. This destroyed the California budgent surplus. (Gov. Gray Davis got ~$120,000 from Enron.)

Currently, The "Fool of a Took" of Sacramento's plan is to scare Californians into believing there is a HUGE deficit. This will soften up the citizens into accepting a permanent sales tax increase. (Hurting the poor the most, but I digress...) Once the citizens accept the higher tax, the governor can use the money for his agenda! (Is there REALLY a $36B need? Where's the proof?)

Kinda makes you wanna blow chowder, eh? And to think that this guy who is wielding all this power was elected by 47% of the vote is sad indeed. http://www.egray.org/

The Davis sales tax increase will drive up the cost of doing business, too. Everything will skyrocket!

Speaking of tax, Californians pay a tax rate on gasoline that is only appropriate for petroleum. Guess what percentage of your gasoline is petroleum?

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 12:56 pm

Oh yes...how well I remember the whole Enron insanity! We had one $600 power bill last year (not to mention all the rolling blackouts, the threat to disconnect natural gas to Santa Cruz businesses, and all those schmaltzy "we're all in this together" ads on TV!). We're going to be paying the price for that fiasco for years to come.

Arggghhh! Gasoline prices! Don't get me started! There's just no justification for the prices we pay at the pump here, especially during the summer, when they jack them up by a dollar or more to fleece the poor tourists. My husband is of the opinion that it's all part of a plan to soften us up for drilling in the Monterey Bay Marine Refuge and other sensitive areas, and I think he may be right.

We're dead serious about getting solar. We have the perfect set-up for it...300+ days of sun a year, a flat-roofed house that rises above the treetops and a mostly empty garage that's just begging to be filled with backup batteries. Unfortunately, it's going to have to wait until we get some kind of windfall, as all of our savings right now are geared toward keeping our daughter in school.

Redwolf

rbm · Post by **rbm** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 1:29 pm

Hey, you could move to the UK - we can choose who rips us off for our elastictrickery!

atarango · Post by **atarango** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 1:36 pm

can I just say it's not only California? I'm actually originally from Cali myself but now in Cambridge, MA. Anyway my heating bill was astronomical this month- its ridiculous- and we are four students who are just barely scraping by week by week... we have no extra cash, no savings, etc... so lately i've been having to work extra hours on top of school and what i already work, just so that we won't freeze to death....

so I feel your pain....
-Angela

Gary · Post by **Gary** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 1:53 pm

The Candy Conspiracy...

When I was a kid, a candy bar cost five cents. Today, that same bar is fifty cents.

Using that as a basis for the current economy, a dollar is worth a dime. I make roughly $2 per hour. My house cost $7,900, my last new car cost $1,100, a Clarke Sweetone costs $0.60 and as of January 01, 2003, a gallon of regular gas is up to 14.99 cents.

It's all in your perspective. There, now don't you fell better?

Gary

BrassBlower · Post by **BrassBlower** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 4:58 pm

On 2003-01-14 13:00, Redwolf wrote:
Any other Californians out there get a nasty shock in the old power bill this month?

Same thing is happening in Arkansas!

TelegramSam · Post by **TelegramSam** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 5:05 pm

I'd invest in candles. Lots of them. It's so much more romantic that way anyhow.

one-tin-soldier · Post by **one-tin-soldier** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 5:30 pm

Us too! The government tried to deregulate our hydro here in Ontario (Canada) this year too, 'cause you guys in California are having such great success with it I guess?! Our hydro billed doubled instantly! We moved into a much smaller house in July and got our first bill that next month and it was twice as high ($400) as our large house we just moved out of (with central air & a pool!!).

Lots of small businesses threatened to close up as theirs were in the $5000+ area. There was a huge public outcry and then our wonderful Premier took it upon himself to step in and reverse the decision he had made that made this mess in the first place. Now he has put the prices on hold and even refunded a chunk of the extra we all paid. What a joke - he did it - then he rushes in like a saviour to undo it and make himself look good again - must be an election year?! But then again, how can we afford to keep the hydro at these prices, if we couldn't before? Hmm..

Maybe our governments want us to go back to the 'hippie' days in the 60/70's, and we can all carry banners, dress cool and complain about the government at protest rallies? Actually, that sounds kinda fun - we could bring our whistles & bodhran's..oh, never mind..

"There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

I think it's time we stop, hey,
what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down"
Buffalo Springfield - 'For what it's worth'

Cheryl

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: one-tin-soldier on 2003-01-14 18:32 ]</font>

brownja · Post by **brownja** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 5:54 pm

On 2003-01-14 13:00, Redwolf wrote:I can't believe I'm paying close to $400/month to heat and power a 1,200 sq. foot house, despite power outages and energy saving procedures.

Can you go to oil?
Seriously, i have a large (3400 sq.ft.) somewhat poorly insulated (1950's vintage) house in CT, I spend about $1000/year on oil and about $1200/year for electricity. That's heat/hot water/cooking/lights etc. the only thing we don't have that tends to run up people's bills is central air.
Cheers,
jb

Daniel_Bingamon · Post by **Daniel_Bingamon** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 8:45 pm

We still used coal for electricity here in Cincinnati and probably the lowest rates for any commercially supplied residential electricity.

For comparison:
My house is 1200 Sq Ft made in 1901, the december gas and electric bill was $166. That was for 1149 kWh electricity and 106 CCF of Natural Gas. It's a drafty old house.

The the power plants here have discovered a way to convert the fly ash into gypsum and use it to make drywall. So they have an environmental incentive to keep the ash because they make money on it.

You should have your meters checked, you know on older houses they don't like to replace meters as they age /wear because they turn faster and make the utility more money.
Best thing is to learn how to read the utility bill to see how they come up with the rate.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Daniel_Bingamon on 2003-01-14 21:54 ]</font>

Bagfed · Post by **Bagfed** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 8:59 pm

Now, nothing personal and I'm probably not up on all the details - and I know I am not in the P.R.C., but I do pay attention. It seems to me that blaming corporations for your energy problems is like putting your head in the sand. The type of deregulation that was done (from what I uderstand) forced the power companies to failure. The "not in my back yard" environmental policies in California left you open to profiteering from the likes of Enron bringing in surplus power from other states. AND, your Governor got scared and signed some huge contract for power at way above market rates. From what I understand, Grey Davis is second only to our neighboring George Ryan (Republican Illinois) in claiming the most worthless governor award. But in California they say " He may be unqualified to be governor, but at least he's not a republican." and the fellow most responsible for your problems gets re-elected.
OK I said it - don't hurt me.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 10:00 pm

Well, I'll agree with you on Gray Davis. The man's a total loser.

Our energy shortages, however, were engineered. We actually generate plenty of electricity here in California but, thanks to dereg, most of it is going to other states. Heck, there's a power plant just down the road from us (in Moss Landing) that we don't see any of the energy from...it belongs to, of all things, Duke Power! (the company we got electricity from in North Carolina...where I paid $180/month to power a 1700 square foot house).

Redwolf