Gas bill

[skeets]

OK first off I dont mind paying my bills, and normally I just pay and don't bother looking at the bill. But this day I looked at the gas bill, and I called to find out about these charges. Now I used 47.09 worth of gas, OK, and I pay for it. NOW there is a delivery charge of 47.68, 61 cents more than the gas I used I was told that was to deliver gas to my home at a rate of 4.49 per MCF. And than a capacity charge of 18.34, and was told that was for storage in the INTERSTATE PIPE LINE. That got me scratching my head plus a tax repairs surcharge and a state tax surcharge of 0.05% so I am paying almost 70 dollars over what I used. And there isnt a damned thing we can do about it,, I cant even imagine what folks that use electric are being raped at. OK vent over, I mean really if we are going to get raped like this at least they should buy us dinner

 

[mcfarmall]

Suck it up and pay up...what are you gonna do? My combo gas and electric bill averages to $350 / month and I'm the thermostat nazi.

 

[Henro]

I guess I am in the same boat, but what can I do about it?

Get frustrated, with no recourse?

After reading your post Skeets, I will just stop reading the bills and just pay them. I understand that there is no other option anyway, other than just getting frustrated and paying them anyway.

I choose to avoid the frustration...simple minded I suppose...

 

[hagrid]

@skeets did you try phoning the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission? Energy and service providers arent permitted to increase rates without their blessing.

 

[jyoutz]

Wow, my natural gas company just charges for gas used, tax, and a flat $20 per month meter service fee. Last month was very cold and my all gas home usage was about $110. During seasons when I’m not heating my bill totals $35-45. This includes the tax and service fee.

 

[OrangeKrush]

All electric, still I'm sure there's going to be some hiking going on! Was just thinking about this this morning.. wondering how much more they'll get me for even though less heat is being used.

 

[DustyRusty]

Can't afford to die any longer. Cremation prices are soaring out of sight!

 

[bearbait]

Everyone's got to get a piece of you these days. Just put a water softener and a filtration system in, pretty sure the plumbing fittings cost me more then the system. Yep all electric heat here in the new place, it'll be next month before we get the first bill that I'm not looking forward to and like everyone else no flowers and dinner first.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

sigh, I thought Skeets was in Ontario like me .....reading the charges !
Last month I bought $75 worth of gas and the guv added $45 'carbon tax' to that plus several other fess and of course 13% HST(Hot potato Sales Tax) on all of it for a 'bottom line' of $250.

electric heat is 100% efficient but man the dial will spin fast, until the ice storm hits...

Given a choice, I'd go geothermal for heat and power.

 

[motionclone]

IN Maine our electric bills doubles almost overnight after state approved rate hikes. $400 last month for electricity. We got a heat pump last year to help heat the house, they run on electricity of course.
Back to a woodstove i guess.

 

[Daferris]

I heat with propane here in Michigan. Because the cost of propane is not regulated it's whatever the jobber want's to charge. Normally it's cheapest to pre-pay in June for the year. The challenge is guessing how much I'm going to use the next winter... That said I'm glad that the house has really good insulation and the cat has a fur coat because seldom does the thermostat go north of 65 in the winter.
Thought about putting in a ground mount solar array but because my electric bill is only about $80 nobody will even give me a quote.

 

[jyoutz]

I heat with propane here in Michigan. Because the cost of propane is not regulated it's whatever the jobber want's to charge. Normally it's cheapest to pre-pay in June for the year. The challenge is guessing how much I'm going to use the next winter... That said I'm glad that the house has really good insulation and the cat has a fur coat because seldom does the thermostat go north of 65 in the winter.
Thought about putting in a ground mount solar array but because my electric bill is only about $80 nobody will even give me a quote.

Before I converted from propane to NG last year, I heated primarily with a wood pellet stove ( still have one in the basement). I just used the propane furnace when we were gone. The pellets were way cheaper than propane ( 2 ton per year) and we kept the house at 72 degrees.

 

[OrangeKrush]

Before I converted from propane to NG last year, I heated primarily with a wood pellet stove ( still have one in the basement). I just used the propane furnace when we were gone. The pellets were way cheaper than propane ( 2 ton per year) and we kept the house at 72 degrees.

My brother in law uses pellets too, big ol late 1800s 2 story with the open vents/registers in the floor for circulation. Those things can really run you out!

 

[top gnome]

We have a large heat pump a 4 in one portable and grid tied solar power. We are all electric with a small wood stove in the basement. Got to say the heat pump is great about 1/2 the price of baseboard and solar panels make April thru November basically free power and we run our Air conditioner a lot. Both had substantial rebates. Even the portable 4 in 1 heats and cools our master suite awesomely. We pay .16 a kwh. I will say we have lost power 3 times this year 2022 due to 3 nor-easters and electricity seems pretty reasonable for the amount we depend on it.

 

[fried1765]

Wow, my natural gas company just charges for gas used, tax, and a flat $20 per month meter service fee. Last month was very cold and my all gas home usage was about $110. During seasons when I’m not heating my bill totals $35-45. This includes the tax and service fee.

I can beat that!
When I am not heating, my gas bill is $11 per month.
That is a flat rate meter minimum.
Water system is drained, and furnace switch is off!
I am in Florida for 6 months each year.

 

[jyoutz]

I can beat that!
When I am not heating, my gas bill is $11 per month.
That is a flat rate meter minimum.
Water system is drained, and furnace switch is off!
I am in Florida for 6 months each year.

Cheap minimum rate. I’m not complaining though about hot water and cooking ( including barbecue grilling) costing $35+ in the warm seasons.

 

[lugbolt]

many times utility companies are legal monopolies, in that you have one choice or you don't have that utility.

Perfectly legal too.

So, if you use that utility (gas, electric, water, whatever), you are forced to pay what they want you to pay, or you don't have, in this topic, gas. That's your options.

I spoke in depth about this with the state's public service commission and that's pretty much what I was told. I asked why there are not competitions among the different utilities and one thing that stuck out was with entergy, I only have one set of wires running up the road not two or three, so I'm buying the electricity from entergy and there is no other option where I live.

Well there is other options, maybe not through that wiring, but there are options.

I don't agree with it either.

 

[torch]

Ontario "de-regulated" electricity (and gas, but not water or sewer) a number of years ago. They divided the public system into 3 components: producer, delivery and retailer. Delivery (the wires to your house) are still publicly owned and billed as a separate line entry in the overall bill. Energy losses due to inefficient infrastructure are also billed by delivery, based on a percentage of use. Customers can contract with a retailer for the cost of energy consumed. Retailers buy and sell energy from the producers.

Theoretically, this encourages lower prices through competition. Yeah, right. It's still the same electrons flowing back and forth over the same wires to power the same appliances. All we've done is add a bunch of middlemen and accountants to the process, making the bills so confusing that nobody knows how much they are paying to whom anymore.

 

[skeets]

Follow the money