AAARGH! Hydro Bill

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 9:50 am

$203.71 for 2 months.
Normal is $84.00 just for lights and hot water (woodstove heats the house, thank God).

C-9's for the Brahea armata, Chamaerops humilis v. cerifera, and two Washies.
Portable heater inside the Trachy hut.

Paying right away so H doesn't see the bill...he'd pull the plugs.

BC Hydro's yabba yabba stating that I was $78.69 into my Step 2: "Under the Residential Conservation Rate, you pay 6.90 cents per kWh for the first 1,350 kWh used over an average two-month billing period. Above that amount, you pay 10.34 cents per kWh for the balance of the electricity used during the billing period."

Wonder if there's a reduced palmtree kiloWatt rate?

B.C. = Bring Cash.

Barb

905palms · Post by **905palms** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 2:02 pm

Don't even go there... Ontario is the highest in all of Canada, Quebec is the cheapest in Canada.
My bill will be ugly in a week or so...

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 2:32 pm

Ontario is the highest in all of Canada

What are the Ontario rates?

And why's Quebec so cheap?

Barb

sashaeffer · Post by **sashaeffer** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 2:44 pm

That's it?? I didn't know electricity was so cheap in Canada! I WISH ours was that amount.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 2:51 pm

Sheesh, it's like pulling teeth getting info out of you guys...
must be a gender thing

sashaeffer · Post by **sashaeffer** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 3:23 pm

$321.00 per month here (budget plan) Went UP last year by $80 a month for all the lights, buried heat cable I use.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 4:01 pm

That's just for electricity?

NOT including natural gas, etc.?
Holy crap,...I see your point.

So you're saying the outdoor plant protection equates to $80 ?

Barb

sashaeffer · Post by **sashaeffer** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 4:18 pm

Yep, just electricity....and we have cheap rates compared to most of the US. On propane for house heat as a secondary, as it's only used when temps dip below 22F Heatpump is used above that temp.

I have some warming trays for seed that I germinate, a radiant heater in the greenhouse to keep it from freezing....3 ponds with stock tank heaters in them to keep from freezing. It's been SO COLD this year(worst in 30 years) that I had to pull up a couple of protection cages and add a 2nd string of lights as one string was having a hard time keeping up in sub zero cold.

905palms · Post by **905palms** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 4:41 pm

Here's the breakdown with Peak and off-peak consumption for 2 months. Summer costs slightly more with the A/C, I use Nat Gas for most of the winter.... until the Palms arrived. Can you believe, a delivery charge??!!!

*Off Peak Summer 223.76 kWh x .0670000 14.99
*Off Peak Winter 838.36 kWh x .0720000 60.36
*Mid Peak Summer 49.67 kWh x .1040000 5.17
*Mid Peak Winter 125.20 kWh x .1090000 13.65
*On Peak Summer 30.57 kWh x .1240000 3.79
*On Peak Winter 225.44 kWh x .1290000 29.08
Delivery 76.72
Regulatory Charges 9.20
Debt Retirement Charge 10.45
Other Charges
H.S.T. REG.# 86829 1980 29.04
ON Clean Energy Benefit-10% 1 25.25CR

Total Electricity Charges $227.20

I don't know what's worse, summer or winter... Perhaps I'll rig A/C to the palms in summer!

chadec · Post by **chadec** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 6:18 pm

Luckily I am a empty nester, and purchased a much smaller house a few years back. For my wife and I, we pay 207$ monthly all electric no gas. That is also for my 12x12 heated building with 16 T8 lights for over 500 plants ever winter too.

Barb, get that bill paid would hate to see those palms get froze.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 8:12 pm

add a 2nd string of lights as one string was having a hard time keeping up in sub zero cold. icon_sad.gif

Remote thermometers are worth their weight in gold this time of year.
Sometimes I'm afraid to look at it...nothing I can do, used up all the light strings.
So far so good I think.

Can you believe, a delivery charge??!!!

Yeah, amazing! They sure think of "novel" charges now.
Regulatory and Debt Retirement aren't much better.

Are you guys in ON on Time of Use for electricity usage?
Apparently it's coming to BC, now that we've all got our smart meters.
The good thing about that is the C-9s are mostly on at night, all night.

Chad, the smaller house is a good idea.
Your costs are certainly bearable since it includes heating your house, and covering the other building too.
We're all electric too, no gas on the street, but I never turn on the elec heaters.

Our "barely heated building" is on a separate hydro meter, haven't got that bill yet...oh oh.
That's where all the other plants are.

We're empty nesters too.
But the house size...aaaargh! Loading the woodstove is a full time job (in the basement of a four-level) so it's gotta stay "cookin" to get the whole place warm.
Sometimes I feel like I'm stoking a steam locomotive.

Yup, bill's paid today.

Fortunately H has no idea how much all those C9s and ceramic heater cost to run.

Barb

905palms · Post by **905palms** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 4:03 am

[quote="lucky1"

Can you believe, a delivery charge??!!!

Yeah, amazing! They sure think of "novel" charges now.
Regulatory and Debt Retirement aren't much better.

Are you guys in ON on Time of Use for electricity usage?
Apparently it's coming to BC, now that we've all got our smart meters.
The good thing about that is the C-9s are mostly on at night, all night.

Barb[/quote]

Yup, when the Smart meters were installed, it was business as usual for around 6 months, then Big Brother took over, with the Peak and off-Peak bs.
Around here, everyone's doing their laundry around midnight on a Sunday

It's the summer A/C that really impacts the bill, more so than the day to day consumption.

teebee · Post by **teebee** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 4:57 am

My electricity bill is a disaster all of the time. Nothing phases me anymore... But when you have a computer bigger than most people fridge you have to expect it...

bananieru · Post by **bananieru** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 7:31 am

my hydro bill is on automatic payment. I'm afraid to open the envelope. I will after the cold is gone

Tavi

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 8:10 am

everyone's doing their laundry around midnight on a Sunday

Sheesh, that's awful, folks.

When TOU kicks in here, I'll be doing breakfast lunch and dinner on the BBQ.
Toast anyone?

I've heard that elec in Germany is 24 cents a kiloWatt hour.

We've got a 10 kW wind turbine, but since climate change arrived, the daily winds are sparse at best.
Except when the big storms arrive, and then it breaks down.

Barb

igor.glukhovtsev · Post by **igor.glukhovtsev** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 8:27 am

I pay 13 cents for 1 kwt and a monthly bill both for natural gas and hydro is up to 300USD a month during winter which is 1|10 of my salary or an equivalent to my Mom pension payment....

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 8:38 am

Wow, Igor, that's awful.
Guess I should've kept my mouth shut...

But I remain worried about what the bill for the barely-heated (cold building) will be...horrible cold this winter.

Gonna go and kiss my woodstove...

Barb

igor.glukhovtsev · Post by **igor.glukhovtsev** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 8:42 am

lucky1 wrote:Gonna go and kiss my woodstove... Barb

miketropic · Post by **miketropic** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 11:54 am

the electric bill for my old home was very very cheap somthing around 100 a month. since we moved last week I have not gotten a bill from the new company we are on ( muuuuch higher rates ) and will expect no less than 300 or better a month for electric. no gas or other heating bill so I guess it could be worse.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 1:40 pm

300 or better a month for electric

That's gettin' up there...

Why would one area be so much higher than another when you moved?
Or did you move out of state?

Here, the entire province gets the same rate presumably.

Barb

miketropic · Post by **miketropic** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 7:15 pm

the old company I was on was a power house..they burned coal and made the power. the one I am on now is a sub station..buying the power and holding it till you need it..they buy at the low rate sell it high. the reason they can do this is they supply rural areas. I wanted to move out away from people..horrible neighbors..so now im paying for it literally

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 8:14 pm

Thanks for the explanation, Mike, and your candor.
How diverse everyone's situation--and suppliers--are.

But one thing's for sure, prices are going to keep going up.

I'm old enough to remember the days when the only constant WASN'T change.

Glad you're happy with your new neighbors!

Barb

Beny · Post by **Beny** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 4:53 am

We pay around 7.5 cents for 1 kw/h in Québec, i think it s becasuse we have lot of hydro-electricity.....

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 6:32 am

Dirt cheap Beny, from what everyone else said.

Beny · Post by **Beny** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 9:46 am

Yeah, and the hydro-electricity is cheap once the infrastruture is done. The water and gravity does the rest

Ben

andym · Post by **andym** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 3:19 pm

I pay £104 per month for gas and Electricity. I use gas for Central Heating and hot water and Electricity for Cooking and lights of course. When my Wife complains of cold, she goes on the running machine for an hour, not that i'm a scrooge of course

905palms · Post by **905palms** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 3:28 pm

andym wrote:I pay £104 per month for gas and Electricity. I use gas for Central Heating and hot water and Electricity for Cooking and lights of course. When my Wife complains of cold, she goes on the running machine for an hour, not that i'm a scrooge of course

You can rig the running machine to generate power to the rest of the house... or at least the palms....

905palms · Post by **905palms** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 3:34 pm

Beny wrote:Yeah, and the hydro-electricity is cheap once the infrastruture is done. The water and gravity does the rest

Ben

My first hydro bill in Ontario was a shocker (with no palms) from when I used to live in Quebec.... Auto insurance too, I suppose...

I miss the Hydro charges from my old home Province....

Then again, Ben has the best of both worlds, beautiful Palms and cheap Hydro! He's figured it out... lol

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 4:13 pm

When my Wife complains of cold, she goes on the running machine for an hour,

Andy, I almost fell off my chair laughing at that!
Absolutely hilarious...

Auto insurance too

Oh, man, don't get me started on car insurance

Barb

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 10:01 am

Electricity last month was about US$240. And, that is in an apartment, and no heated plants outside.
Electric heat is the main thing, plus electric hot water heater and clothes dryer. And oh yes, W's tanning bed in the garage.
Around here, we make electricity using coal brought in by diesel train from Wyoming. Maximize the carbon output sort of deal. Plus this way Oklahoma can export the abundant natural gas vs burn it here and send wind power to other states trying to be green.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 5:45 pm

Oh, wow, Eric.

I get the satire...sad state of affairs everywhere.
No matter what the topic.

Barb

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:28 pm

I do burn wood for heat, too, but that doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Just makes me feel warm and green.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 9:12 pm

We've got a Pacific Energy Summit airtight woodstove.
Can heat a 2500 sq ft house nicely.
Annually, seasoned birch costs $1,000.
Arrives cut/split.

And I save a fortune on gym costs stacking 5+ cords.

Barb

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:25 am

OK, the hydro bill for the barely-heated building just arrived.

Dec 20 to Feb 20, to keep plants just about at death's door cost $482.87.

The same period last year, without a smart meter (the old mechanical meter), for about the same temperatures was $337.00.

That's a 43 per cent increase with a smart meter.

905palms · Post by **905palms** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:43 am

Welcome to the smart meter world, my bill yesterday was over $500! Last year same time was $235...
Looks like you may have run the dryer at midnight like we do in Ontario...

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:06 am

Welcome to the smart meter world, my bill yesterday was over $500! Last year same time was $235...
Looks like you may have run the dryer at midnight like we do in Ontario...

Holy toodles, yours increased ~117 %

My bill, that building is ONLY used for plant storage over winter, its on separate meter from the house meter.
Nobody lives there, no dryer, winter heat kept at about 5 to 8 C.

I'm stunned by the money being raked in by them over the previous system.

bananieru · Post by **bananieru** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:06 am

After I saw my hydro bill I truly believe that I'm the reason the temperature in Ontario did not go even lower. I think I heated all the sw Ontario.

chadec · Post by **chadec** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 4:05 pm

Barb you getting screwed! Just you building is more than my everything. Hell I can throw car insurance in too.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:40 pm

Yup, thought so, Chad.

Beware smart meters, and desperate bureaucrats.

Barb

igor.glukhovtsev · Post by **igor.glukhovtsev** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:59 am

lucky1 wrote:Dec 20 to Feb 20, to keep plants just about at death's door cost $482.87.

It looks much better if you count one month

PalmsNorth.com

AAARGH! Hydro Bill

AAARGH! Hydro Bill

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