Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:04 pm Post subject: Just got my utility bill. Yikes!
I just received my utility bill for this month (for December). Yikes! My wife and I live in a small 1 bedroom apartment. Our heater runs off of natural gas. When I opened the bill, I expected the amount due to be lower, because we have been trying to cut back on using the heater (but it's still gets very cold here where I live in Nevada). The bill was more than last month. About $104. I was shocked! On the billl, I looked at price per natural gas therm, and they had raised it from $51 per therm to $59 per therm in one month. I can never remember this happening before. Looks like perhaps the natural gas shortage is starting to really hit home now. Add this to car gas prices probably rising dramatically in summer of 2005. Is this a serious sign of the troubles to come? What does everyone think about this? What about your gas bills?
Joined: Jul 18, 2004 Posts: 198 Location: S. Yorkshire, UK
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:32 pm Post subject:
Yeah, it's not just the US that seems to be struggling. There have been a series of even steeper rises in the UK.
The first was in about March last year and was about 20-25%. There have been a series of several more step-rises over the course of the year. As bills for fuel are traditionally sent 3-monthly, some customers have seen very dramatic rises.
Currently NG prices are nearly 100% higher than 12 months ago. As the UK has been rapidly expanding it's NG fired power stations, electricity prices have been hit too.
My last power bill I paid about Ł0.027 per kWh for off-peak power (night storage heaters. Ugh). For my next bill I expect to pay about Ł0.035.
And what do I hear on the news the other day - the government is upset that NG prices are rising and companies are taking profits - they're thinking of a special 'windfall' tax on the 'extra' profits. Clearly well thought out.
Yeah, our natural gas bill here in Nevada has been rising steadily for a few years now, but I have never seen such a huge jump in one month. I think we will have a major natural gas crisis before we a have an oil crisis. But the oil crisis will come soon after.
Joined: Oct 12, 2004 Posts: 1647 Location: Davis, California
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 6:18 pm Post subject:
Nevada, we are already in a natural gas crisis {Here. Let's fix that for ya; EE}
Fark i accidently clicked on submit.
I wanted to add that pricing hikes is the first stage of the NG crisis and should keep usage down for a few more months while stocks are refilled. But I don't think we will see a bonified supply shortage for at least another 18 months.
{Fark? Can't be good! EE} _________________ Joseph Stalin "It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything. "
Joined: Nov 21, 2004 Posts: 579 Location: ~170ft/lbs@0rpm (on my bike)
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 9:39 pm Post subject:
I'm ecstatic I can bike to school and shower there...
I save about ~50 a month in gas, prolly ~15 a month in NG and maybe 5-10 a month in water....
plus I get a good work out every day! :D
My gas bill was $188, I dont have my records handy to compare to previous moneths but it was a bit higher then usual by a noticable margin. Then again, we did have a wicked cold streak for a few weeks which didnt help at all. _________________ "Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the
Abyss, the Abyss gazes also into you."
Ammo at a gunfight is like bubblegum in grade school: If you havent brought enough for everyone, you're in trouble
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 9:21 pm Post subject: Re: Just got my utility bill. Yikes!
NevadaGhosts wrote:
On the billl, I looked at price per natural gas therm, and they had raised it from $51 per therm to $59 per therm in one month.
My goodness. I hope that's a missprint. I paid 69cents per therm last month (plus 26 cents per therm "delivery charge"). If you paid $59, no wonder your bill was so high.
I keep the thermostat in my house set at about 50 degrees, and I live in a pretty mild climate. Even so I used 32 therms last month.
Joined: Sep 29, 2004 Posts: 2330 Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 3:30 pm Post subject:
The Northeast has the biggest fuel oil and NG markets in the US and, surprise, surprise, the highest prices. The past week has been a cold one, going down to about 8 degrees F at night. I have a 2500 sqft, 4 bedroom house and fuel oil heat. I went through about 200 gallons this month at $1.64/gal and that's a good price. NG and electricity track fuel oil prices, so having a NG furnace doesn't save much. I'll easily go through about 750 gallons a year for heat and hot water (the furnace also heats the hot water.) One thing I have noticed is that my electric bill is about $30 cheaper per month than friends that have an electric water heater.
One thing I'm planning on doing is adding a second 275 gallon tank. I have friends that have 1000 gallon buried tanks and they just fill it in March, when the prices colapse. That's the nice thing about oil over NG, you can stock up on it when it's cheap. The other nice thing about fuel oil is that the furnace will burn kerosene and diesel with no problems. I've heard that you can even burn 100% biodiesel, but might have to change out seals in the pump if you use it all the time. Often times, refiners just make diesel if they are unsure about the fuel oil market. If it's a warm winter, the fuel can be sold into the diesel fuel market. A diesel engine will run on fuel oil, but it isn't legal for both tax reasons and sulfur levels.
Ah, nevermind. I'm a moron. I didn't read the gas bill right. Therms here are about $ .98 each. I used a 59 this month and 51 last month. It's been very cold here this month. Thanks for pointing that out Smallpoxgirl.
I am in the process of building a house in North Carolina. The standard home in the neighborhood where we have building (builder is Pulte) has natural gas for the water heater, the home heating and the cooking stove.
Everyone raves that it is more "efficient". The price may still be cheaper, even with Nat Gas at $6. But I am expecting to live in this house for the next 10 years and I know Nat Gas is going to skyrocket. Our local grid is 50% nuclear/50% coal, so electricity prices should stay fairly stable.
My other problem with the design is that none of the windows are "Energy Star" compliant. I walked through a home that is 1/2 built and saw the labels on the newly installed windows.
So when I was negotiating with the builder on options, I told them I don't want any natural gas and I want everything to be based off of electricity. Water heater, home heating and cooking stove. I also want the windows substituted with "Energy Star" compliant windows. The lady was shocked. She said she would looking into whether that was even possible. That was last weekend.
The fact that she even resisted such a request tells me this country has a long way to go.
I plan on installing solar panels on this house. I picked the model with a lot of angled roof surface and I selected a location which will place that roof surface facing the angle of the sun most during the day.
Joined: Aug 17, 2004 Posts: 3541 Location: 39° 39' N 77° 77' W or thereabouts
Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 7:23 pm Post subject:
JayHMorrison wrote:
The fact that she even resisted such a request tells me this country has a long way to go.
Or you never know who's in bed with who. Could there be some connection between the builder and the oil/gas industry? Would she have to report back that someone asked for no gas?
In any event unless you are going for a GHP electric heat is mighty wasteful.
Joined: Aug 17, 2004 Posts: 3541 Location: 39° 39' N 77° 77' W or thereabouts
Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 7:27 pm Post subject:
Kingcoal wrote:
I have a 2500 sqft, 4 bedroom house and fuel oil heat. I went through about 200 gallons this month at $1.64/gal and that's a good price.
200 gallons in a month!!! At my worst I went through less than 500 gallons in a year. Does your house have lots of air leaks? Feel around the walls and baseboards and outlets for cold air coming in. That's the biggest waste of energy in a house period.
In any event unless you are going for a GHP electric heat is mighty wasteful.
I am in an area of the country that is fairly moderate in temps. It is only actually below freezing for a few nights per year. Most of the year it is just air conditioning or open windows. I will likely purchase a biofuel or electric space heater for indoors. They are getting very efficient.
Nat Gas is likely going to hit $10+ within the next few years. I want to avoid using it. I will let the builder install the piping for Nat Gas, but I have no intention of starting service with the Nat Gas utility company.
My apartment is based completely on electricity. 1400 sq ft and my bill is rarely over $100 per month. This past month was $111 which was the most expensive of the year. Best ever was $53.
Joined: Sep 29, 2004 Posts: 2330 Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 9:39 pm Post subject:
BabyPeanut wrote:
Kingcoal wrote:
I have a 2500 sqft, 4 bedroom house and fuel oil heat. I went through about 200 gallons this month at $1.64/gal and that's a good price.
200 gallons in a month!!! At my worst I went through less than 500 gallons in a year. Does your house have lots of air leaks? Feel around the walls and baseboards and outlets for cold air coming in. That's the biggest waste of energy in a house period.
We should call you KingOil.
700 to 800 gallons/year is very good for a house this size that also heats hot water with oil. I checked it out. I have new windows and did a "house doctor" which finds and seals leaks. The hot water alone represents about 200 gallons/year. Think that's expensive? At $1.45/gal it's $24.16/month. If you have a 50 gallon electric hot water heater, you're probably paying more than that in electric (just for the hot water) if you live in the northeast.
Residential Heating Oil Prices
Quote:
When crude oil prices are stable, home heating oil prices tend to gradually rise in the winter months when demand is highest. However, at times, prices can surge quickly to very high levels, as occurred in January/February 2000 (see box on “What Causes a Surge in Heating Oil Prices”). A homeowner in the Northeast might use 650-1000 gallons of heating oil during a typical winter, while consuming very little during the rest of the year.
As for electric heat, keep one thing in mind. Coal fired power stations are only about 30-40% efficient. Add in the losses in transport and you’re down to about 20%. Sure, electric heat on the consuming end is 100% efficient, but when you trace it back to the power plant it's a fantastic waste of heat. An oil or gas furnace at 80% efficiency is a much more conservative use of energy.
BabyPeanut, I thought you were smart enough to figure this stuff out
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