Remember when the Republicans deregulated the electric companies? They told us then that we would see much lower prices, because competition would result in the companies trying to undercut each other.
Most of us doubted that would happen, and we have been proven to be right. Rather than compete, all of the companies have been raising their prices, and Texas now has some of the highest energy prices in the nation.
Take my own situation as an example. I live in a small two-bedroom apartment, and last year our largest electric bill was about $200. That seemed like a lot, but we did keep the air conditioner thermostat at 68 or below. This year, we decided we would save some money.
We put the new energy efficient light bulbs all over the house, and turned off every light we weren't using. We also got a new washer and dryer that were much more efficient than the old ones. Then we put heavy curtains on all the windows and turned the thermostat up to 72.
I would have thought that all those things together would have resulted in using less kilowatt hours. Evidently, I was wrong. Xcel Energy says we are using more hours, and this is with a very moderate summer here in the Panhandle. We've only had one 100 degree day, and most days have been under 95. That's very temperate for a Texas summer.
How has all this affected my electric bill? The bills for the last three months added together is about $920. That's an average of over $300 a month! That means that after all the energy-saving measures we have taken, our electric bill has still risen by an average of 50% this summer!
Xcel Energy, and the other utility companies, owe their Republican flunkies a big debt of gratitude. The Republicans have allowed them to decimate the paychecks of ordinary Texans.
The Republicans, both state and federal, have been an unmitigated disaster for my household. Even though I got a small raise last year, after the higher gas prices, higher food prices and higher energy costs, I am finding it harder than ever to make ends meet.
Am I better off than I was 4-8 years ago? Hell NO!
Energy price manipulation is a key the BigBiz and Republican strategy. I lived in CA when one Summer, (always in the Summer) energy costs tripled. Nobody could explain it nor did anyone do anything. Of course a few years later they found out about Ken Lay, Enron and all those other cronies and what they did to the energy markets etc.
ReplyDeleteAsshole Liars
Evil Thieves
The panhandle is still regulated, which is why Xcel is applying to the PUC for a rate increase instead of just increasing the rate on its own. Likely the fuel surchage, which is separated out on your bill, is partly to blame.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the point of regulation, if they can tack on huge surcharges?
ReplyDeleteWe've found our electricity bills to be much cheaper here in Missouri than they were in Texas. Our July bill was a third of what our average bill in Texas was last year.
ReplyDeleteI expected to pay much more since we haven't had the chance to upgrade the ancient appliances or switch out all the lightbulbs. We're even using window air conditioner units because this cabin predates things like central heat and air.
Granted, summer here is much more pleasant than summer in Texas but the difference in electric bills is astounding and I'm running air conditioning most of the day.
Between the property taxes and the electric bills, we are saving tons of money by NOT living in Texas.
Mick
Mick,
ReplyDeleteHave you lived in Missouri long enough to pay state income tax yet? I have no idea how Missouri taxes compare to other states, or to what extent the savings in property taxes and electric bills are offset by having to pay a state income tax.
I'm not refuting your last statement; I'm just curious (hence the name).
72 degrees? Why are you keeping your apartment so cold? I have a floor fan (since I can't put a ceiling fan in my apartment) and am comfortable with the thermostat set at 78F.
ReplyDeleteNote that if the utility company says you're using more kilowatt hours, that means you aren't saving electricity. Your per-kilowatt cost probably also went up, but if your number of kilowatts went up, you're using more energy *somewhere*. You may want to go around turning things off then going to see how fast your meter is turning. You may also want to take your bill out to the meter and make sure that the meter reading looks like what your bill says -- it is not unheard of for meter readers to just fake the numbers because they're lazy and don't want to actually read the meter.
- Badtux the Electrifying Penguin
Curious,
ReplyDeleteNo, we haven't had to deal with the state income tax as yet. It will probably make zero difference because we are retired for the most part. I do bring in some extra with art sales but, for the most part, my self-employed status allows plenty of deductions to offset any income.
Our property tax in Texas was over four thousand dollars a year. We're paying less than four hundred here and have a great deal more land.
Our average summer usage electric bill from Texas was about 350...here it is about 120.
Unless state income tax costs me more than seven thousand dollars a year, I am money ahead merely by living in Missouri instead of Texas.
Throw in cheaper property insurance and cheaper car insurance and the fact that we joined an air-evac company and get helicopter ambulance service for fifty dollars a year and you might begin to see what I'm talking about.
I had a very long love affair with Texas. Now that I've broken off the toxic relationship, I can see the state for what it has become:
Corporateland.
Mick