The cost of electricity is going up all of the time.

We do not have mains gas in this area, so most homes use kerosene or LPG for heating. Most use electricity for cooking, lighting etc. This means that for us, the electric consumption is fairly steady all year - about 290 - 310 kwh per month.
I pay a fixed amount every month - about 100 USD and this seems to cover fluctuations in the cost pretty well.
The use of oil varies as does the price which seems to bear no relation to anything else.

Note that although different suppliers have their own price, deals etc., a separate company is responsible for the distribution, maintenance and connection of electricity. Some suppliers offer things like 'green', 'renewable', ECO etc.. electricity, but everyone gets the product.
 

outlander said:
The answer may be solar? The biggest issue with solar is upfront costs.

But I there is an easier and cheaper way to do it. "Normal" households use a jillion kilowatts of power each day. I downsized and completely rethought my electricity needs. My cooler, fridge, oven and hot plate/burner all run off of a couple of solar banks and a few solar panels. I still have electric service too which I mostly use, that costs $25 - $50 per month.

It is a big lifestyle change, but after a short period it feels "normal".
Click to expand...
Solar is probably best as a supplement as are other sources or ways of generating electricity. One would hope a single home not mansion could utilize all solar..

The problem with that is many residential homes can't take the weight or could install panel in their current condition. Even though not leaking alot of roofs would have to be replaced or beefed up just to secure panels. Then there's a battery storage area, cloudy days, heavy use etc. Also heard many batteries or panels would have to be replaced over time.
 

So this reminded me of a recent story I read.

I'm sure everyone has heard of "crypto currencies". I won't go into detail on them, but essentially a whole bunch of computers crunch an algorithm to generate funds in a block chain. The only thing you need to know is to make this profitable, you need A LOT of computers.

So, across the world, and especially in the US, Data Centers full of computers are being built, often in rural areas. A Data Center, just in case you're not sure, is a huge warehouse full of computers. Thousands and thousands of computers. The largest data center in the world is in China, and it's almost a million sq. Meters in size. It is estimated that it might contain more than 3 million servers. These run constantly, 24/7, 365 days a year.

So - bringing this back on topic, these new data centers are being built. The result is that local electricity prices rise. This has been reported in Ohio, New Jersey, and elsewhere. These centers need a lot of power. They also need a lot water to cool them, and it's polluted ground water. Finally, people living 400 yards from the center can hear a constant hum.

So - sometimes it's not what you do to save on energy usage. A corporate entity could build something, and suddenly power is more "scarce", and prices rise to accommodate it...............

Just one such story:

The AI revolution is likely to drive up your electricity bill. Here's why.
 
Rather than complain this might be an opportunity to invest in what should be considered lower risk.

Some examples of the closing prices of utility/energy stocks today.

NextEra Energy Inc
76.51 USD
+1.04%
National Grid Plc
70.98 USD
+0.40%
Duke Energy Corp
123.78 USD
+1.91%
Southern Co
94.18 USD
+1.33 (1.43%)
Talen Energy Corp
368.16 USD
-2.32%

I wonder what the stock price will be two years from now. I don't feel bad for those holding Talen Energy Corp stock. In 2018 that stock was selling for around $6.50 a share. Those with dividend reinvesting might be worth thinking about long term.
 
OldOld said:
Please Google the energy stocks that went belly up.
Click to expand...
Good advice to research.

Not a smart move to invest in energy stocks that went belly up :) Why would anyone not do due diligence? I'm not promoting any stock just a sector that is considered low risk. We've been investing in this sector since early 1980.
For someone in their 70"s not much sense in looking for a huge return by dividend reinvesting. Actually huge returns aren't going to happen. It's the consistent return we looked for. For someone in their early 50's this might be something to think about

A thought/opinion i found by Googling energy stocks that went belly up.


Where Next for Energy Stocks After an Oil-Driven Slump?
These top-performing fund managers say AI’s demand for power and peak shale could be long-term positives for select stocks.
https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/where-next-energy-stocks-after-an-oil-driven-slump
 
I thought about going solar mostly for our UPS - Uninterrupted Power Supply- that runs our security system and internet.
I invested in a 100 AH battery and it will supply the things we might need in an emergency. After that I have a gasoline powered generator which I feel is about as basic as you can get.
My oldest son has an array of solar panels set up in two complete systems.
Two sets of panels -controllers - inverters and everything.
One panel array is set up off the side of his above pool deck and the other is off of the side of his carport.
He is pretty much stand alone.
They have a small house so I offered to buy them a natural gas powered generator that way he would have backup power if he wanted to go off grid.
He is kind of an independent type of person and declined what I thought would be the perfect solution. The price was right- free to him.
I know that the power companies charge more for delivery fees and everything else than what they do for the actual KWs used.
 
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My dad would say every evening, “check the water in the cattle tanks and shut off the pump switches.” I would then go up to my attic cave and listen quietly to Rock n Roll, do school work, read a book or just cool.

Most likely I didn’t have a life then! …. :coffee: ….. I don’t remember watching tv with the parents after Bonanza.
 
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papa tiger said:
My dad would say every evening, “check the water in the cattle tanks and shut off the pump switches.” I would then go up to my attic cave and listen quietly to Rock n Roll, do school work, read a book or just cool.

Most likely I didn’t have a life then! …. :coffee: ….. I don’t remember watching tv with the parents after Bonanza.
Click to expand...
I would go to my room in the evening and lay on my bed-do homework- and listen to a 6 transistor radio and if I stayed up past 10 they would crank up the signal on night stations like Wolf Man Jack from Shreveport and some Ciudad from a border town in Mexico.
Day time I got K.C and WLS Chicago.
little radio ran forever on a nine volt battery.
 
WhatInThe said:
Solar is probably best as a supplement as are other sources or ways of generating electricity. One would hope a single home not mansion could utilize all solar..

The problem with that is many residential homes can't take the weight or could install panel in their current condition. Even though not leaking alot of roofs would have to be replaced or beefed up just to secure panels. Then there's a battery storage area, cloudy days, heavy use etc. Also heard many batteries or panels would have to be replaced over time.
Click to expand...
My oldest son made frames so he has 9 panels in one array fastened to the side of his above ground pool deck and another array fastened to the side of his carport shed.
The shed he added onto the carport is his control center for all of his electrical power.
He controls, inverts and switches and everything. Cables go into his house from there.
 
GP44 said:
Seems like there is a lot of technical mumbo jumbo involved with this cryptocurrency business.
Should there be a book written about it called a thousand ways to lose your investments?
How can anything that cost so much in overhead actually make a profit?
In the end is this just another glorified Ponzi scheme?
Click to expand...


Do you pay your electric bill with cryptocurrency?
 
Wombat said:
Do you pay your electric bill with cryptocurrency?
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No! I’m am not into cryptocurrency and don’t use it for anything.
The more I read about these massive data centers the more I wonder if mankind will survive.
What we are calling the Chinese EV battery plants in our country take massive amounts of electricity too.
The Chinese are getting ready to start producing these types of batteries at Manteno Il. About 20 miles from where I live.
They have already arranged for housing for some of the Chinese workers who are coming here to work in that battery factory.
There aren’t enough people looking at the bottom line of what the production of these batteries is costing the environment.
This sounds like I am a doomsday preacher but people need to wake up and find out for themselves what is going on before it is too late.
There are only so much raw material in the world including fossil fuels and fresh water that I don’t think we can waste it on the scale that they are starting to.
 
They should not allow any data centers to be built anywhere except in cooler climates to conserve power and resources.
 
In a generation or two the pendulum will swing the other way and these huge data centers, the enormous use of electricity, etc… will be replaced with something else that will probably be just as controversial.

and the beat goes on…
 
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Knight said:
Rather than complain this might be an opportunity to invest in what should be considered lower risk.

Some examples of the closing prices of utility/energy stocks today.

NextEra Energy Inc
76.51 USD
+1.04%
National Grid Plc
70.98 USD
+0.40%
Duke Energy Corp
123.78 USD
+1.91%
Southern Co
94.18 USD
+1.33 (1.43%)
Talen Energy Corp
368.16 USD
-2.32%

I wonder what the stock price will be two years from now. I don't feel bad for those holding Talen Energy Corp stock. In 2018 that stock was selling for around $6.50 a share. Those with dividend reinvesting might be worth thinking about long term.
Click to expand...
Utilities always have been great for dividends but their rising fees/costs will leave consumers with less or no money to invest in anything.
 
WhatInThe said:
Utilities always have been great for dividends but their rising fees/costs will leave consumers with less or no money to invest in anything.
Click to expand...
I think I clarified my intent in post #32
Quote
"For someone in their 70"s not much sense in looking for a huge return by dividend reinvesting. Actually huge returns aren't going to happen. It's the consistent return we looked for. For someone in their early 50's this might be something to think about."

Investing regularly doesn't have to be hundreds of dollars a month.
 
GP44 said:
They should not allow any data centers to be built anywhere except in cooler climates to conserve power and resources.
Click to expand...

It's easy to forget how the internet works. In very (very) simple terms, the closer it is to you, the better it is. Yes, we have the ability to reach sites all the way across the globe, but closer is always better. Then there are laws and regulations. Putting a data center in the US means it must comply with US laws, and benefits from protections. In short, is the .... hits the fan.......

That said, it won't be a big benefit to the local, let alone national, economy. Much of what goes on in those places is automated. In fact, they're not even technically complex. They truly are simply factories crunching numbers.

If one is being built near you, I'd look into the environmental damage they do, and things to be concerned about. This involves increases in cost of power, and pollution of ground water. Noise is the other concern. Not that there's much you'll be able to do about it, I suspect.

The main problem with Crypto currency is that no nation controls it. No government controls supply. It truly is a radical change.
 
My last National Grid bill was $35.72. I signed up with a Solar Energy company also, so I get a credit reduction monthly. I did hear that National Grid is raising their rates. But instead of doing all at once, they are doing it gradually monthly until 2027.
 
I just got notice this morning that ours ( electricity & Gas) is going up again in october by 2 %....

everyone except those on a fixed rate will be affected.. ( fortunately I'm on a fixed rate )....
 
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