The Electric and Gas Increases are Getting Scary.

[Myrtle]

yes it's so expensive. If we had very cold weather like Canada , and places like that.. I shudder to think what our Gas bills would be ( I have gas central heating).. currently at £340 per month for the 2... with me hardly ever putting the heating on.. it's hugely expensive.. and like you I still have to find.. £2,454 in Council tax per year ( over £200 per month) and around £120 every quarter for water .. and more for garden waste recycling.. ..and our food has risen by 16 % in the last year!!... and here I am on a fixed income.. no chance of getting any raise like these strikers who earn far more than I do.. and are holding the country to ransom!

Expenses continue to rise for all of us, some things more in one country, other things more in another. I'm glad we can talk about it here. I am so very blessed. I am not well off by any means but I have enough, so far. My family is ok. They all have good jobs and can manage.

It's my friends I worry for. Some have supplemental help, some have been fortunate in life, the ones having the most trouble are the ones who just have Social Security or a pension that is too much to qualify for assistance but still not enough to pay the bills. A lot of people fall into that crack in the US.

 

[hollydolly]

Expenses continue to rise for all of us, some things more in one country, other things more in another. I'm glad we can talk about it here. I am so very blessed. I am not well off by any means but I have enough, so far. My family is ok. They all have good jobs and can manage.

It's my friends I worry for. Some have supplemental help, some have been fortunate in life, the ones having the most trouble are the ones who just have Social Security or a pension that is too much to qualify for assistance but still not enough to pay the bills. A lot of people fall into that crack in the US.

yes same here....

 

[Capt Lightning]

It's a little bit difficult to calculate heating costs here and most rural communities use oil or LPG. Even before the current "crisis" (have you noticed how that everything is a crisis or an emergency?) the cost of oil fluctuated wildly. It's been as low as 30p/ltr and as high as 90p./ltr.
We also supplement the heating with a wood burning stove and the cost of firewood has crept up too. There's plenty of wood, but it's the cost of chopping and delivering it. On average (without government support) our total energy bill would be around £240 a month.

Council & utility charges aren't so bad here at present, but doubtless, they will rise. We get a combined bill for Council tax, water & sewerage which currently is £1650 p.a.) . Of course this is a fairly cheap area and if you look at various sites, they suggest that house prices have fallen 60%. This is wildly inaccurate. What has happened is that several elderly residents have died and left houses that require total renovation.
These sell cheaply, but will cost a fortune to modernise, and only then will reflect their true value.

 

[Lady]

I was lucky when I Changed from one Fuel Company to another I chose a 2 year fixed rate it was just before the increases ,Im only paying £19 a month for both ,Gas and Electric and with the Goverment help that everyone gets rich or poor ,its covering my monthly bill
.Although come September my Contract ends and I will be paying same as everyone else .

I have almost stopped using my Oven , and do most my cooking on the Hob ,, Slow Cooker or Microwave .I dont leave lights on in fact a lot of the time I sit with just the glow from TV or Laptop .
I Begrudge paying over a large amount of my Pension,and would rather spend it on myself .

 

[Rich]

I seem to recall not too long ago reading that the U.S. has a 1,000-year supply of natural gas. Recently though, it seems as though there's a move to eliminate gas stoves and other appliances that use natural gas. Very strange indeed.

 

[hollydolly]

It's a little bit difficult to calculate heating costs here and most rural communities use oil or LPG. Even before the current "crisis" (have you noticed how that everything is a crisis or an emergency?) the cost of oil fluctuated wildly. It's been as low as 30p/ltr and as high as 90p./ltr.
We also supplement the heating with a wood burning stove and the cost of firewood has crept up too. There's plenty of wood, but it's the cost of chopping and delivering it. On average (without government support) our total energy bill would be around £240 a month.

Council & utility charges aren't so bad here at present, but doubtless, they will rise. We get a combined bill for Council tax, water & sewerage which currently is £1650 p.a.) . Of course this is a fairly cheap area and if you look at various sites, they suggest that house prices have fallen 60%. This is wildly inaccurate. What has happened is that several elderly residents have died and left houses that require total renovation.
These sell cheaply, but will cost a fortune to modernise, and only then will reflect their true value.

wow..your council tax ( even without sewerage )..is incredibly low... any houses going spare up where you are ?

 

[Jean-Paul]

As retired electrical Engineer I can mention:

1/ Costs of energy are regulated by governments, national, local, EU, UK. The utilities are not allowed to set a true market price.

2/ results of ever increasing restrictions on conventional energy sources and incentives to encourage or force so called " green" or "clean" energy,

3/ environmental, regulatory, political interference and restriction of the three elements of energy systems:

a/ Generation (nuclear, thermal, even hydro)
b/ transmission (HV power lines, pipelines)
c/ distribution (local network to your house or firm)

4/ The natural result

Increase in costs over time per unit (BTU gas, KWH electric)
Decrease in reliability over time (higher outage hours per unit time)
The econometrics and utility records confirm this already progressed for years.

5/ Eventual grid and utility failures.

Utilities make lots of mistakes but the governments maintain the iron fist of central control. Despit that they cant repeal the laws of physic, engineering, or economics! Complaints and fears should be directed to your politicians, regulators and eurocrates at both National and state governments.

Alternatives;
Go off grid, solar.
Store fuel eg large oil /gas tanks
Get backup generators

Bon Chance

Jon

 

[Myrtle]

I seem to recall not too long ago reading that the U.S. has a 1,000-year supply of natural gas. Recently though, it seems as though there's a move to eliminate gas stoves and other appliances that use natural gas. Very strange indeed.

Yes, we have massive amounts of oil and gas. The problem is that those in charge want to phase them out in favor of green energy. They do not seem to care that if this is to happen at all it must be a gradual adaptive process. They have decreed that all vehicles will be EV by 2035. Our electric grid is not ready for that.

Recently whales are dying and washing up on our northeastern shores. Many are worried this is connected to wind farms, especially to the construction of them, but it's unlikely anything will be done about it.

I could go on and on about what is happening in the United States regarding climate change, fossil fuels and green energy but it becomes political.

I do really enjoy reading the opinions being posted here and I will be back to read more carefully. Right now lunch is calling.

 

[Lethe200]

I seem to recall not too long ago reading that the U.S. has a 1,000-year supply of natural gas. Recently though, it seems as though there's a move to eliminate gas stoves and other appliances that use natural gas. Very strange indeed.

Unfortunately, using natural gas tends to be inefficient on ranges (over 80% of heat energy is wasted) and the off-gassing contributes to air pollution.

Jean-Paul's post is interesting but it is not relevant to the U.S., where energy companies are often private or stockholder-based, not municipal or state/federal.

A bigger issue for the U.S. is the energy grid, which is aging and highly inefficient. Putting THAT under federal control would in fact be an improvement, and make it easier to shift energy to where it is needed - as the grid is now, doing so is extremely difficult and time-consuming.

 

[Teacher Terry]

The condo that I own is one of 150. Both buildings have a central water based heating and air cooling systems. So each condo has a small electric bill which is for lights, tv, etc.

Our condo fees cover heat and air. We get our new proposed budget in 2 weeks and are really concerned about how much our fees will need to be raised to cover all the increases. Some are rentals and with utilities included they have no incentive to conserve.

The buildings are 44 years old and we are needing to replace many things but luckily have a good reserve budget. But we can’t use that for normal operating costs.

 

[Rich]

Unfortunately, using natural gas tends to be inefficient on ranges (over 80% of heat energy is wasted) and the off-gassing contributes to air pollution.

Jean-Paul's post is interesting but it is not relevant to the U.S., where energy companies are often private or stockholder-based, not municipal or state/federal.

A bigger issue for the U.S. is the energy grid, which is aging and highly inefficient. Putting THAT under federal control would in fact be an improvement, and make it easier to shift energy to where it is needed - as the grid is now, doing so is extremely difficult and time-consuming.

All the more reason that this seems like a poor time to begin taking gas appliances out of service. In most cases, this would force people to use electric dryers, water heaters, furnaces, and stoves adding yet more load on the electric grid. I'm all for environmentally friendly energy but perhaps we could do things in a logical way. Maybe first improve the electrical grid and then start removing gas appliances.