New Englanders and Electric Rates

You may have already be aware that our rates are going to double!
Best money saving thing I did was to remove my electric heat dependance and I am thinking I am going to leverage my off grid solar as much as I can.

http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/Voices/Back-Story/2014/Fall/002.aspx#.VEpMBBa5SVk

 

We have more Nat Gas than we know what to do with in this country but my wonderful state of Massachusetts will not expand pipeline capacity.........that is all I am going to say.

 

Makes my $.0925 look pretty good.

 

Michigan is paying $0.1091 Not too shabby, guess it might be time for you to move to LED lighting and start shutting off all the little vampires, phone chargers, cable box, dvr, router, cable modem. Im starting to do all of this and I am down to about a $30-$40/month bill. has taken a while to get there though.

 

I am paying $0.27 if you add the generation charge plus all the delivery charges and other line items not associated with the generation rate. A few years back MA started penalizing you if the electric usage went over 1000kwh for the month. For me that surcharge was another $30 a month...that's when i installed a pellet stove and turned off the electric baseboard cash registers.

 

I'm as niggardly as they come. My bills run about the same as yours here in northeastern "The Peoples Republic of Illinois.

Breaking down my bill: I spend more on the "privilege" of being hooked up to them than I do for the amount of electricity that I use!!!!

 

Already there! The only have 4 small incandescent left in the light fixture above the kitchen table. Still have yet to find the small 40w led appliance bulbs that throw light down when installed upside down.

 

Im glad Im on NSTAR.... They always tend to have lower rates than NatGrid... and few outages in big storms as well.


For those of you on NatGrid, you should be able to take advantage of one of the competetive suppliers to avoid this hike if you want.

Also, read the article more closely. Its is double "last winters" rate but only 37% more than the current rate (remember both NG and NStar raised rates a little last spring) and this is only the generation portion. So you bill is not actually going to double. Its likely to go up about 20% overall vs this month on a per kilowatt basis, considering transmission charges make up about half the bill.

 

This must be your utility, its not the state. Im on NSTAR and I dont get any penalty for going over 1000 KWh (we often go well over with AC). My rate runs about 18 cents all up - 9 cents for power and 9 cents for transmission and taxes.

 

I called WMECO about it. They told me it wasn't them it was the State and there was nothing they could do except provide a free audit and some discounts on lights and house upgrade (windows , insulation) which I had already done. Confused. But it might be that NSTAR is a TX based company WMECO is based in MA.

 

Detroit Edison Electric (most of SE Michigan ) pays $.05 something for generation and $.05 something for distribution for the first 17kw per day. Then it goes up. then there is some kind of charge monthly for being hooked up to the grid, something like $6.00 for residential.

 

Interesting... how is it itemized on your bill? Id like to cross check mine.

I DO have a line item for energy conservation under the distribution charges but it amounted to a whopping $2.50 on last months 1,040 kWh billing.

 

My bill this month is $108 for 670kW.

 

I pay roughly .135 at home and about .165 per kWh up north when all is said and done. At my shack up north I pay $17 a month just to have the meter hanging on the building. The meter fee there is usually about double what my usage is.

 

I dug up a bill from February 2012. This is the last billing before the stove was up and running. The surcharge is more than I remember but I might have been thinking of a bill prior to this.

 

SW mass. There were some rebates available from both the State and Federal. Don't recall how much though. Quick Google should get you up to speed.

 

I'd pass out seeing those bills. Use 100-200 Kwhr here on average. Summer is negative use. Make more power than used. My last bill was -26.50.

 

How much did your set up cost? And could you provide details for us?