Two tiered electric

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Merry
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Re: Two tiered electric

Post by Merry »

dontrump wrote: I suppose(obviously)if your extremely frugal as in if u don't run the ac much;; don't dry clothes in a dryer;; don't use a oven to bake ;; don't use the fridge and deep freeze much;; maybe one TV small computer usage etc etc anythings possible ;;
However I use all of the above plus 2 tv 2 computers ;lights; exra fridge ; Dry clothes ;;use washer;dish washer; etc etc
my power bill runs $135.00 PM but iam just not going to go through life living like a hermit just so I get a below normal power bills
We don't live like hermits, we just like to keep our bills as low as possible, while doing our bit for the environment at the same time.

I have two fridges (one in the kitchen and another in the basement) but I only run the downstairs one when we have company (such as if my kids come to visit at Christmas, or in the summer). The rest of the time I unplug it, because a household with only two adults doesn't need to run two fridges. I do have a deep freeze (11 cu ft) which runs 24/7.

I have a gas cook-top, which probably helps a bit. But my oven is electric (and it's a self clean model).

As for laundry, I wash linens (towels, bedding, etc) once a week, and clothes once a week. So, in the winter months, that means my dryer runs twice a week, but I always make sure to set it to the correct time for the load, so as not to have it running longer than necessary. And, in summer, I hang my laundry outside to dry.

Whenever we go away I go around and unplug things that use power continuously, such as PVR's, and TV's (of which we have 2). And when we're home, I always turn off lights in rooms we're not using. We have LED bulbs in most of our light sockets, and our appliances are all energy efficient (except for our old furnace, but it seems to be fairly efficient despite not having the official rating).

I have a dishwasher, but I only run it when it's full (which is about every second day). And we check all the caulking around our windows, and weather stripping around our doors every year, and fix as necessary.

Our hot water temp is hot enough to run the dishwasher efficiently, but not so hot as to be scalding. And our room temperature is warm enough in winter to be comfortable when suitably dressed (no sitting around in t-shirts, we wear sweaters and pants most of the time), and in summer it's cool enough we don't sweat, but not so cold we can't sit in the house in our summer shorts and tops. I also have lined drapes, which I keep closed on cold winter evenings, and during the hottest part of the day in summer.

So you see, with very minor adjustments it IS possible to keep your hydro bill affordable. I don't think we've ever had to pay the second tier rate (maybe once, when we had a lot of family visiting for a couple of weeks).
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zoo
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Re: Two tiered electric

Post by zoo »

alanjh595 wrote:
The result is my bill is over 1000 dollars in the coldest winter months
My good gawd....what are you heating and what type of heat are you using? Where are you located? There is something wrong with that number.
Yep, believe it, that's exactly what fortis and our government has done to alot of us. I live on the rutland bench, my bill for last 2 months was $940. Gas is 130 feet down the street, I have a heat pump that cant run efficiently after -4. My whole place is electric, the most environmentally friendly form of energy available here in BC, the one the government wants us all to us for our vehicles in the near future to stop the use of ozone damaging, climate changing gases. Like all the peoples natural gas.
This is a reality for many of us. Doing the right thing, keeping our homes at 17 degrees, with children and a wife in the house. Brand new highest efficiency windows and doors, heat pumps, etc.
Not one member of our governments and Fortis people, responsible for this crap, has to relay, solely on electric energy.
Think of the seniors, like my mom that are being held at ransom by fortis and our powers to be.
Enjoy your cheap gas right now, enjoy contributing to climate change with your gas heaters. It will change when the government loses its tax base from oil use as they are planning.
Thanks for being interested, too bad the government and Fortis dont give a :swear:
Foris is an absolute joke and have no interest in helping the people that are being hosed. Their media programs are only there to make them appear to care and be helping, they could care less.
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Merry
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Re: Two tiered electric

Post by Merry »

zoo wrote:Yep, believe it, that's exactly what fortis and our government has done to alot of us. I live on the rutland bench, my bill for last 2 months was $940. Gas is 130 feet down the street, I have a heat pump that cant run efficiently after -4. My whole place is electric, the most environmentally friendly form of energy available here in BC, the one the government wants us all to us for our vehicles in the near future to stop the use of ozone damaging, climate changing gases. Like all the peoples natural gas.
This is a reality for many of us. Doing the right thing, keeping our homes at 17 degrees, with children and a wife in the house. Brand new highest efficiency windows and doors, heat pumps, etc.
Not one member of our governments and Fortis people, responsible for this *bleep*, has to relay, solely on electric energy.
Think of the seniors, like my mom that are being held at ransom by fortis and our powers to be.
Enjoy your cheap gas right now, enjoy contributing to climate change with your gas heaters. It will change when the government loses its tax base from oil use as they are planning.
Thanks for being interested, too bad the government and Fortis dont give a :swear:
Foris is an absolute joke and have no interest in helping the people that are being hosed. Their media programs are only there to make them appear to care and be helping, they could care less.
It has always been cheaper to heat your home with gas than with electric. I used to sell Real Estate many years ago (35 years to be exact) and even then homes heated with natural gas were more in demand than homes heated with electric. Sold for a better price as well.
"In a world swathed in political correctness, the voting booth remains the final sanctuary where the people are free to speak" - Clifford Orwin
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liisgo
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Re: Two tiered electric

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Merry wrote:It has always been cheaper to heat your home with gas than with electric. I used to sell Real Estate many years ago (35 years to be exact) and even then homes heated with natural gas were more in demand than homes heated with electric. Sold for a better price as well.
Not sure of the meaning of this response?
BC's, Fortis's rate of charging electricity is a joke, anyone can see that. Its the cleanest energy form we have at this time in this province. It should be the form of energy being financially assisted by our Government, in their quest for a cleaner environment. You know, like their tuff talk on EV's. Not an absolute rip off. Not a 2 tier system that specifically hammers people that do not have access to the green house gas, they sell under the name, Natural gas. Maybe carbon tax, Natural gas by an extra 50% to assist people to stop using it and damaging the environment. People do not all have choices to move down the street to a different home. And why should they have too, that's the point. The system, costs, Fortis and our government are very wrong and nothing more than a joke on this issue. That's the point being made and brought to other peoples attention.
"If I find out who's been running this country for the last 8.5 yrs into the ground, there will be hell to pay",,,,,,,,,Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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Merry
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Re: Two tiered electric

Post by Merry »

Merry wrote:It has always been cheaper to heat your home with gas than with electric. I used to sell Real Estate many years ago (35 years to be exact) and even then homes heated with natural gas were more in demand than homes heated with electric. Sold for a better price as well.
liisgo wrote:Not sure of the meaning of this response?
I'm simply stating facts; natural gas has always been cheaper than electricity. It's the reason I always opt for a house that's heated with natural gas whenever we move (which is often).

The only way the cost of hydro will go down is if the Government chooses to subsidize that particular form of energy. But, given the fact that most Governments are currently strapped for cash, I don't see that kind of subsidization happening anytime soon. Besides, wouldn't it be a bit of a contradiction, given that they're currently using the carbon tax to deliberately INCREASE the cost so that we'll use less?

If you don't like the size of your electricity bill, a good place to start would be to lobby the Government to exempt electricity from the carbon tax.
"In a world swathed in political correctness, the voting booth remains the final sanctuary where the people are free to speak" - Clifford Orwin
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Glacier
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Re: Two tiered electric

Post by Glacier »

Electricity is NOT taxed with the carbon tax. Electricity rates would need to be MASSIVELY subsidized, as in cut by 80% to make electricity as cheap as gas. Not going to happen, but some people would love to raise the carbon tax 20 times what it is now such that electricity is cheaper than gas. Also, you'll spend more on gasoline getting to work than you'll make at work, so no one will be able to afford heat of any kind.

My gas bill in December was 200 dollars. Take out the daily frees for having the account active, and I paid 186 dollars (30% of which were taxes, including the carbon tax). If I had electric baseboard heating, my bill would have been over 600 dollars in electricity (and that's with a 20% reduction in energy requirements because I assumed my gas furnace is a low efficient 80% efficiency unit).

If I spend 20,000 dollars and put in a geothermal system with 350% efficiency, I still don't save money, and I'm out 20 grand.
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dontrump
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Re: Two tiered electric

Post by dontrump »

Glacier wrote:Electricity is NOT taxed with the carbon tax. Electricity rates would need to be MASSIVELY subsidized, as in cut by 80% to make electricity as cheap as gas. Not going to happen, but some people would love to raise the carbon tax 20 times what it is now such that electricity is cheaper than gas. Also, you'll spend more on gasoline getting to work than you'll make at work, so no one will be able to afford heat of any kind.

My gas bill in December was 200 dollars. Take out the daily frees for having the account active, and I paid 186 dollars (30% of which were taxes, including the carbon tax). If I had electric baseboard heating, my bill would have been over 600 dollars in electricity (and that's with a 20% reduction in energy requirements because I assumed my gas furnace is a low efficient 80% efficiency unit).

If I spend 20,000 dollars and put in a geothermal system with 350% efficiency, I still don't save money, and I'm out 20 grand.
A perfect example of why u have to be nuts to use or have electric heat if u have alternative nat gas
To note though a geo thermos system is a hell of lot more than 20K and the energy savings will take u 40 years to break even lol
zoo
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Re: Two tiered electric

Post by zoo »

Some here that have natural gas, really need to do a little research to understand that using electricity as your soul provided energy source and then trying to keep nothing more than an average size home at a below average comfort setting, will actually see the monthly bill's as described by many. Running your light bulbs and TV's are nothing compared to supplying an electric furnace with enough energy to keep your home at a reasonable temp.
The good news is, The government has approved Fortis to drop the 2 tier charge system. Lets see how long it takes them to do so. In the mean time, people having to use electric heat, will continue to get hammered for doing so.
Sure makes you wonder though why in this province, claiming to be concerned about fossil burning fuel usage, (natural gas) doesn't do more to make electricity more affordable than gas? They want our cars to run on it so why not your homes?
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Jlabute
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Re: Two tiered electric

Post by Jlabute »

Praise be to gas. lol.

The big energy users are definitely electric heating/cooling, electric dryers, and electric water heaters. We saved a fair bit of money switching to a newer dryer with a humidity sensor. Works well enough and it has paid for itself.

I’d check if another party is stealing power from you, or there are parasitic issues somewhere. Maybe have someone check your appliances to see they are operating correctly. Check insulation. Lighting barely costs anything.

My gas and electricity are all fairly manageable. My last gas bill was like $130 for 2 months. Electricity was about $110 for two months and only goes up in the summer with A/C. Gas goes down in the summer to $34 for two months. All to keep 2500 sq ft and a tropical bird comfy.
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Glacier
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Re: Two tiered electric

Post by Glacier »

If the econuts and the CBC (but I repeat myself) have their way, you'll be paying 2000 dollars more per year to heat your home.

https://questioningthedata.wordpress.co ... -furnaces/
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