The shocking cost of Electricity

[svetz]

The forums have been an eye opener for me seeing the issues in places like Hawaii and down-under from posts of guyman and colin.timms; take a look at Colin's bill. Coverted to USD that's even over what Hawaii has. It's happened there, it's happened in Hawaii, can it happen here?

From an ABC article it's easy to see how the the price of power in Australia started spinning out of control in 2007:

​

This landmark study concludes it was energy prices. What a load of rubbish, if it was energy costs we'd all being paying more. China is one of the cheapest countries for power and they import coal. This report claims it's ideology, it's all about the environment. That's a lot easier to understand.

The sad thing is, those that moved to solar like Colin are improving the environment. But they have spent a lot of money and see little benefit to being grid-tied. The power they buy from the grid is is far more expensive than credits received for solar. So, the policies in place actually discourage citizens from solar.

 

[Deleted member 165]

I heard on a podcast the other day that California is going to start taxing the watts that solar users input to the grid. Insane. This is one of the reasons I went all off grid-I dont want the government taking what I already paid sales tax on after I purchased it with taxed dollars. Is it 1984?

 

[gnubie]

Don't worry, they'll get you one way or the other. If there every is a significant number of premises moving away from the grid to self supply some level of government will slap an unavoidable fee on you just because the power poles / lines run past your premises in much the same way as is already done with water supplies in many countries.

 

[eddie1261]

I live in Ohio and unless you are in a completely unincorporated town you can't get any kind of building permit unless you have electric, water and sewer. So to buy a plot of land live in a totally self contained environment like an RV, nope. Yet in the next breath they complain about RVs living on the streets, Well, you took away the option for me to buy land and pay property taxes......

HOW can they tax SUNLIGHT?????

 

[Deleted member 165]

I live in Ohio and unless you are in a completely unincorporated town you can't get any kind of building permit unless you have electric, water and sewer.

Well there's your answer-buy in an unincorporated area! Or move to New Mexico

 

[offgriddle]

Because lots of $ is involved, skullduggery is the rule of the day and gubment is for the most part ineffective in filling their role of watch dogs when lots of $ is up for grabs. Keep making your own power and adjusting your power usage requirements and yes gubment gone wild will do it's best to curtail, regulate and ban our economic freedoms out of existance because lots of $ is up for grabs. Let's use our heads, build our own personal power plants & vote with our wallets! Peace

 

[Rider]

I live in Ohio and unless you are in a completely unincorporated town you can't get any kind of building permit unless you have electric, water and sewer. So to buy a plot of land live in a totally self contained environment like an RV, nope. Yet in the next breath they complain about RVs living on the streets, Well, you took away the option for me to buy land and pay property taxes......

HOW can they tax SUNLIGHT?????

In MD they attempted to tax the rain. If you put in driveways or structures that prevented rain from reaching the ground, they wanted to tax the sq footage. Really. It was voted down.

 

[Deleted member 165]

In MD they attempted to tax the rain. If you put in driveways or structures that prevented rain from reaching the ground, they wanted to tax the sq footage. Really. It was voted down.

In New Mexico you can get government subsidies to install rain harvesting systems. One state north in Colorado it is illegal to capture rain, but you can buy pot on every corner.

 

[burtinator]

In New Mexico you can get government subsidies to install rain harvesting systems. One state north in Colorado it is illegal to capture rain, but you can buy pot on every corner.

How can they make it illegal to capture rain? Here in Belgium all new buildings by law have to have a rain capturing system with at least 5000 liters capacity.

Then again, we have to pay 125euro per kw per year that our solar inverter is able to deliver to the grid (regardless if you actually have enough solar panels to fill your inverters capacity)

edit// i made a mistake in the price per kw, i put the correct numbers in a later post.

 

[Getyourbone]

Then again, we have to pay 125euro per kw per year that our solar inverter is able to deliver to the grid (regardless if you actually have enough solar panels to fill your inverters capacity)

So you’re saying that you get charged base on the inverter size and not the panels? That’s an interesting approach!

You could have 1 panel up and a 10kW inverter and get charged more than having 100 panels up and a 1 kW inverter?

 

[burtinator]

So you’re saying that you get charged base on the inverter size and not the panels? That’s an interesting approach!

You could have 1 panel up and a 10kW inverter and get charged more than having 100 panels up and a 1 kW inverter?

Exactly, they have started installing smart meters though, once those are up and running they will stop with this system and who knows whats gonna happen then.
My guess is they will start billing you twice for the use of the grid and only pay you back for the electricity part of the total price. Using this system to push people to home batteries.

I'm planning to go semi offgrid once my shed is built.

 

[gnubie]

How can they make it illegal to capture rain? Here in Belgium all new buildings by law have to have a rain capturing system with at least 5000 liters capacity.

They don't per se. They just slap a charge on the amount of water you collect.

I live in town. I can apply for a grant to get a rainwater tank and then I am free to use what ever water I collect in any (reasonable) fashion I desire without charge. Yet out of town in surrounding rural areas people without mains water received a letter from the local government (council) informing them that a water meter would be fitted to their tank water system and then they would be charged for the water.

True story.

 

[Deleted member 165]

They don't per se. They just slap a charge on the amount of water you collect.

I live in town. I can apply for a grant to get a rainwater tank and then I am free to use what ever water I collect in any (reasonable) fashion I desire without charge. Yet out of town in surrounding rural areas people without mains water received a letter from the local government (council) informing them that a water meter would be fitted to their tank water system and then they would be charged for the water.

True story.

Which town do you live in? Did I supply incorrect information?

 

[Deleted member 165]

They don't per se. They just slap a charge on the amount of water you collect.
Yet out of town in surrounding rural areas people without mains water received a letter from the local government (council) informing them that a water meter would be fitted to their tank water system and then they would be charged for the water.

True story.

Unbelievable. I'd like to see that water meter installer make it to my tank.

 

[gnubie]

I don't know about your location.

 

[Vanhalo]

Exactly, they have started installing smart meters though, once those are up and running they will stop with this system and who knows whats gonna happen then.

I am the only home in the neighborhood without a smart meter....also the only one with solar panels.
My local power company pays me 2 cents more to produce electricity.
20 year contract.
rate 9.38kwh + fuel adjustment costs
if this goes up.....so does my premium rate. +.2

 

[offgriddle]

If I wore a bra, (not that there would be anything wrong with that if I did), I would burn my bra in protest on the steps of city hall whilst chanting, "enough's enough, it's time to put the free back in dom", or something catchy like that!! Unfortunately, the fact is in present day U.S. of A., over ninety one percent and increasing of future U.S. voters are forced to attend government's anti trust act violating, (the anti trust act was designed to prevent monopolies), public school monopoly for thirteen of their first eighteen years of life on planet oith. What does this mean? It means that when a mass populous is for the largess sole sourced raised by a government in a government "public" education monopoly by government employees who are also employed by a second, private monopoly, just by simple deafult you are not going to get less government and taxation or more free agency, freedom, and diversity. I am wrong you may say? When is the last time you heard any teacher stand up and say, "enough is enough, we needs choices, options and diversity in public education, we need to bring common sense back and show common core the door, we need lower property taxes and less enslavement to governmental micro management and their quagmire of associated fees and regulations"? How about never? And we never will until the aforesaid monopoly is broken up. Have a thoughtful day and collect and use the elements of solar, wind and rainwater because it belongs to all.

 

[gnubie]

Exactly, they have started installing smart meters though, once those are up and running they will stop with this system and who knows whats gonna happen then.

I can see the day you will be billed for apparent power, kVA, instead of watts.

 

[markb]

I find Hawaii to be an interesting example, as everyone says electricity there is super expensive. But from what I can tell, Hawaii's rates are actually cheaper than San Diego! It doesn't make any sense.

 

[PHoganDive]

The town I used to live in in Massachusetts had insanely high electric rates. The base electric rate was 14.3cents per Kw/h, but then they added a 10 to 13 cent per Kw/h service charge on top of that (was higher in winter), so the total charge was 24.3 to 27.3 cents per Kw/h.
Check the R1 rate:

Rates | Unitil

unitil.com