Utility rate increases
- Thread starter Zwy
- Start date
robby
Electronic Engineer
- Joined
- May 1, 2021
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- 5,290
There will come a time in the not to distant future that you will look back at that $21 fee and think oh man those were the good old days.
CaliSunHarvester
Solar Wizard
I am driving an EV most of the time, previously a PHEV. Powered by solar. The gas price doesn't bother me much. Wife spends maybe $180 a month for gas for trips to the mall in her Bronco.
Sometimes I tell me buddy I would hope for $20 a Gallon, that may reduce traffic a little.
But we do realize that it would have unwanted side effects. Like the $20 burger.
Sometimes I tell me buddy I would hope for $20 a Gallon, that may reduce traffic a little.
But we do realize that it would have unwanted side effects. Like the $20 burger.
The Biden administration sold approximately 180 million barrels out of the SPR to stabilize world oil supplies after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. The oil was sold at an average of about $95/bbl. Since then, the administration has bought back and replaced all of the drawdowns from the SPR, plus 20 million barrels more, at an average cost of $75/bbl. So there’s more oil in the SPR now than 3 years ago, and the treasury profited $20/bbl on 180 million bbl.
Facts.
Q-Dog
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Oh come on! We can't let facts get in the way of the narrative!
Our utility rates went up a couple of months ago ... connection fee doubled to $10. I'm pretty sure something else went up too as I'm using a good amount less and paying about the same.
Prudent thinking would suggest unless one can replace one’s savings account in a timely fashion ,they get a second job… or sell some things… or etc… but one should never deplete their back up food , money ,meds, ammo or other important supply’s in life unless there is no other option left…and one’s back is against the wall.
That’s all I was trying to say…
Not going to get in a political squabble here , it serves no one any good…
You have a merry Christmas…..
Jim
Consumerbot3418
Fitting square pegs into round holes... for fun?
*Citation needed.
I do my best to stay well-informed, and something about your "facts" didn't jive with my understanding of reality. Took a few minutes to look into it.
According to the US Govt, inventory is <400 million barrels as of 20 Dec 2024. It was > 600 when Biden took office and circa 600 million 3 years ago. And I'm not a math wiz, but... 400 isn't > 600 + 20.
Where the heck did you come up with your "facts"? ChatGPT hallucination??
Oh, and to circle back to the actual topic we're meant to be discussing... I'm pretty sure it's been discussed elsewhere on this site, but the infrastructure is probably subsidized by the kWh pricing. My utility has doubled their "availability fee" in just 2 years, and I'm seriously considering disconnecting. I've been running "off-grid" for well over a year, and we've switched over to grid a handful of times, none of which were really necessary, mainly just for convenience since it happened to be there.
I have spare inverters, batteries, and in a pinch, could use one of the cars as a backup for the diesel genset, which is itself a backstop for running out of battery.
In the worst case, I could ask the utility to reconnect me, and I'm told it could most likely be done the same day, since they don't even have to show up at the house to connect/disconnect. I guess there are contactors in the meter? And with no fees for disconnection and connection, might as well just drop it. The only thing that worries me is that if I have an equipment failure and need them to reconnect, they may stall, or insist on a site visit to confirm that I've actually segregated my off-grid system from their feed. They already called to ask about my 0kWh usage, and to warn me that I'm not permitted to connect any inverters without following their grid-tied PV approval process. I asked "what about my APC UPS?" Radio silence in reply.
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CaliSunHarvester
Solar Wizard
*Citation needed.
I do my best to stay well-informed, and something about your "facts" didn't jive with my understanding of reality. Took a few minutes to look into it.
According to the US Govt, inventory is <400 million barrels as of 20 Dec 2024. It was > 600 when Biden took office and circa 600 million 3 years ago. And I'm not a math wiz, but... 400 isn't > 600 + 20.
Where the heck did you come up with your "facts"? ChatGPT hallucination??
Oh, and to circle back to the actual topic we're meant to be discussing... I'm pretty sure it's been discussed elsewhere on this site, but the infrastructure is probably subsidized by the kWh pricing. My utility has doubled their "availability fee" in just 2 years, and I'm seriously considering disconnecting. I've been running "off-grid" for well over a year, and we've switched over to grid a handful of times, none of which were really necessary, mainly just for convenience since it happened to be there.
I have spare inverters, batteries, and in a pinch, could use one of the cars as a backup for the diesel genset, which is itself a backstop for running out of battery.
In the worst case, I could ask the utility to reconnect me, and I'm told it could most likely be done the same day, since they don't even have to show up at the house to connect/disconnect. I guess there are contactors in the meter? And with no fees for disconnection and connection, might as well just drop it. The only thing that worries me is that if I have an equipment failure and need them to reconnect, they may stall, or insist on a site visit to confirm that I've actually segregated my off-grid system from their feed. They already called to ask about my 0kWh usage, and to warn me that I'm not permitted to connect any inverters without following their grid-tied PV approval process. I asked "what about my APC UPS?" Radio silence in reply.
Jeez
Cannot believe anything anymore
Thx for the fact check
Zwy
Emperor Of Solar
Talk about a sidetrack and hijack. Stay on topic.
4Kwh x 10 hours = 40 Kwh which can run the house here for a few days with storing power in the battery bank. Some conversion loss but still, the cost per Kwh might be cheaper than paying the $0.108 per Kwh plus the $21 meter charge. At $2.40 diesel ($0.23/Kwh), the $21 meter charge alone would generate 91 Kwh/month. Over 12 months, that is 1,100 Kwh.
Of course, there is the cost of the generator and repairs/maintenance.
At some point, it might be cheaper to just own a generator. What is that point, $500/year for connection fee or higher? I found this web page concerning consumption of diesel. 4Kwh = 0.39 gallon/hour of diesel. Off road diesel here runs about $0.80/gallon cheaper than road fuel and I saw road diesel the other day at $3.20/gallon. $2.40/gallon x .39 =$0.94/4 Kwh which is about $0.23/Kwh.
4Kwh x 10 hours = 40 Kwh which can run the house here for a few days with storing power in the battery bank. Some conversion loss but still, the cost per Kwh might be cheaper than paying the $0.108 per Kwh plus the $21 meter charge. At $2.40 diesel ($0.23/Kwh), the $21 meter charge alone would generate 91 Kwh/month. Over 12 months, that is 1,100 Kwh.
Of course, there is the cost of the generator and repairs/maintenance.
Zwy
Emperor Of Solar
Your partner at work isn't very smart. I've heard of everything now.
If he has a barrel and fills off the bulk tanker, he most likely has crud in his storage tank.
Same fuel, just one has dye and no road tax. I can assure you if dyed diesel was dirty, the fuel supplier would be hearing about it from every farmer they sold to. When bio-diesel blends came out, there were some issues with the bio-diesel loosening up sludge in the equipment tanks and storage tanks. That was temporary, after about the first year I never heard of any problems. Multiple filter changes until the tanks cleared up.
Q-Dog
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The equipment has fuel filters to take care of that.
Zwy
Emperor Of Solar
Any storage barrel should too.
DIYrich
Solar Wizard
As of Sept 2024, it is still not full. Doesn't say how much of the amount sold has been re-bought.
Biden-Harris Administration Strategic Petroleum Reserve Purchases Secures More Than 50 Million Barrels at a Good Deal for American Taxpayers
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Petroleum Reserves announced that contracts have been awarded for the acquisition of 3.4 million barrels of U.S.-produced crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
384 million gallons as of 12/13/24. Likely does not include contracts for future delivery.
Then again, it is hard to know what to believe out of this administration.
Aside: Seems stupid that the SPR is primarily Light (sweet) crude since the USA's refineries primarily crack Sour (heavy) crude. In a worst case scenario, you don't want to be dependent upon foreign sources.
I can appreciate that Sweet Crude has a larger trading market, but the SPR is not a "trading" reserve. It is a reserve if the USA can't get enough Sour Crude for domestic refinery needs to produce domestic crude oil products. The secondary use could be to stabilize USA Consumption markets during a disruption, the international and production markets be damned.
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Quattrohead
Emperor Of Solar
I'm assuming there are 2 types of off road diesel, low sulphur and regular sulphur for old off road engines.
They should still be perfectly clean.
Zwy
Emperor Of Solar
Everything is low sulphur. Older diesel better add some Powerserve.
Nobodybusiness
Solar Sponge.
Yup same as mine..
Actually, he is 'hands on' one of the best maintenance men in the plant, with decades of experience, and the brain power to back it up. His test scores, 100%, top everyone else at the plant. No, he is not stupid, just the opposite, and the ~2k acres he farms turn a good profit.Your partner at work isn't very smart. I've heard of everything now.
If he has a barrel and fills off the bulk tanker, he most likely has crud in his storage tank.
Same fuel, just one has dye and no road tax. I can assure you if dyed diesel was dirty, the fuel supplier would be hearing about it from every farmer they sold to. When bio-diesel blends came out, there were some issues with the bio-diesel loosening up sludge in the equipment tanks and storage tanks. That was temporary, after about the first year I never heard of any problems. Multiple filter changes until the tanks cleared up.
Guess he can stop buying all that def by the truckload.
@Zwy The very first hit from Google states that there is a difference in not only chemical, but also level of refinement of farm diesel vs road diesel.
farm vs road diesel
Seems that farm diesel is more suited to farm equipment?
From the link above...
As for utility rates (the actual topic of this thread), they've hiked delivery charges and fees here in Norway quite a bit over the last few years, to the point where the actual energy cost is often less than half of the total bill.
From the link above...
If I had a diesel storage tank on site, I would also invest in a basic diesel polishing setup (they're not all that complicated or expensive) and make sure to draw some diesel from the lowest point of the tank after every fuel delivery to check for water and misc crud.
As for utility rates (the actual topic of this thread), they've hiked delivery charges and fees here in Norway quite a bit over the last few years, to the point where the actual energy cost is often less than half of the total bill.
Around here farm diesel is just off road diesel, which just has that pesty red dye, nothing more or less. You do know farm implements have DPF and SCR of emissions these days right?
Each fuel delivery outfit only wants to deal with two things red fuel and taxed fuel, nothing more.
HarryN
Solar Wizard
Actually I didn't and that explains a lot.
As stated, he buys def by the truckload, along with fuel. If you have been successfully farming 2k acres for decades, have the supporting investments in $$$ combines, tractors, equipment, and a small trucking company, and state you don't run farm diesel in your farm equipment because it's 'dirty' and has caused problems, then someone comes along and calls this person 'not very smart' ...
This began with me saying something about @Zwy running farm diesel in a genny and what, if anything, it might affect. I have no idea how picky diesel gennys are in regards to fuel.
Nobodybusiness
Solar Sponge.
Zwy
Emperor Of Solar
I just call it low sulphur, I understand your point.
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