Good morning! 49˚F heading to the mid 60s.
Drew we will let you know of any super high energy bills during this freeze, can't trust the sensational click bait headlines. There is at least one electric company (Giddy) that lets you pay the cheapest going rate for electricity which is a speculative type of investment. Giddy actually told it's customers days before the freeze to opt out of their company but some did not listen. Like the stock market giving you an opportunity to sell before the bottom falls. If the electric customers stay where they are, in time they will recoup their losses - it may take 10 years. But for the last 10 years they have been getting the best electric rates available.
The all electric house with heat pumps or a gas/electric house that used additional space heaters will see their highest electric bill. Strip heaters on heat pumps use more electricity at these temps than air conditioners during August. I had a space heater in the garage where my water softener and hot water heater plumbing is and expect an "August" electric bill or higher. At below 35˚F electricity is probably the most expensive form of heating. But in Texas those frigid days are so few in a normal year which makes electricity cheapest source. I was having trouble figuring out how rolling blackouts were saving electricity, whenever they come back on the electric use was double trying to warm the house after it got cold.
When I built the house on the farm I had an unlimited supply of hard woods for the most efficient wood burning stove, in a foam insulated house, I could go a whole week without turning on the electric heater in freezing weather. But I would use the wood burning stove probably less than 20 days a year.
