what on earth does electricity cost near you?

[diesel lover]

Currently at my apartment I have a 230$ electric bill due for last month. That is extremely high compared to the 80$ I used to pay. The place is total electric. Heating and the water heater seem to take a lot of electric at my place.

I'm looking to buy a house. Trying to learn what's a good price for electric and what's a high price. My apartment is 900 square foot one level. Way too much to heat the place at 70ｰF. I plan to use a combination at my house I am buying. Firewood is highly considered especially in a fireplace in a main room where the heat and flames can be enjoyed directly and the garage I would like to heat with wood to keep my tractor warm and be able to repair my own vehicles out of the -14ｰ outside temps.

Thanks,
Trent

 

[NoTrespassing]

I think our current rate is less than 4 cents per kilowatt right now. When we signed up it was 4.26. It used to be over 6 cents from our power company but voters voted to shop around for better rates through an "electric aggregation program". Some months we end up paying more for meter usage, customer fees and taxes than we do for the electricity. Our lowest bills are about $50 and highest during airconditioning season are usually less than $120. Low usage would be around 600 kwh and high about 2000 kwh. We're in about a 1000 sq. ft. manufactured house.

This is why I'm running a space heater right now after paying 4.69 per gal. for propane.

Kevin

 

[diesel lover]

Kevin, I'm guessing your running a electric space heater? Your electric sounds very affordable. I'm going through a stressful time with an apartment that does not take care of me. I am looking at the electrical rates for the houses JM looking into purchasing

 

[randy41]

my latest bill from APCO is about 11 1/2 cents per kwh. this is in VA. 935 kw for $107.

 

[KTurner]

Looking at the final number on your bill is misleading, if you're doing comparisons. Even dividing the total of the bill by your kwh used is misleading in most places. There are going to be flat fees, no matter how much you use. Say you have a flat fee of $10, and your electricity cost $0.10 per kwh. If you only use one kwh during the month, your bill is $10.10, making it look like you're paying over $10 for every kwh. But, if you use 1,000kwh, your bill is $110 or $0.11 per kwh. In reality, your electricity cost the exact same, but the flat fees are skewing the numbers. There's also some places that charge more depending on the time of year and/or the time of day. A while back, I tracked down all the different components that determined how much I would pay, and it was very complicated. I had to read through probably 20 different legalese type contract documents to put together all the different things. In the end, you have to pay everything, so it may not really matter. But if you're trying to understand what you're paying and compare it to other people, in terms of kwh costs, you should factor these things in. This also makes it appear that your electricity rates are increasing if you start conserving electricity (use fewer kwh, so the flat fees start impacting the apparent per kwh cost).

My "average" cost, just dividing bill by usage, ranges from $0.0093 to $0.012 (EDIT: That should be "ranges from $0.093 to $0.12"), depending on how much i use. This last bill was unexpectedly high usage (60% more kwh used than same period last year), so I'm currently trying to track down if I have a malfunctioning piece of equipment. This is in southeast va. While we did have a couple cold snaps, the average temp is not that different than it was last year.

Keep in mind that prices aren't static. What you pay when you move in will go up over time, especially if the provider is using a generation technique frowned on by the govt (ie, coal). There's a coal fired plant about 1/2 a mile from me that is going to shut down in a few years due to EPA regulations. Think electricity demand is going to decrease before that shutdown? pfft. they're still planting subdivisions and mixed used developments in this area. Each persons usage is going up, and they're bringing in more people. The power company is going to have to upgrade other nearby plants and their distribution, causing my costs to go up.

If you really want to control your costs, control your usage and look into solar. Dependent on where you are and how fancy you get, the break even time frame for a grid tied solar setup may only be a few years - less if you can use tax breaks (state, federal, and others).

Keith

 

[newbury]

Way too much to heat the place at 70ｰF.

Heat to 60 and cool to 80.

 

[Tor Arne]

0,07/kwh in USD But then I have to pay rent of the power line, it costs 227usd a month

 

[dave1949]

Our rates are about $0.15 per kilowatt hour.

The key to controlling energy costs from any source is through conservation. Super insulate, use very efficient appliances and heating systems. The goal is to reduce your energy needs to a minimum.

The next step is to utilize solar energy and there are many ways of doing that. It would make more sense to look for areas that have good solar potential than to shop around for electric rates.

If you are considering a new build, then it is possible to have a home that is heated and powered primarily by sunshine if you get serious about it and choose an area and location where that is possible.

 

[Bocephous]

0,07/kwh in USD But then I have to pay rent of the power line, it costs 227usd a month

Wow. Do I understand correctly in that you pay $227 a month on top of the electricity you use?

We have an REC here and, according to our latest bill, paid $27.70 in cost of service, $.066 per kw for generation, and $.033 per kw for distribution.

 

[Tor Arne]

Wow. Do I understand correctly in that you pay $227 a month on top of the electricity you use?

That right. in Norway you can choose which power company buys power from but you have to pay the rent of the power grid to the government