Electricity Prices up 85%

16 years ago

from Balt. Sun, how's this for an increase?

"When combined with increases imposed since rate caps expired in 2006, BGE customers will be paying 85 percent more for electricity"

We had a 70+% increase last year and are scheduled for another this year.

Comments (4)

davidandkasie
16 years ago
sounds to me like i would be changing every appliance i could over to gas.

wha tis your current charge per KWH? ours is only about 0.09 per KWH.
chelone
16 years ago
In the past 40 yrs. appliances have turned into "vampires". Remember when you turned on a TV or a radio and it "warmed up" before you got a picture or sound? Now that appliances are "solid state" and you get instant gratification when you switch it on people don't understand that it's drawing power even when YOU THINK it's off. :)

So, freaked out by a $100 electric bill just about one year ago, we experimented. We plugged the TV, DVD player, stereo components into a surge protector. When we were finished with them we snapped the power to the surge protector off. We did the same thing with the computers. We unplug the toaster when we're finished with it. Get this! we cut our electric bill in HALF in the darkest, coldest days of a New England winter. Encouraged, we began looking around for more undetected "vampires"... battery chargers for tools, cameras, etc.. We don't have a dishwasher or a clothes dryer and our hot water is heated by the boiler. We do not air condition (we use awnings and double hung windows).

Our bill now hovers around the $40 range. So, there are ways to cut your usage and they're not painful but they do require some attention to detail and personal commitment. In view of global warming concerns and our dependancy on foreign oil we felt it was worth it to make the effort.
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Well DB, You seem to have captured the gist of the artical without admitting ignorance. I gave you the source yesterday, but you refused to read or admit that when I said I "read", and the key word was "read" an artical posted by a local news source, "pricing for TXU was over 16 cents per kw". You either missed or ignored the other value that I claimed was in a December bill. a period several months before current price reductions. Now as to your claim? Aren't you leaving off the surcharge from this claim? You must be a shill for TXU also. But I guess you have the right to be selectively stupid. Wake up and smell the kilowatts. Or are you too befuddled to think simple thoughts. As to the hundreds of billions of losses that Texas has been forced to pay for. TXU sold several companies during the last 3 years, that lost billions of dollars. One that supplied a majority of French customers power (France), one that supplied some English customers (England), and a wopping utility that supplied either Australia or New Zealand with power. Also they lost very heavy with Lone Star Gas that became Atmos (N. Texas). Do you wish to debate this claim also?
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Oh. I don't remember if it's on that part of the blog, but the first thing the GC did, well before demolition, was sent a pipe camera down into the plumbing to see exactly where the drains were and to measure the fall line to make sure putting in the island would work. Going to the center of the X of trenches from the wall with the poppy (where the old sink was) are water, drain, plumbing vent, electrical, telephone and cable for the island. The two spokes of the X take a cold water line to the new freezer (ice maker), and full plumbing to the site of the new steam oven. The final leg of the X goes to the drain and vent in the laundry. You might not need all those trenches, but the main one to the island, with the drain and vent out, was the tricky one.
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GE gets the best reviews for inexpensive cooking equipment. The Whirlpool/Maytag conglomerate does OK with mid range stuff, but their cheap stuff is really cheap. Frigidaire is builder grade all the way through till you get to the top price level, and even then a lot of it uses the same crappy components. My top suggestion to you would be the GE JBS55DMWW. It gets wonderful reviews and is a workhorse. You can get black or white on sale for $499 with free delivery. (Remember that the actual range cord will need to be purchased, and that older homes will need a 3 wire cord.) If they want stainless steel, that's $100 more that I would make them pay for. There's no shame in having black or white appliances in a starter home! Here is a link that might be useful: JBS55DMWW
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Thanks for caring and the suggestions! My closest Y or anything that has water therapy or a public pool is over 30 miles away,. I live way out in the boonies! My address doesn't even show up right on GPS! I'm walking on my tread mill, and doing light exercise with dumbbells and using my "rubber band" machine. Those have helped me to get my balance back, gain some flexibility, and I'm building some strength. I had lost almost all of my muscle. But I'm getting there! It's too hot and humid outside to do much after the sun comes up, I still can't breath good, so I have to stay inside most of the time. We are breaking heat records daily here. 90 plus degrees at this time of year! We should be in the 70's I had a chest cold in early March, or so I thought, and the Dr. did too. He gave me a round of antibiotics and it didn't go away. By late April and another round of antibiotics, I could hardly breath, and I was sleeping less than 2 hours a night. After being diagnosed wrong several times and given 2 very wrong medicines. I had allergic reactions to them, that was another setback. It was found that I have an enlarged heart. With congestive heart failure, it is causing fluid to build in my lungs. My legs and body had swollen so bad that they put me in the hospital for a week. I had gained over 45 pounds of fluid! I am finally able to sleep 6 or 7 hours a night without sleeping pills. For about a week now. Knock on wood! I'm feeling 10 times better than I did a week ago! If I sleep good a few more day's and keep recovering I may be able to carry the tiller out to the garden and try it! It is supposed to cool into the low 80's by mid week! Fall weather! Well almost!
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azzalea
16 years ago
I guess it's pretty small comfort with an increase that high, but didin't I hear that the company was actually requesting a 100% increase this time around?

Between the energy costs and the colossal tax increases in Maryland, how does anyone afford to live there at all?
jy_md
16 years ago
When the last price increase was proposed, I went hunting for other electric suppliers. I found one I liked and locked in the price for two years.

If you're in Maryland, go to the MD public service commission website and look up other suppliers.

Here is a link that might be useful: MD PSC electricity supplier shopping info

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Electricity Prices up 85%

Comments (4)

davidandkasie

chelone

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azzalea

jy_md

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