Totally Outrageous! Our natural gas bill is $240 for one month!

[Radio_Lady]

It was $200.93 on December 7, 2005.

There is no friggin' way this can keep going on.

My husband is going berserk... I've got to calm him down.

When is this going to stop?

[Dave Reynolds]

1. There may be no end,

I just got 200 gallons of propane today at $2.14 per gallon. Good thing we have some trees to cut down.

[Radio_Lady]

7. Is anyone protesting or is there anything we can do as a group?

I'm just fresh out of ideas.

[Dave Reynolds]

11. Apparently, we are at the mercy of supply and demand,

albeit a questionable supply problem.

I do not know how to fight capitalism gone mad.

[butterfly77]

64. Freepers seem to be happy ..

anyone seen anything posted on freeper sites about jobs,unemployment or heating bills?

[converted_democrat]

75. Shit gets posted all the time, especially on FR....Mostly over heating

bills, but they get taken down really quick by the Mods..

[PWRinNY]

48. Propane

In my neck of the woods propane is up to 2.79 a gallon. I've taken to wearing lots of layers, sweaters, and bundling up in blankets.

[cry baby]

2. Last month mine was $175, this month's total - $475

I am in sticker shock. Last year's bill this time of year was about $250.

[Radio_Lady]

10. What state are you in?

I'm kind of glad we're going on vacation at the end of this month.

Let the hotels keep us warm. We'll set the gas furnace to the lowest possible setting. It rarely freezes here.

[cry baby]

14. I'm in middle Tennessee

and it hasn't been all that cold...just enough to keep my heater going too much. I turned the temp down a lot and turned down the water heater after we got the bill :( . I love really hot baths, but I will not have one any time soon.

Have fun on your vacation!

[Radio_Lady]

16. We're time share owners and luckily we planned to visit AZ and NV

during the winter. Thanks for your kind thoughts.

I'd have to really win at the slots to cover these bills.

(P.S. Don't worry. I never gamble.)

[Historic NY]

3. Mine was 465.00.............

the utility company then advised that it will be locked at 255.00.

[jbnow]

6. What does it mean that

"it will be locked at 255.00."? It sounds like they are saying they won't charge you more then $255, but that would be a surprise.

[NNN0LHI]

8. If you don't mind me asking what did the utility company mean by...

..."it will be locked at 255.00"? I don't understand?

Don

[Historic NY]

19. Gas & Electric Utility........will go to 255.00 on budget plan.

they will set it at that rate for now and review it in 6 months. I suspect another enormous bill then if the price keep rising. My company sold off all their distribution rights and we are supposed to pick a gas provider. I'm gambling that they will find one thats reasonable. I didn't want to lock in for a 3-5 yr committment with a gas provider I know nothing about. Spent some time talking with other customers and most didn't pick one either. So much for de-regulation.

[Radio_Lady]

20. Where are you, Historic NY?

[Historic NY]

31. Upstate NY.....

60 miles from the city.

[Radio_Lady]

33. Pretty place. Are you having an extraordinarily cold winter?

[Historic NY]

49. We had a spat that came on early for a couple of weeks......

this week its been warmer in the 40's, like pre-spring weather but its not going to last. Feb. is usually the worst month here for teen, 0 & -0 degree weather.....I hate when it goes on for weeks. Our last snow from Christmas and New Years has just about melted away....from rain and a few sunny days.

[booley]

4. that's unusual?

Mine went from 50 to over 300 a month..as it always does about this time of year.

[Radio_Lady]

5. We're in relatively mild Portland, Oregon. Where are you?

I mean, we moved here because we thought heating would be easier on our pocketbooks, as retired seniors.

Ain't happenin' for us.

Thanks for your post.

[libpunkmom]

68. Northwest Natural Gas had me on

hold for nearly 2 hours yesterday. Their lines are so busy. I've been keeping my heat really low, mainly because it's been relatively warm here in Portland and my gas bill still doubled.

[Radio_Lady]

76. Sorry to hear that. Is there anything about it in any of the newspapers?

You'd think that Willamette Week would cover it, if not the Portland Oregonian.

Unfortunately, it's not a "sexy" story, but they did manage to keep my interest all these months about PGE's ups and downs.

[AuntiBush]

9. At Least I'm Not Alone

Last month it hit: 3 times higher and this month, the same. It's so unusually warm here, the heater barely comes on (it's off right now, even).

Read somewhere, "Eat or Heat." That's about where I'm at, too. At least I'm not so alone.

When is this going to stop? Wish I knew, Radio_Lady. If I did, I'd be in bed sleeping soundly right now, rather then up disgusted by "it" all.

[Radio_Lady]

12. "This is the REAL tax on the American people, plus the deficit."

A quote from hubby.

[AuntiBush]

22. It's Really, Really Bad.

Everyone here is complaining, angry, upset and worried.

As much, everyone is asking the same thing as you, namely "When is it all going to end?" Where is our sanity? Our country has lost it - bonkers.

[Erika]

13. A secretary in our office was bawling today because of this

and the fact that her child care provider had upped her price $15 per child per week. The secretary has two children. She had received a $200 gas bill on top of this. She is working full time and her husband is trying to finish his degree and working part time.

Bush's America where the economy is so great. Yeah, sure. Slip-sliding to a third world status.

[Radio_Lady]

17. Erika, that is so sad. I can't believe it. Our democracy is shredding...

daily, weekly, monthly, yearly.

I'm exhausted. Got to get some sleep.

Hope things look brighter in the morning.

Good night and good luck...

Radio_Lady

[leftofthedial]

15. it will end when we rein in the corporations

once again regulate capitalism

and get repukes out of public life and in prison where they belong.

[Radio_Lady]

18. Hurray! We're on the same page, Leftofthedial.

I have to go and read "Savage Summit: The Life and Death of the First Women on K2." Interviewing the author on Friday morning.

In peace, and good night,

Radio_Lady

[leftofthedial]

21. you rock, woman!

[Radio_Lady]

34. Thank you, thank you, thank you very much...

[Spider Jerusalem]

26. No, it won't...

because "reining in the corporations" isn't going to create more natural gas. North American natural gas production has peaked (in 2003); demand continues to inexorably increase. The basic laws of economics dictate that the remaining supplies must become inevitably more expensive (not to mention that the remaining deposits are harder to get to, require more infrastructure investment, and have lower yield, and investement on new discovery drives up the cost as well).


The real problem lies in the lack of developed sustainable alternatives thanks to shortsightedness on the part of industry, and the irresponsible, selfish profligacy of the average American energy consumer; the US has 5% of the world's population and uses 40% of the world's energy, and every year Americans use more natural gas than all of Europe and Asia (which have, collectively, ten times our population)...does this seem like a state of affairs that could continue indefinitely to you? Or one that SHOULD continue indefinitely, assuming it could?

[leftofthedial]

27. the lack of alternatives (and the current gouging)

are artifacts of the current atmosphere of laissez faire capitalism and unbounded corporate greed. reel in the corporations and regulate the industry and prices will moderate and alternatives will be developed.

[Spider Jerusalem]

28. But IS it gouging?

Or is it merely the result of market economics in a situation with increased demand and static or decreasing supply? And don't forget that some percentage of the increase in energy prices is also attributable to the US dollar's continued slide on world currency exchanges. It's rather fatuous to ascribe these price increases solely to 'gouging', considering all of the factors involved (decreased supply, declining production, market economics, US dollar instability, increased cost of exploration and drilling, et cetera).

It's also rather simplistic to blame 'laissez-faire economics' for the lack of alternatives. The reason is that there aren't any other energy sources which produce a greater return on energy invested than petroleum and natural gas; they're utilised as much for their superior efficiency when compared to alternatives as anything else, which is the same reason the shift from wood to coal was made during the Industrial Revolution.

[JohnyCanuck]

41. The North American Natural Gas Cliff.

THE NORTH AMERICAN NATURAL GAS "CLIFF"

More than 275 North American gas-fired electrical generation plants are planned to begin operations through 2006, up from 158 a year ago, which would increase gas consumption by more than 8.5 tcf!

Unlike oil, natural gas cannot easily be shipped by sea. It must be liquefied prior to shipment, and then shipped in specially designed refrigerated ships destined for specially equipped ports, and then re-gasified for distribution -- at an estimated 15 to 30 percent energy loss. Moreover, natural gas cannot be easily stored like oil or coal.

Campbell says that gas production is better described as a "plateau" followed by a "cliff" due to the high mobility and recovery of gas. Under declining pressure, oil declines slowly as it moves through the porespace of the rocks, but the decline of gas is a cliff -- not a slope. The gas market gives no warning of the cliff because it is no more expensive to produce the last cubic foot than the first. North American production is at or near (< 10 years) its "cliff" now:

"North American natural gas has no excess capacity. It disappeared several years ago. What we do have is extremely aggressive decline rates in almost every key production basin making it harder each season to keep current production flat.

"The electricity business has also run out of almost all existing generating capacity, whether this capacity is a coal-fired plant, a nuclear plant or a dam. The electricity business has already responded to this shortage. Orders for a massive number of natural gas-fired plants have already been placed. But these new gas plants require an unbelievable amount of natural gas. The supply is simply not there." {ENERGY IN THE NEW ECONOMY: The Limits to Growth, Matt Simmons}

When Canada signed NAFTA, it ceded total control of its oil and gas reserves. Canada currently makes up about 13% of the USA gas supply. Canada is running out of gas too:

"Outwardly the production projections of the NEB, EUB and GESI are confusing and even contradictory. But they really carry the same message: the limits of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) are being recognized. We could gradually increase consumption of the basin's reserves over the next decade and accept sharply falling supply thereafter (the NEB result). We can rapidly increase consumption through drilling quick, short lived deliverability wells and live with an early rapid supply decline (the EUB result). Or, we could redirect more activity to larger reserve plays that require greater lead times and thereby accept an earlier, but gradual supply decline (the GESI result)." http://tabla.geo.ucalgary.ca/NatGasCan/opipaper.pdf

More at:
http://www.dieoff.org/synopsis.htm (Scroll down about 1/3 of the page to find the section on Natural Gas)

[Radio_Lady]

77. Thanks for this link, JohnyCanuck. That's an very informative post.

[leftofthedial]

42. what changed in supply and demand during the past three months

to account for a 74% rate increase?

[Spider Jerusalem]

43. The past three months? Winter weather.

Demand increases by as much as 500% in winter, thanks to the energy requirements of home heating. Not to mention over the past year several gas-fired power plants have come online -- there's another big chunk of demand right there, and the seasonal increase in consumption at this time of year makes the effwct of those X billion cubic feet that are going to fire power plants instead of heat houses much more evident.

[leftofthedial]

47. so compared to last winter, supply has diminished enough to justify

the rate (not usage) increases we have seen across the country? I don't think so.

If indeed there are supply problems (which I don't believe there are) It is far more likely that the industry is artificially constraining supply (just as the energy industry has done, as did Enron in California in 1999-2000). This has been the mildest winter in my adult memory. Household demand has not increased enough to justify the rate increases we have seen.

[Ksec]

50. supply is being tampered with

I read that Natural gas was being hoarded in some alaska refinery . That affects the price. Its done on purpose to make more profit.

Natural gas is abundant. There is no shortage.

[TheFarseer]

59. You're missing the point

Didn't you see when the other poster said 158 natural gas power plants were going up this year? That accounts for the increase. Why we are planning our energy usage so badly is anyone's guess (although I bet Jack Abramoff's guess is better than any of ours). Gouging is not helping and I'm not saying it isn't happening, but the MUCH bigger point is we need to get power plants online that use renewable energy or at least more abundant energy sources like nuclear, coal, wind, water whatever.

[leftofthedial]

67. and as I said in the first place, when the corporations are reeled in

and psychotic capitalism is put back on its meds

this "free market" cycle of manipulated supply, skyrocketing profits for energy companies, skyrocketing costs to consumers, failure to invest in alternatives, etc. will end.

Not until then. They will milk the last dime of grotesque profit out of the current energy paradigm until the last cubic inch of natural gas is piped into the last rich man's indoor pool water heater. Then, they'll start gouging us for the cost of the wind or of sunlight.

Energy companies behave monolopistically. I can't choose another utility. I can either use the local utility or I can freeze in the dark and eat food out of a can. They own the politicians through our institutionalized system of bribery/"lobbying," so they can set rates at whatever arbitrary level they want and will pretty much get away with it. The root problem is not how much fossilized dinosaur gas is in the ground. It is unfettered capitalism and their psychotic spawn, the corporations.

[NickB79]

71. You read where?

I read that the Alaskan state government is suing oil well operators because they flare off their excess natural gas, but the problem is that there aren't any pipelines to transport it through, only oil pipelines.

BTW, that would have to be a HUGE refinery to hoard enough natural gas to make a dent in US prices.

[Spider Jerusalem]

72. "You read".

Read where? There's an acknowledged natural gas shortage in the US; has been for at least two years (over which period the market price has quadrupled). There may be enough to meet demand eight or nine months out of the year, but increases in seasonal use throw off the demand curve. And the recent Gulf coast hurricanes knocked out a good deal of production capacity. There are simpler and more realistic explanations than the flat assertion that "there is no shortage" and the utterly ludicrous idea that "natural gas is being hoarded at a refinery in Alaska".

[Ksec]

80. Ill see if I can find it.

Hold on

[Ksec]

83. Interesting , found this _while looking for that story

http://www.mindfully.org/Energy/Probing-Power-Companies.htm

BTW Ill find that article I was referring to.

[Spider Jerusalem]

86. Four years out of date, and before the rolling blackouts...

and post-Enron backlash.

[Ksec]

93. What are you?

The police?

[Spider Jerusalem]

96. No, just rational and logical enough to know...

...that something five years old has little relevance to the present situation (the North American natural gas production peak and subsequent shortages not occurring until some time afterwards).

[Spider Jerusalem]

52. Coupled with the INCREASE in demand...

coming from not only home heating but also from gas-fired power plants? Quite possibly. Not to mention that the major damage caused to Gulf coast refineries, pipelines, etc. may (I'm not certain) not be fully repaired, and also the fact that the companies involved are going to pass those infrastructure costs on to the consumer. As I said, there are too many different factors at work for price increases to be explained as 'gouging' (or solely as 'gouging').

[hatrack]

62. Annual N. American natgas decline in 2003 and 2004 - 4% annually

There are about 1,400 rotary drilling rigs in North America, fully utilized, and that is the sum total of new gas discovery efforts.

There are also about 200 directional drilling crews in all of North America - that's all.

The mean age of a petroleum geologist in the United States is a touch over 50.

There are a lot of factors in play here, among which the geological factor outweighs all.

[TheFarseer]

55. That's absolutely right

People don't think Public Utilities prices are up to? The fact is we're using natural gas and oil based products for too many things. In Lincoln, there were alot of apartment complexes with electric heat. I couldn't find one in Omaha, had to get gas heat. If we were all using nuclear, coal(it's not scarce yet) wind, water - whatever power, this would not be nearly so much of a problem. When I heard about all sorts of natural gas power plants coming online I just cringed because I knew this was going to happen. The fact is were not taking the energy crisis seriously yet. We better soon or tough times are ahead.

[Diane R]

23. I WISH ours was $200.93

Instead, it is $485.00 for one month.

[Radio_Lady]

32. Diane, what part of the country or what state are you in?

Does any of this have to do with the severity (or mildness) of winter and/or the placement of natural gas lines?

In Oregon, I assume we are getting ours from Alaska or?

I really should spend some time trying to understand this. All I know is that the bills are going higher and higher, and we are trying to conserve (I actually like the cool weather, and keep the house quite cold).

Of course, it reverses in summer, and we have a gas-fired central airconditioning unit, so we cannot completely escape this. Our gas and electric are separate bills, but they are both going astronomically higher!

Yikes!

[Armstead]

37. Try $685 a month on a payment plan

The frickin gas company may be the reason we have to sell our house.

[tatertop]

why is it so high?

[Armstead]

100. Big old drafty farmhouse

Imposible to keep the gas bill down. But it was $350 on the payment plan last year.

[bdot]

24. Maybe everyone else is getting my bill or something.

My bill in December was less than the one from the previous December. Down to $104.

[Radio_Lady]

36. Do you have any idea why that is? What state or part of the country...

are you in?

[lildreamer316]

25. Dear; we were at $280 for heating oil for one month.

I share your pain. Thank goodness we can afford it.

[MadHound]

29. There are alternatives

Have you considered either an exterior wood furnace, or interior wood stove? Both are pretty modestly priced, the exterior wood furnace has the added benefits of also being able to heat your water, and not driving up your insurance rates. And I don't know about where you live, but wood is cheap here in the Midwest.

My wife and I are getting one next summer. We're rural propane users who do a pre-buy in September. $1.60/gallon for propane, just floored me, and energy is going to do nothing but go up. Thus, we're getting the wood furnace.

[ObaMania]

30. As I said in another thread, mine was $509.00

The December bill was $125.00. No colder, just our government allowing the coffers to take their piece of the action. And there's not one f#@king thing we can do about it.

I will definitely have to deplete what small savings I have to get through this year's energy bills.

Hey... what did you think about gas going up .10 overnight?

BTW.. I'm going berserk too and there's no way my wife can settle me down. It'll happen over time. Just let him vent.

[RagingInMiami]

35. How come the media hasn't done more about this?

There's bound to be millions in the same boat.

[Radio_Lady]

40. Here's what I found media-wise on this subject:

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2006/01_09-39/TOP

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2708

http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=51049

http://www.rockrivertimes.com/index.pl?cmd=viewstory&cat=4&id=11948

Notice these are local stories only. Nothing came up from the national media, at least not for the last couple of months.

[hatrack]

63. Hey!! Mrs. Alito CRIED!!! Get with the program!!!

Don't bring me your petty natural gas price story when there's NEWS to cover!!!

:sarcasm:

[Radio_Lady]

79. OT: Hatrack, is your avatar an image of Sigmund Freud?

If not, who is it?

(My father sculpted a bust of Freud in the 1970s, very nice amateur work. Last year, I gave it as a gift to the Oregon Psycholanalytical Association for the library in their NW Portland office.)

[hatrack]

85. No, actually that's Darwin

And I have to add that DU has an excellent avatar library!

:toast:

BTW, don't feel bad on natural gas prices - ours was $150, and we don't even reach 1,200 square feet ina little bungalow. And that was with lots of long underwear and the thermostat set up to 60 on rare occasions when we wanted to "live it up".

[Radio_Lady]

92. Cool! I have to check out the avatars again.

Tried to import my own, but the file was too large.

Where are you located?

[FredUptoHere]

38. try $441.38...I WISH mine was $240.

nt

[stanwyck]

70. Over $700 here!

last month over $400. I about fainted.
And we're keeping the temp. at 68.

[flpoljunkie]

39. It will go on as long as the media ignores the price gouging. Look how

long it took them to discover price gouging at the pump--although the information was out there of the excessive profits of companies, the biggest profiteer being Exxon-Mobil.

[Greyhound]

44. When we're all serfs working for the company store. n/t

[Cleita]

45. Time to turn off the heat and hang your clothes on the line.

I found out these were the two items that use the most gas. I now sit huddled under electric blankets and have a small electric space heater in the bathroom to take showers.

[Radio_Lady]

81. I dry many clothes in a laundry room. (Too rainy here to put them

out on a line.) But some days are too humid inside; I have an electric dehumidifier in the laundry room that works well. So, it's like a cat chasing its tail....

[Ksec]

46. My gas bills are running near what yours are

I honestly hope I can keep up because if you dont theyll shut your gas off. Columbia gas has already threatened me with a shutoff if I didnt get current with the bill . Luckily I was able to dig up a few hundred dollars to get it halfway current but with 4 more months of cold Im worried. What do they expect people to do? Sell dope or rob frickin' banks? Theres only so much one can give to one of many bills..

[lukasahero]

51. Gas bill for December $912. Good news - hubby started working

again last week after 10 months downtime. Bad news? I'm out of a job any moment now.

I loathe shrub and his rose-colored economic glasses with the heat of a thousand burning suns.

BTW - I'm serious. $912.27.

[TheFarseer]

60. OMG

:wow: Do you live in a large house or just an inefficient house? I used to live with some guys in a fairly large house that was a freaking sieve and one month we got a heating bill for $525. Split 4 ways it wasn't as bad. That was 4 years ago. I'd hate to see it now!

[lukasahero]

69. We've tried to make it as efficient as possible

but it's a ranch so it's less efficient just because. (It's a little big but it's no mansion.) We also had an incredibly cold December, and we use gas for more than heating (cooking and drying). So it's a combination of things. For a point of reference our gas bills during the winter are usually in the $4-500 range (but our electric bill is miniscule).

We were having trouble with the furnace in Dec (pilot light kept crashing - loved waking up to a 53 degree bathroom) but I don't know if that would have any affect(?). We have done everything we can think of to make it more efficient and will be looking for more solutions this weekend. We're a little stunned actually.

[Radio_Lady]

84. Will your local gas or electric company do a house check for you?

The gas company in Massachusetts did one for us in years gone by. We lived in a late 1950s home which was a reproduction of a colonial style -- but not as efficient as it could be.

Their representative came and gave us a lot of good pointers on how to insulate.

Our current home, built in 1998, is good and tight. Luckily, we get to go to AZ and NV in February on a vacation planned early last year.

Let the hotels keep us warm and well-fed!

In peace,

Radio_Lady

[lukasahero]

97. Hey Radio_Lady, I'm in Mass too

We had them come out a couple of years ago and did everything they recommended. A while ago someone here posted some other heat saving ideas so we've been implementing them as we can - looks like this weekend we'll be implementing them all!

Part of the problem is the design of the house (the master bedroom has really high ceilings and we have tons of windows) but I'm still hoping it has more to do with the problem we had with the furnace. We got that fixed so we'll see next month if that was part of the problem.

Good for you heading SW for the really miserable part of the winter. I'm hoping to have a vacation again someday. ;)

[Ksec]

91. OMG

Thats just scary.. 912 dollars?

[lukasahero]

95. Yeah, we were hoping it was in Pesos, but no such luck

I still think it has to do with the fact that our furnace was messed up (the thermostat kept trying to get up to 65 but the pilot wasn't heating the gas so...) Cross your fingers for us now that the furnace is fixed.

[Rainscents]

94. HOLY SHIT!!!

:wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: Try getting pallet stove!!! IN your case, stove will pay itself off in one winter season!!!

[lukasahero]

98. I have a friend who just got one

and we're definitely thinking about it. Unfortunately, we just bought a new snowblower and I just bought a new (used) car (and as I mentioned, my husband has been out of work for the last 10 months and my job just recently became a little less secure) so we're monitoring the expenditures. Of course, we hadn't quite calculated this expenditure acurately. Thanks for the suggestion though. It'll be on the list of discussion/research points for the weekend. :)

[TheFarseer]

53. I know, I'm freezing my ass off in my apartment

The good news is I'm getting used to 60 degrees. The better news is winter will be over soon enough. The worse news is, gasoline is this high in the dead of winter - think what it will be by memorial day! Natural gas is used for way too many fucking things. We need to use our energy sources more wisely and not overload on any like we have with natural gas and oil. Sorry for the scatter-brain post.

[Tracer]

54. Count yourself lucky, Radio Lady.

Try $492 for one month and see how your husband would REALLY go beserk.

We'll see how the bill goes this month --- when the weather here has been very moderate for the month of January. It's 55 degrees and sunny here today.

[Radio_Lady]

87. Tracer in Massachusetts: You're warmer than we are today in Portland!

I think we're at 47 degrees F.

I loved those cold and bright winter days in the Northeast.

I miss Massachusetts, if the truth be told. If my hubby, born in Brockton, could have tolerated the cold weather better, I'm sure we'd still be there.

Have a good weekend, when we get there.

In peace,

Radio_Lady

[Sydnie]

56. I just ordered more oil - are you sitting down?

Since Nov 11, I have purchased $1100.00 worth of oil. Normally, that would be enough to get me through a 3 month, snowy Dec, Jan, and Feb. This week, it has been in the 40's and 50's here in MA, so it's not even cold enough to warrant this type of bill, were it any other year. Add the $100 plus I have put in of kerosene when I run out of oil in the middle of the night, just to get me through til they can deliver more to me the next day.

I don't buy in small chunks either. No less than $200/$300 a delivery.

I would KILL for a $240 heating bill right now. I feel your pain, I really do.

[AngryAmish]

57. Mine was $14

But I only use gas to cook. And I was out of town for half the month. Just bragging.

[Sydnie]

58. DUCK!

[slackmaster]

61. Must... ...resist... ...temptation... ...to gloat...

We've been fortunate to have a run of relatively warm nights here.















































In San Diego.

:hide:

[Radio_Lady]

90. I love San Diego, especially the red trolley that runs into Tijuana.

But I hated the smog -- the sky and the clouds aren't supposed to be brown.

Unless you don't believe there's smog in SD, and the sky is not falling... :sarcasm:

We stayed at the Marriott Coronado Resort one Christmas holiday. On one of the main drags on Coronado Island, there was a woman's consignment store. I talked with the Asian woman who owned the store. She was from Hong Kong. She said that San Diego weather was always beautiful -- and BORING! Funny how one thing that rocks your world -- makes other people less happy. I'd have to run my airconditioning almost all year long if I lived in a warmer climate. I'm sitting here in a cotton tee-shirt (with short sleeves), a cotton skirt and sneakers. It's cool but very comfortable for me today.

"One man's meat is another man's poison."

In peace,

Radio_Lady

[schmuls]

65. Here in SE Wisconsin, our local energy company got an increase

in the fall, and now they were just approved for another one! F---ers!

[meisje]

66. My pellet/corn stove heats our 2900sqft house for about $3.00 a day

On the lowest setting, our main floor is 73 degrees in when it is 20 degrees outside. Our 2nd floor stays in the high 60's.
:hide:

[tatertop]

88. what kind of stove is that?

where do you buy the pellets?
is your house super-insulated?
i have about 2700 sq ft per floor -
i cannot imagine how a single pellet stove could heat this place

[Mossadeq]

73. $320 two months in a row.

stat set at 64 or lower. Chicago

[MissB]

74. Mine was $249

We paid the same amount last year. (I also have NW Natural - and I think they went up about 15% this year.) This is the first bill this season that was actually the same as last year - as opposed to being less than last year. I was quite worried it would be $350 because of all the guests and parties we had over the holidays - we can't quite freeze our friends and relatives so the heat gets bumped up when they're here.

I've dropped my usage between 20 and 25% over last year, even though I've added a gas cooktop since last year. We've insulated several rooms and parts of the attic space. We've put in new windows in some rooms (but we can't do a whole-house replacement because of the cost).

This spring we're installing 4 more windows and putting in a couple of solar attic fans (the fans are for the summer time). We also hope to put in more insulation.

I don't see the prices going down. We're doing all that we can to weatherize the house in the next five years. It isn't a terribly big house, but it is old. Single pane windows and lathe/plaster walls means very little heat is held in the house. Slowly ripping out the plaster walls and insulating and putting up sheetrock is what will drive the bills down, or at least keep them steady.

We've already put in the new high-efficiency gas furnace. The only thing that is left is the windows and walls.

Oh, and I keep the heat at 64 in the day and crank it up to 65 to 67 in the evening.

[EFerrari]

78. I don't know how ANY of you are managing this!

:(

Our electric (only) heating bill is $50. I guess we call our energy bills "mortgage payments" in San Francisco because the weather is so mild here.

[NorthernSpy]

82. soon, we will have only our anger to keep us warm

:think:

Kerosene is over $2.60/gallon now.

[Coexist]

89. Personally, I think its all a plot...

...to make Global Warmning appeal to you liberal northerners.

:evilgrin:

[AllegroRondo]

99. Missouri Repubs passed a law last year

that says if the gas utility loses money due to people cutting their consumption, they can raise your rates to make up the lost revenue.