New Hampshire and electric rates

[doobie]

NH is ranked 44 for the best electric rates...

http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/115.htm

What do you all think; are we getting screwed?  What can we do?

[David]

Them lovely nuclear plants, thems things be a mite expensive. 

[K. Darien Freeheart]

What do you all think; are we getting screwed?

Can you comparison shop for lower rates?

What can we do?

Use less electricity. In most cases, even the most efficient alternative energy sources lose their price advantage when you factor installation costs (including materials) into the price per kilowatt. I supposse the best LONG term plan is to work to abolish electrical monopolies.

[doobie]

Them lovely nuclear plants, thems things be a mite expensive. 

Someone told me that the nuclear power plant power output doesn't stay in NH..  Not sure if that is true.

What do you all think; are we getting screwed?

Can you comparison shop for lower rates?

What can we do?

Use less electricity. In most cases, even the most efficient alternative energy sources lose their price advantage when you factor installation costs (including materials) into the price per kilowatt. I supposse the best LONG term plan is to work to abolish electrical monopolies.

Lol, I already pay less than $40/month on my electricity.  I'm eying a wind turbine/battery backup for SHTF, but for everyday purposes the math doesn't work out.

[Fluff and Stuff]

NH is ranked 44 for the best electric rates...

http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/115.htm

What do you all think; are we getting screwed?  What can we do?

Yeah, utility rates are high in NH.  The plant in Seabrook is part of the reason - it went massively over budget and reduced competition by causing at least 1 bankruptcy.  Building more wind turbines in the north country would help the state.  As an individual, you can try to use heat pellets, or even better, trees to heat your house.

[dalebert]

I think anything you can do to use alternatives to electric can save you money, like propane ovens, water heaters, etc. Jack was telling me about a gas furnace that generates electricity during the winter and apparently it's cheaper than buying the electric. I'm sure there's a loss of efficiency in generating the electricity and transporting it over a grid. Also, the furnace is heating your house with the loss of efficiency in generating the power and then just makes more heat as necessary to make up the difference. I think it's a great idea. They have natural gas versions and a propane version seems to be in the pipeline and possibly available very soon.

I've recently discovered that propane is priced in a weird way. It's not a set price like oil. The gas company charges you based on how much you used and you get a volume discount. So if you have propane heat and hot water heater and maybe a propane oven, you will likely get a much cheaper rate per gallon. If you're generating your power too, it sounds like the savings could really add up.

[Russell Kanning]

we are getting screwed
use less

[WithoutAPaddle]

"too cheap to meter..."

[Porcupine_in_MA]

An open market in electricity production here is what we need. Companies would see the need for more nuclear power plants and we'd get plenty of of cheap, clean electricity from them.

[John Edward Mercier]

NH is ranked 44 for the best electric rates...

http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/115.htm

What do you all think; are we getting screwed?  What can we do?

Not much. If you look at the bill, much of it is for the service, distribution, and taxation of the electricity.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Trying to read one of those makes my head hurt!

[toowm]

I do think the new solar films will help in the next 10 years.

[MaineShark]

I think anything you can do to use alternatives to electric can save you money, like propane ovens, water heaters, etc. Jack was telling me about a gas furnace that generates electricity during the winter and apparently it's cheaper than buying the electric. I'm sure there's a loss of efficiency in generating the electricity and transporting it over a grid. Also, the furnace is heating your house with the loss of efficiency in generating the power and then just makes more heat as necessary to make up the difference. I think it's a great idea. They have natural gas versions and a propane version seems to be in the pipeline and possibly available very soon.

The term is "co-generation."

Someday, when I can find enough investment capital, I'm going to build (and attempt to sell commercially) a universal co-generation system which can be integrated with numerous heat sources.  The most exciting (in my mind, anyway) would be integrating it with wood heat, since we have plenty of that in NH, and someone using it would be totally independent of the grid, when it came to heating/electricity fuel.

I've recently discovered that propane is priced in a weird way. It's not a set price like oil. The gas company charges you based on how much you used and you get a volume discount. So if you have propane heat and hot water heater and maybe a propane oven, you will likely get a much cheaper rate per gallon.

Part of that is the tank lease.  Most folks don't own their tank, so a portion of the per-gallon price is the lease of the tank.  Since the real lease price is not dependent upon fuel usage, the more gallons you use, the less that cost contributes to each gallon.

If you own your tank, you can generally get a flat per-gallon price.

Joe