BRRRRRRRR it's cold today

[cbass]

We've had snow and ice on the ground for weeks really srating to piss me off its been below freezing for like a month

[M Fowler]

Friggin cold up in Minnesota. Electric, gas (natural & LP), and oil rates have doubled. Myself and kids were faced with over $600 heating bills. Lowered the thermostat but still crazy expensive. Might need to move back to country living and burn wood again, or coal, or corn, or waste oil.

[Leo_Gnardo]

We've had snow and ice on the ground for weeks really srating to piss me off its been below freezing for like a month

I've been reminded of - and starting to consume - Jägertee. Tea, sugar, booze. Sing along with Fleetwood Mac - "You Make Shoveling Fun." Rum, vodka, cheap rotgut whiskey, all good. Raises the ambient temp @ 20 degrees, from the inside.

[Structo]

That is criminal when you have to pay about 1/3 or more of your monthly income just to keep warm.

I think if the inflated cost can be linked to a corrupt commissioner or other bureaucrat, they should be made to pay your heating bill for three or four months...... Then sent to jail.

Our electricity went out the other night at around 2:00am.
I knew it was going to suck when I got up to pee and the light switches didn't work.

You never realize how important the power is until it is gone.

Luckily the power was only out for about four hours.

My house is all electric.

We are on a equal pay system and I pay $136 every month.

My father in law in San Jose said his utility bill is around $1,000 a month for gas and electric.

[skyboltone]

We were all electric in Cowlitz County Worshington. We had a heat pump with a set of backup heating coils in the air handler. The coils almost never came on and when they did you could smell the dust burning off them. We paid 2.8 cents per KW hour in 1996. Can you imagine? All of the paper mills and Alcoa Aluminum generated excess electricity which was just dumped onto the grid. The County rebated it to us via low rates. $45 a month in December and Januaray. $50 a month in August; and that was in a 2800 square foot house. We had all windows facing the setting sun and it could get pretty warm on those long summer evenings.

I'd like to build another house. This time off-grid! Why should I give those people my money? I don't even like 'em.

[Phil_S]

It's back again, two nights of single digit temperatures in Baltimore! Been about 3 weeks of this on an off. This is really unheard of. Brrrrrrrr...... Springtime, will you ever arrive?

[Leo_Gnardo]

That is criminal when you have to pay about 1/3 or more of your monthly income just to keep warm.

I think if the inflated cost can be linked to a corrupt commissioner or other bureaucrat, they should be made to pay your heating bill for three or four months...... Then sent to jail.

There's been a spate of extra-cold weather in North America, I'm sure you're aware. That's one reason rates have gone up. Supply and demand, however...

Energy traders speculating on fuel feedstocks have more to do with jumps in your electric, gas, oil etc costs than anything. Even with a major glut of natural gas, utilities have to bid against these speculators to obtain fuel for their power plants. So rest assured, when you pay outrageous fuel bills, some fat cat multimillionares are benefiting from your misery. Hey they need bigger yachts to show off to each other, isn't that right Lovey, now let's open another bottle of Champagne.

If that isn't enough, let's add insult to injury. In my county, the legislature (almost all claim to be Conservative-Republican) and the Boy Wonder county commish, same C-R, just enacted a 4.5% tax on all heating fuel. To top it off they expect to collect the tax on firewood. Not only do they expect firewood dealers to collect and pass along the tax, but they want those who cut firewood on their own property to pay according to the average retail cost of a cord of wood. FAT F'N CHANCE that'll happen. And I thought the RC line was "no new taxes, cut taxes if anything." My next door neighbor had a 45 min jaw wag with the Boy Wonder and BW spent all his time explaining what a wonderful guy he (BW) is, ignoring the neighbor's points about problems that need to be solved. Neighbor and wife consider themselves teabag C-R's and without a doubt will continue to vote Boy Wonder and his friends to office anyway.

[Structo]

There ain't no such thing as a good politician anymore.....

They forget why the constitution was created and why they were sent as our representatives.

Off with their heads!

[NickC]

There ain't no such thing as a good politician anymore.....

They forget why the constitution was created and why they were sent as our representatives.

Off with their heads!

Hallelujah, and pass the ammo!

[Aurora]

Hi guys.....
I have been following the US weather situation with some interest, mainly based on an interest for climate problems. I don't want to offend anyone, but I'm sure the cold weater is a problem, particularly in areas where it is usually considered rather abnormal.

As for levels of cost, I'll give you some contrasts.....
Norway is all hydroelectric, - prices are roughly 15 cents pr kWh. It varies all the time, depending on a number of factors, but still is about the cheapest in Europe. Other european countries pay twice that, and even more.
About 20 years ago, when our beloved electees decided to join the european grid, in order to keep prices low due to competition, prices roughly doubled......
there is a national energy tax on electricity, but our three northermost counties don't pay VAT ( 25% ). The rest of the country do.....

Heater oil is appx 6-7 USD a gallon, and kerosene, which some still use, is probably around 8.5$ pr gallon.... Up until 10years ago, I had a central kerosene heater which used around 120 gallons for the usual 5-6 winter months aound here. I now use a heat pump, which at max uses 1.5 KW on constant blow. That is roughly what heats the living areas of our 1300 sg.ft house.....We do have a magnificent wood stove as backup , though....we are sort of on an end of the grid....

Commercial wood vendors have to pay VAT, but paying tsx for chopping your own wood is just plainly insane.

Hang in there.... march is just around the corner, and spring is next...
- or maybe not around here.... I'm at 69 deg. N.....

[Structo]

Our area used to be all hydro power as well but now the tree hugger's want to blow up all the dams because of the fish.

I thought each dam had a fish ladder?

Are the fish now too stupid to use the ladder?

So now our hydro dams are listed as non-renewable.

[Phil_S]

A friend took a short vacation to Iceland last winter (go figure) and told me they have geo thermal and it's free!

[Aurora]

Well, yes I think they mostly do, but somehow it's like living on the boiler...

[Leo_Gnardo]

Are the fish now too stupid to use the ladder?

I'll take the bait...

Not stupid, just diseducated. They've been hooked on watching Fox-4-Fish, listening to the water Rush by, distracted by all the senseless commo on their Fish-i-phones, playing games on Game-Fish boxes, practicing with their firearms to shoot fish in a barrel. Some are even hooked on drugs, what with people that flush pills down the toilet. A fish doesn't know what to do anymore! Sounds fishy to me.

But seriously,

In NY and New England some old and decrepit dams have been removed, not just for fishes' sake but to prevent dam-busting events that would be semi-catastrophic. AFAIK none of these were electric-power generating dams though some were for mill-ponds that were the hi tech energy source in the 1700-1800's.

[sepulchre]

Our area used to be all hydro power as well but now the tree hugger's want to blow up all the dams because of the fish.

I thought each dam had a fish ladder?

Are the fish now too stupid to use the ladder?

So now our hydro dams are listed as non-renewable.

I lean toward being green, but not ridiculously so. What do they want there, a reactor? Is that better than a dam? Or maybe a coal or oil fired plant?