NSTAR Gas Bill
Sep. 15th, 2009 11:40 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
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I was just looking at my gas bill from NSTAR and I noticed that last year, we were paying $1.64 per therm in Supply Charges. This year, those charges are 24.1c per therm. That is SEVEN times less than last year. Why was gas THAT expensive one year ago in this area and how can such wild fluctuations be allowed?
Edit: To clarify: this is comparing Aug 2009 with Aug 2008 (the NSTAR bill provides that info).
Edit: To clarify: this is comparing Aug 2009 with Aug 2008 (the NSTAR bill provides that info).
The short short version
Date: 2009-09-16 04:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-16 10:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-16 10:40 am (UTC)I think the spike last year was the anomaly...
Date: 2009-09-16 04:45 pm (UTC)The price per barrel of crude oil
Date: 2009-09-16 12:31 pm (UTC)Re: The price per barrel of crude oil
Date: 2009-09-16 12:47 pm (UTC)And since I always like to throw a little politics into the discussion whenever possible: this is one of the main drawbacks to the United States' refusal to tax energy to any significant degree. In countries where energy is already heavily taxed, economies are set up to treat it like a precious resource, so a doubling or tripling in the price of energy does not have the same impact on people's bottom line. Here in the US where fewer than half of all homes on the temperate parts of the country even have insulation in the walls, and the average car gets well below 30 miles to the gallon, compared to about 40+ in Europe (and not to mention that most people here need to drive to get to work), a wild increase in the price of energy is not only completely "allowed" (to quote from your original post), but it has real potential to bankrupt people in the process...
no subject
Date: 2009-09-16 02:15 pm (UTC)Hmmm, no I was saying that prices spiked to absurd levels
Date: 2009-09-16 04:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-16 02:23 pm (UTC)According to that article "NSTAR has filed a winter price of $0.7703 per therm, a substantial decrease from last year`s price of $1.2424 per therm. The last time NSTAR`s winter rate was this low was in January of 2003. If the new rate is approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, it would go into effect on November 1st. "
no subject
Date: 2009-09-16 04:12 pm (UTC)Well, CA put come caps on electriticy cost spikes
Date: 2009-09-16 04:42 pm (UTC)Re: Well, CA put come caps on electriticy cost spikes
Date: 2009-09-16 04:46 pm (UTC)Re: Well, CA put come caps on electriticy cost spikes
Date: 2009-09-16 05:26 pm (UTC)Re: Well, CA put come caps on electriticy cost spikes
Date: 2009-09-16 07:36 pm (UTC)Hedging is still controversial:
http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GGLS_en-USUS293US303&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=utility+hedging
Re: Well, CA put come caps on electriticy cost spikes
Date: 2009-09-16 08:10 pm (UTC)Re: Well, CA put come caps on electriticy cost spikes
Date: 2009-09-16 08:33 pm (UTC)The main point is that there have to be caps on both, neither, or on the wholesalers. Capping it only at the retail level leads to problems.
Re: Well, CA put come caps on electriticy cost spikes
Date: 2009-09-16 09:49 pm (UTC)I'm comparing it with the SAME month last year (August)...
Date: 2009-09-16 04:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-16 04:59 pm (UTC)