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Now the Power Company is Judging Me
As an adult, you begin to understand more about some of the rules that your parents enforced. For example, when you flipped the wall switch, the lights came on. I knew not to leave the light on when I left the room, because my parents had to pay for the power that made the light come on. We children were tasked with not wasting electricity, because I knew that we paid money for it, so shutting off the light when you left the room was the rule.
But, not one time do I recall hearing my parents fuss about anything to do with this utility, except for whatever money they were required to pay to maintain the service.
Last week, I received my power bill from the local electric company. I know that in the summer months it will be a little higher than the winter months, because we live in the Mojave Desert, and we use air conditioning more in August than in January. No problem, I budget for it, and my adult self now knows just how much money paying that bill takes.
But, this month’s electric bill included an extra page: it was titled “Home Energy Performance.” Guess what? We’re only FAIR…with a drawing of a glum-faced light bulb next to the highlighted word “Fair.” If we had been better at our energy consumption, we might have a more cheerful looking light bulb face and the words “GOOD” or even “GREAT” would be highlighted. There was also a little bar graph to show how we compared to similar, nearby homes, and we were not looking good there, either. We spent $140 MORE on electricity than efficient homes.
We are terrible people.
Is that what the power company is trying to communicate? I pay their bill every month. You’d think that they would be delighted to get more money from me than from those efficient neighbors (whoever they are.)
Am I being ridiculous here? I feel that if I pay my stupid bill on time every month, I don’t need a lecture from the power company! It’s not like I’m trying to have a large electric bill. I still shut off lights in rooms when I leave. I have a gas cooking range.
Am I getting this shaming letter because of the need to save the earth? How am I harming the earth with my electricity use? Somebody help me here.
Published in Technology
I’m with Fritz.
There is no reason whatsoever to harangue people into using less electricity (or water or whatever the case may be). All the utility needs to do is raise the price until the quantity demanded declines to equal the quantity supplied. Then each of us gets to decide if we prefer to spend our discretionary income on making our homes really cool in summer or on eating in better quality restaurants.
Except that they are regulated and cannot set their own prices.
Besides, if you use pricing mechanisms whereby people make their own decisions, it could get out of hand. And who knows where that could end. People might get the idea of electing their own government, and nobody wants that.
Just tell them what I always tell those who think they can and should criticize the resource usage of my lifestyle:
I’m greener than Gore!™
The utility can go to the regulator and ask for a change in prices, and will get it if it can show that its profits are less than the prescribed amount. And if that’s not the case my analysis merely shifts to the regulator to do what is necessary to make the quantity demanded equal the quantity supplied. After all, it is the regulator as much or more than the utility that has the goal of conservation of the resource in mind.
Don’t even get me started about the water utility!!! We are constantly harangued through media and letters and in our bills about water usage. And, hey, we live in a desert. I understand, I try to conserve.
But a little stream of water ran down the gutter on our street for two and a half weeks before anyone from the water guys came out to fix it. There was water gurgling out from the sidewalk opening in front of a vacant house. I called. My neighbors called. I called again and the poor lady I got to talk to (I was nice, but firm) pointed out that, yes, they’d had numerous calls, and there was a process that had to be undertaken with the electric company and the street people, etc. etc. etc.
It was fixed two days ago. TWO AND A HALF WEEKS. Yet, if our consumption exceeds a certain amount, we get charged a heavy fee for that higher consumption.
Sorry…I did say, “Don’t get me started…”
California is a dystopia run by a crule elite.
Send in your bill payment with a rating on their performance in the MYOB category. Or to put it in plain English:
“I don’t give sh[CoC] about your opinion of my home’s energy performance.”
Then include a picture of your middle finger with a frowny face drawn on it . . .
I signed up for electronic billing and haven’t received a printed bill for years, yet PG&E periodically mails me printed reports on my household energy use. They are killing trees and wasting resources in their attempt to shame me into using less power.
I’m not against public shaming of people who waste electricity or water, but would prefer it to be done at a local, non-government level, at least in part. But shaming can do only so much. Pigovian energy taxes can also be used to control waste of energy resources, giving people a means to make their own decisions on how to allocate their consumption of resources.
When regulators pressure utility companies into doing the shaming, that’s just pressuring them into hypocrisy. The goal of the utilities should be to make money, and the goal of regulators should be to keep them from abusing the vast powers, often monopolistic powers, that they are given to operate in public rights of way, etc.
I’ve been arguing with the local electric company about a device they have on my hot water tank. All the water tanks in the apts are in a separate lower room. The owner of apts pays for the water, tenant pays for electricity. The device controls when I can have hot water. They claim they only control availability from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., and from 7:p.m. to 10 p.m., however, I got up about 2 a.m. one morning and turned on hot water in my bath to work out some leg cramps. Less than two minutes later the water went cold. I don’t get enough hot water to take a full shower. I finally called them last month and insisted they take the device of my tank, and the lady insisted I would lose my $4 discount. About this time I lost my temper, told her I didn’t care about the (coc) $4, when I want hot water, I want it! Not just when they say I can have it.
So, okay the device is inactive now. Got my new electric bill several days ago and guess? It’s $2 less than last month.
I’m against it. If people pay for a product, it’s their’s to use as they see fit. Now, if there’s a drought and we’re asked to cut back? Only then does it make sense.
You go girl!
If there’s a drought, and therefore a reduced supply of water, the economically sensible approach would be to increase the price of water until demand matches supply. Tightly-regulated utilities are usually prohibited from doing this, but it would be more effective and less intrusive than the micromanaging rules that prohibit people from watering their lawns on certain days or using running water to wash their own cars.