The Con Ed bill came this morning. $54.92. Now I dunno, that seems a little high. Not as high as August when it was over $150, but high. I’m not running any fans or airconditioners, I don’t leave lights on when I’m not in a room, I switched over to CFLs on all my lights…it doesn’t make sense. So I sit down and really read my bill.
Supply charges:
$22.50 for 206 kWh – That’s my charge for the energy supplied to me. Okay.
$0.54 – That’s a tax. Okay.
Delivery charges (otherwise known as, The Part That Pissed Me Off):
$12.57 – Basic service charge for my 206 kWh that I’ve used. I read the small print and am told that this is for basic system infrastructure and customer-service charges. So basically, I am paying for this 206 kWh TWICE. Thanks, Con Ed.
$15.34 – Delivery charge. This apparently maintains the system that I get my 206 kWh through. I’m getting charged THREE TIMES for the fucking electricity, because really, what the hell is the difference between maintaining the system and maintaining system infrastructure?
$0.47 – tax for renewable energy programs. I’m cool with this. We should have renewable energy programs. So that we don’t get butt raped by Con Ed every month.
$1.39 – Tax on the delivery charges. Because it wasn’t enough that they taxed me for the electricity the first time, they had to get me for the two other times they charged me for the electricity as well.
Thank you, Con Ed. After going through this bill, I feel like Kevin Bacon in Animal House: “Please sir, may I have another?” Except Kevin Bacon had a choice, he could have joined a different fraternity. Me? Not so much. Fucking monopolies.
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Holy. Shit. Maybe you should look into buying lots of candles?
Vultures.
Dont forget (unless they changed it since I moved out of Bklyn 3 yrs ago) about any surcharge that they add onto ALL utility bills for MTA Funded type of nonsense. That always would piss me off!
I can so identify with you on this one. I have a similar gripe about Mediacom and their high speed internet service. It would seem that the $45 or so they charge a month isn’t enough so they tack on a $15 line fee. Turns out the fee is to run the cable from the box outside to the house which isn’t even fifty feet away. Oh and did I mention that because we live in a townhome, that cable is potentially (not sure who all subscribes) supplying seven other houses than our own?
Oh but here’s the real kicker, cable went out one day so I called up Mediacom to find out what was going on. They said they turned off our signal because we weren’t subscribers. I then told them that we when we first signed up for the service seven years ago, the service people said we would be getting cable tv as part of the package. That’s when the woman I was talking to decides to tell me I was misinformed and oops sorry their bad for SEVEN years and one change of residence. She then says if you want to pay an extra $5/month, you can have channels 2 – 22 (basically all the worthless ones) or if I pay another $50/month I can have all the channels I did before. EXCUSE ME? I then mentioned the $15 fee to her and that’s when I get the explanation I spoke about above. I said, “So what you’re telling me is that even though I’m paying 3/4 of a cable tv bill (the basic cable she said I could get for $5/month more would cost a tv only subscriber $20/month), I can’t have any television channels.” She wouldn’t admit it in so many words but that’s exactly what it is. As if I wasn’t already livid enough at this point, I asked the woman how long it would take them to come back out to take the filters off if I wanted to subscribe (yah right ya thieves) – 2 weeks oh but when I mentioned there were like three cable stations that were still coming through, she said she would have someone out there right away to put a filter on for those. *RE* I tell you I would have dropped their service then and there but The Englishman has to have a cable internet connection for work and Mediacom is our only option. Fucking thieving monopolies indeed!
Well, since I have mine budget billed, I’m paying 174 per month. And I haven’t used AC or heat in October. Most of my lightbulbs are burned out because my electricity runs wonky, and they pop constantly. And I lose power about 3 or 4 times a week, so my computer LOVES it.
I use Ameren. The one’s all over the news. And they are begging the state to raise prices again this year.
Our bill is always around $400, so it’s hard to sympathize. And you live in New York City! I would gladly trade electric bills and venues with you.
You’re gonna make yourself nuts here.
Just keep repeating “MONOPOLY.”
Nothing we can do, alas.
I too am on a budget. But it’s pretty reasonable. Of course, energy in general is cheaper out here than in the City, but monopolies can be a pain in the ass.
Doesn’t matter that you live in NYC Julie- Florida Power & Light ( AKA- Florida Pillage & Loot) tacks on so many charges after the initial cost of power- I’d need a PHD in economics to figure them out.
And hell- they’re still charging us to “catch up” on all the expenses they incured during the ’04 hurricanes. Which, as a Fla. based company- they should have been at least moderately prepared for………
NOT!
This is why I’m seriously looking into getting a wood burning stove. Not that I’m crazy about having burning wood in my house again but its better than the power/gas bills I’ll be paying. Plus, living in WV and having parents on a farm, all my wood would be free, except to transport. Fucking bullshit tack-on fees… bullshit.
Nanner~I know a few people who have wood-burning stoves and they seem to work very well. Sounds like you’ve got a way to beat the system, do eeet!
KC~That’s just ridiculous – only in this country could big business get away with something like that. I’d like to make someone else pay for *my* lack of planning!
Vince~Yes, yes they can.
Lisa~It’s enough to make you want to move to another country where “monopoly” is only a game. Does such a place exist?
Geewits~The question is this: how many people are living at your place? It’s just me and the cats and occasionally Rick at my place, and with all the energy saving steps I’ve taken, it shouldn’t be above $35 a month.
Jamie~One word: kids. Kids will run up your electric bill faster than anything because they don’t seem to understand turning lights off when they’re not in a room. They also like all the power-gobbling tech…actually, I do too, but I turn it off and unplug it when I’m not using it.
FD~You win, that story they gave you is bullshit. I hate that big business can pull shit out of their ass, and we’re forced to live with it. It doesn’t make any sense, but since they said it, we have to accept it. Not right.
Nancy~I didn’t see it, but it wouldn’t surprise me. The MTA is a bunch of money-grubbing assholes as well. We’re looking at another fare hike soon. Feh.
Grace~Rick does that at his place. In the evening, it’s all about the tealights. Unfortunately, Julie needs a little more light to knit by. Maybe I should just stick to spinning after a certain time of evening – I could do that in the dark…
What about those old – fashioned oil lamps? They should provide more light.
Grace~It’s a good idea, but I worry that Freddie the spazz-cat would knock them over. He does the Brooklyn 500 through my house a couple times a day and we’re never sure what will get broken when he’s done (the route varies).