[w_pinkerton]

I was wondering if anyone else had heard about the power & light company's raising there rates due to people using less electricity. How is using less saving us money now?

I've also heard some states are raising the gas tax now because people are driving less, so less money to fix roads and such. Not only that, but gas prices are going back up now. I thought it used to be supply and demand, our demand is down and we supposedly dont have enough on hand anymore? it almost seems like we should just go back to our old habits

Sorry about the rant... its just frustrating.

 

[Mikeyboy_esq]

I don't know the circumstances of your local power company's rate...however, I once heard the following info that sounded surprising to me (not sure if its all true or not).

In Texas, I know they deregulated the retail electric power industry about 5 years ago or so for the purpose of allowing electric customers to choose who they buy electric power from. Before then, electric customers only had one choice when they wanted to buy electric power and that was the long existing utility company (who still own all the wires after deregulation). After deregulation, customers could choose another alternative: a new electric provider. The new electric power providers usually contract to buy power (that they will need to supply their customers) from independent power generators (NOT from the long-standing utility company). This deregulation is supposed to bring down retail rates for everyone and save customers money b/c of the added competition. However, what can sometimes occur is MORE INEFFICIENCY for the long-standing utility company customers. For example, when folks switch over to a new retail power company (perhaps one that buys most of its power from GREEN SOURCES, such as wind farms and water turbine damns), that means the long-existing utility company has to reduce its output from its own coal-burning power plants. That sounds like a good thing, but I'm told that these coal-powered plants are usually most efficient when running near 100% capacity. As a result, you have less efficient (meaning MORE costly) power output when measured on a per megawatt scale. While it seems counter-intuitive, there are odd factors like this that may cause the prices to go up for some customers (the customers of the long-existing utility company) when they should go down for everyone (in theory).

 

[Dude]

I'm not an expert by any means so please don't think that I'm implying that I am.
But, I am a Union Boilermaker. We build and repair power plants. In Indiana we use Coal Burners for the most part. Our president in his infinate wisdome has decided to tax the coal-burning powerplants out of existance. Then the EPA has given themselves authority that they have never had in the past that puts even more regulations on what the Energy Companies are allowed to do. So, with the combination of these two and I'm sure many more influences in this process, cost are going up for the Power Plants. They are not going to eat those cost, we are !!! We as recent as this past October had a job cancled in Indiana because the EPA would not let the Power Plant make needed upgrades and repairs. The job had been scheduled for months. This involves EPA permits and involvement at many levels. With over a month of pre-outage work already done and several hundred union workers on-site going thru Safety Orientation preparing to start the outage work, the EPA in their infanite wisdome and newly gained, self-implied power came in and stopped the work. Now, prior to this job being started their was pre-outage work form the engineers, several labour unions, plus all of the needed materials bought and paid for. I'm guessing MILLIONS of dollars spent with no exaduration what-so-ever. Do you think the Energy Company is going to eat that cost that the EPA had already sighed off on, then steps in with new authority at the latest possaible minute and kills the job ??? Now another thing that is causing rates to rise is the fact that "some" companies had been working with a set-rate that they were allowed to charge customers for the amount of energy that they used. This was a limitation that they agreed to with the governing states that they operated in. It was a contract. Well that contract time has lappsed. They had to show that the prior rate was not making them a profit and they were allowed to increase what they were charging to remain in business. So as you can see with just my limited knowledge on the Energy Industry there are several reasons for rate increase's.
It's not ALL the fault of the Energy Company. But their profits should be held in check, as well as Oil & Gas refinery's !!! They have to make a profit to continue to run the business and explore better ways to do so but put a cap on it somewhere. I don't mind paying my "fair share", as long as it's fair !!!

and you thought you could rant ...... hahaha

 

[Darrell]

preach it brother...

going green with a kawie is one thing... the going green for the environment is a joke, something else to tax us on... sick of hearing it, sick of the media pushing it

 

[w_pinkerton]

wow, very interesting perspectives. its nice talking to people who work in these industry's.

I have no problems with people/companys making some money, i know these refinery's need to be kept up on maintenance and the new technology to make them more efficient (god knows it isn't cheap either), but like Dude said... there should be a cap on what they make. our income is going down and the cost of living keeps going up. it has to stop somewhere.

 

[rpm]

A few points of interest to show that all this "Green" Crap is just a way for people to make more money on the backs of the taxpayer

I live in a town with a Large Waterway Port. Those giant "Green" Windmills that they are putting up in the Columbia Gorge come in to our port on FORIEGN Ships and are transported down I-5 by way of evil fossil burning trucks. If you drive through the Columbia Gorge on any given day, you can see fields of Giant Windmills on both the WA and OR side. Funny part is that every time I go through there, most of them are just sitting there NOT spinning. :huh:

I went and bought a new car a while back here. I had a choice between the standard version and an Electric Hybrid. The difference in price was about $4500. I talked to the Owner of the dealership and he told me that he didn't think the Hybrid was worth the extra money. He told me that one of the things they don't tell you about the batteries in those Hybrids is that they will have to be changed out about every 7 years at a cost of about $2400 (Parts & Labor). Not to mention, what are they going to do with all those used up batteries.

The House has already passed the Cap In Trade Bill and thankfully, it has stalled in the Senate. This is hands down the Scariest bill (Cost wise to us) that our government (Obama) has come up with in a long time. It will cause EVERYTHING to go up by Taxing Carbon Output used in the production of EVERYTHING. It has stalled in the Senate and doesn't look like it is going to get passed. You are thinking GREAT!!!! Not so fast. Obama wants this regardless of wether the Congress passes it or not. That is why the EPA has now been given the power to take the need for Congress to make and pass a law dealing with Cap In Trade away from them and under the control of the EPA. This completely circumvents Congress and our representatives there in. Basically, it takes the Constitution, crumples it up and throws it in the garbage.

 

[ncrider]

This wea sent to me yesterday. I thought it was very interesting.
Subject: FW: OIL - YOU BETTER SIT DOWN
About 6 months ago, the writer was watching a news program on oil and one

of the Forbes Bros. was the guest. The host said to Forbes, "I am going to

ask you a direct question and I would like a direct answer; how much oil

does the U.S. have in the ground?" Forbes did not miss a beat, he said,

"more

than all the Middle East put together." Please read below.

The U. S. Geological Service issued a report in April 2008 that only

scientists and oil men knew was coming, but man was it big. It was a revised

report (hadn't been updated since 1995) on how much oil was in this area of

the western 2/3 of North Dakota, western South Dakota, and extreme eastern

Montana ..... check THIS out:

The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska's Prudhoe

Bay, and has the potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign

oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion

barrels. Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable... at $107 a barrel,

we're looking at a resource base worth more than $5..3 trillion.

"When I first briefed legislators on this, you could practically see their

jaws hit the floor. They had no idea.." says Terry Johnson, the Montana

Legislature's financial analyst.

"This sizable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in

the past 56 years," reports The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. It's a formation

known as the Williston Basin, but is more commonly referred to as the

'Bakken.' It stretches from Northern Montana, through North Dakota and into

Canada. For years, U. S. oil exploration has been considered a dead end.

Even

the 'Big Oil' companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades ago.

However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken's

massive reserves.... and we now have access of up to 500 billion barrels.

And

because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost

Americans just $16 PER BARREL!

That's enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 2041 years

straight. And if THAT didn't throw you on the floor, then this next one

should

because it's from 2006!

U. S. Oil Discovery- Largest Reserve in the World

Stansberry Report Online - 4/20/2006

Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the

largest untapped oil reserve in the world. It is more than 2 TRILLION

barrels.

On August 8, 2005 President Bush mandated its extraction. In three and a

half years of high oil prices none has been extracted. With this

motherload of

oil why are we still fighting over off-shore drilling?

They reported this stunning news: We have more oil inside our borders,

than all the other proven reserves on earth. Here are the official

estimates:

8-times as much oil as Saudi Arabia

18-times as much oil as Iraq

21-times as much oil as Kuwait

22-times as much oil as Iran

500-times as much oil as Yemen

and it's all right here in the Western United States .

HOW can this BE? HOW can we NOT BE extracting this? Because the

environmentalists and others have blocked all efforts to help America become

independent of foreign oil! Again, we are letting a small group of people

dictate

our lives and our economy.....WHY?

James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says we've got more oil in

his very compact area than the entire Middle East -more than 2 TRILLION

barrels untapped. That's more than all the proven oil reserves of crude

oil in

the world today, reports The Denver Post.

Don't think 'OPEC' will drop its price - even with this find? Think again!

It's all about the competitive marketplace, - it has to. Think OPEC just

might be funding the environmentalists?

Got your attention yet? Now, while you're thinking about it, do this:

Pass this along. If you don't take a little time to do this, then you

should stifle yourself the next time you complain about gas prices - by

doing

NOTHING, you forfeit your right to complain.

Now I just wonder what would happen in this country if every one of you

sent this to every one in your address book.

By the way...this is all true.. Check it out at the link below!!!

GOOGLE it, or follow this link. It will blow your mind.

(http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911)

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911_

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911)