Electricity & Gas costs

[Glesgalass]

I'm interested to know what the costs are for electricity & gas around the world. What does it cost you per month/year to run your household?

Elda

[Euan]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

Elda, we don't have gas, but our last quarterly electricity bill was $18.

[Diane]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

Hey Elda,
Here in Texas we pay 11.9 cents per kWh a month. My monthly bills are obviously affected by how high the A/C is turned to or how much heat is needed in the colder months. This is what I have paid monthly.
9-11 - $244.89, 10-11 - $109.53, 11-11 - $173.22, 12-11 - $187.20, 1-12 - $133.44. I can't believe Euan only paid $18 quarterly. Hmmm, I wonder why??? Oh, we don't have any gas in our house so I can't help you there. Hope this helps.

[FriedaKateM]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

HI, Elda....I use propane gas only for my furnace, & having used this particular company just since last March 2011, I've had two fills, once when they put in the tanks, & once recently. The gas fill recent was $348. I think it might just be twice a year. Then I belong to an electric cooperative, & recently my monthly bill has been just $85. Here's something interesting though, as I am a senior citizen, my real estate taxes for this 2 acres & house, were only $28.00 for the entire year. You didn't mention what your costs are....Fill us in? See you...Joan

[Glesgalass]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

I can't believe Euan either. Unless he has solar in which he generates electricity for his own use. I just think that people here in Australia whinge about the costs when they don't know how lucky they are.
We pay quarterly here and my last gas bill for quarter ending 15th Dec was $117.74. I have gas cooking, hot water & heating but there wouldn't have been any heating costs in that one since it was our spring/summer. My winter gas bill is usually up towards the $300 mark. My electricity for quarter ending 16th Nov was $172.47 which probably included a bit of aircon.

Elda

[Euan]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

Yes,we have Solar power... We have 12 panels on the roof. Our bill fluctuates depending on the season and how much sun we have.Sometimes it's around $30-40 but our last one was the smallest.

[Glesgalass]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

I reckon, in Australia, solar power should be standard, even mandatory, with all new houses. I think I was one of the first in Oz to get solar hot water almost 30 years ago when we lived in Sydney. It's crazy to have all this sunshine and not put it to use.

With the droughts we suffered in the past 5 years or so in our area, it is now compulsory to build an underground rain water storage tank with all new houses and for it to supply the toilets and laundry with water.

Elda

[Euan]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

Elda, the problem with too many people with solar power in a neighborhood is it overloads the system.Up here some people have solar panels fitted only to find out they can't get it connected to the grid. The best course of action is to check with Energex or your electricity supplier to make sure you can be connected to the grid first.
As for water...don't get me started...We have more water than we can cope with, every dam in Queensland is full or overflowing and it comes from the sky free, and we pay through the nose for it!

[Glesgalass]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

Yes, you are right Euan. Now that we no longer have drought conditions the price of water should be reduced.

Elda

[sandyc]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

Out in Western Canada now and just catching up. We pay £65 per month for electricity in Scotland to light, heat and cook. We do not have gas. I got it down from £111 per month by making sure the water heater was only on every 2nd day - still far too hot but that is a different subject. We only heat one room...
I forget what I pay in Ontario - but we pay by monthly Direct debit and usually they end up owing us some money that also includes water and sewerage charges. There are no direct water usage charges in Scotland. A levy is made as a %age of the property taxes. In England there are private water companies who do charge by usage.
Sandy

[Glesgalass]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

In some areas here water is included in your council rates and you are only charged extra for excess use of your allowance. While water costs have risen they are still not really a big issue. Mine has gone from between $20-$30 to between $60-$70 per quarter so it is not a huge outlay over a 3 month period. But, the point is that we have plenty of water now, so the price should be reduced.

If I remember correctly you get charged extra in Scotland too if you use an excessive amount of water.

Elda

[sandyc]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

Elda,
I've never heard of extra water charges in Scotland. I don't know how the water board could figure that out because we don't have any water meters.

Sandy

[Glesgalass]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

My memory may be faulty Sandy but I did think I'd heard about excess water charges in Scotland. Specifically a girl I worked with who was building a new house in ??????? There we go, I can't remember the name of the place but it was near Cumbernauld and is actually now a part of Cumbernauld.

Elda

[1938 Observer]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

My memory may be faulty Sandy but I did think I'd heard about excess water charges in Scotland. Specifically a girl I worked with who was building a new house in ??????? There we go, I can't remember the name of the place but it was near Cumbernauld and is actually now a part of Cumbernauld.

Elda

Elda,
That may have been a mains connection fee as it was a new house.
Gordon,

[sandyc]

Re: Electricity & Gas costs

If she was building the house herself then it probably was a connection charge.
Sandy