There is a pending energy issue looming just beyond the horizon that is going to become a major issue very soon. Electricity rates, natural gas costs and home heating oil prices increased massively due to Joe Biden energy policy. However, things are likely to get much worse in a few months.
On the issue of oil and gasoline prices, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has dropped 40% since Joe Biden began using it to offset massive global prices increases in oil. However, Biden is doing nothing to increase production and has not engaged energy producers in conversation to expand domestic production. Non pretending warning HERE.
Ultimately what this means is another wave of sicky price increases for gasoline are coming fast.
Additionally, Mark Wolfe, director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), is warning that continued pressure on natural gas supplies by exporting U.S. production to Europe is going to make our electricity rates go even higher as more than 40% of U.S. electricity generated comes from the use of natural gas. Wolfe wrote a letter in October to Energy Secretary Granholm [SEE HERE], and the situation is unfolding exactly as he warned.
Electricity rates have jumped massively in the past year, and it looks like they are going to continue to rise. The spring and summer of 2023 looks to deliver another round of higher oil prices, higher natural gas prices, higher electricity prices and higher gasoline prices. Which brings me to the question…
It is challenging to find solid data (without noise) on regional electricity, home heating and natural gas prices. However, Treehouse readers consistently provide the most accurate assessments of reality on the ground. You guys are the experts in checkbook economics. So, I ask you the question:
How much have your electricity, natural gas and/or home heating costs increased in the past year?
In California, the installed cabal want you unemployed, dependent, and illegal. In return your utility costs can be at least partially subsidized by the government.
Actually, if you look at your energy bill in California there’s a charge item called “public purpose” where YOU are paying the energy costs for the unemployed, dependent and illegal!
I never bothered looking it up yet still I already know. Why even bother looking it up?
LeftTheGOP: As full-price customers, we are all paying to “carry along” tens of millions of people who cannot, don’t want to, or will not pay for services for which they otherwise lack the funds.
SC between Charlotte and Columbia. No big moves. Hope it helps me sell my 3000 sf house on the lake with prop taxes of $2500.This is why Ileft the west coast. Just wanting to downsize. Unnoticed leaving her for anything! Nothing could be finer than to be in (South) Carolina!
Hey SC neighbor! We moved out of Charlotte to the anti-vax and anti-mask country in SC at the peak of Covid. We did notice our water rates seemed much higher here, but all in all we are 100% more happy on this side of the border. We now consider NC to be in enemy territory.
Hi, Laurie….off-topic, but I wonder if you can tell me about your home for sale. I don’t know how to directly contact you; and I know neither of us would like to publish coordinates to the public. If you can do it, I’d like to know your coordinates; house specifics; price, etc.
Not to steal a sale from Laurie, but my 80 acre ranch, number 1 water rights and a 5400 square foot house is for sale in western Colorado.
Still, since Biden has done so much for the housing market. /s
…and my taxes are cheaper.
What scares me most about Colorado is; it rains in South Carolina, North Carolina.
It’s actually been wetter from early fall to now than it has been in several years.
In RI the distribution charges are similar, but the energy charges for electricity went up 63% this winter over last, and the natural gas went up 11%
Not surprised, National Grid are rapacious
My electric for 2022 was under $600. No solar power with a well. I just received a pamphlet from FPL regarding costs that is mind boggling detailed to the point of being indecipherable.
I am not concerned with my direct cost as I can control that. What concerns me are the indirect costs (schools, government building) that I can not control.
Well, I will put it this way. Last year I could get natural gas into my house for 59.6 cents/therm. Right now, if I had to renew my contract, the best rate would be 78.5 cents/therm, that is a 33% increase. Forget about gasoline, everyone knows those have doubled since 2020.
About a 38% increase in Natural Gas for the suburbs of Pittsburgh PA.
Don’t worry. Fetterman will save pa!! Very sarcastic
Fetterneck will tell voters to put on another hoodie to stay warm.
In NM my gas bill is over $450 for the month of December, compared to $320 for the same month in 2021. Our Electricity bill is about $70 higher than it was last year. My wife & I are scared.
Here in NJ electric still the same(don’t look at rates, just the bill) propain went up about 10%, I heat with wood and a cord went up $20.00 due to the price of gas which is hovering around $3.30 for reg. My fuel cost for my biz last year doubled and I did fewer service calls.
The increase in rates as calculated from Bill received in Jan 2021 (Usage in Dec 2020) to bill received in Jan 2023 (usage in Dec 2022) has been 58% for electric and 10% for gas. That’s over 2 years.
Gas remained stable because I signed a multi year contract with Constellation Energy for a fixed rate ($.549 per therm) in the Fall of 2021.
Had I remained with BGE rates are way up:
Gas Commodity Prices: Schedule D – Residential and
Schedule C – General Service
Please note that historical rates may not be an accurate indicator of future prices.
(Rates stated in dollars/therm)
Month ….2020……. 2021……….2022………… 2023
Jan ……..$0.4120….$0.4027…. $0.5966…… $0.9299
GB Bari,
You are doing better than we are in Oklahoma.
As posted earlier, we are paying $10.20 /Dth, or $ 1.02/therm.
Amarillo, Texas. All electric
2020 – 2022 No change except for 40%/50% increase in summer months.
2023-so far, 20% for January from last years bill in January.
Scary what the summers bills will be, this year.
What I woke up to today. Stay warm.
Gas for my car, natural gas for my stove and furnace have more than tripled. I don’t know for sure about electricity yet because I’m on a “balanced billing program” so I pay the same amount each month unless the outstanding figure gets above a certain $ amount. Since this is only January I don’t know when that will be, probably next month although I turn off everything electric except what stays running all the time like my fridge and my freezers, etc. I try to only run the dishwasher when necessary otherwise I wash my dishes by hand now, I’m used to doing it that way. It’s how I grew up! I wish I had a fireplace but now they’re outlawing the use of those, too. I’m just wondering what is going to be next to come down the pike with these dimwit democraps who pretend to be “in charge”. I’d like to know what they’re in charge of besides fibbing. Even mike pence has turned out to be a dimwit, more dem than repub for sure. You can’t trust anyone these days. No on in gubmint, for sure. Clean house ans start over with new freaks! As long as money remains an incentive in politics, we’re totally only going to have freaks to work with.
Northern Michigan – ran some numbers quick and my electric bill is up more than 20% for the month of December from 2020 to 2022. My gas bill is up more than 28% from December 2021 to December 2022.
$500 -184 – 185 – 323 ELEC
$ 47 – 62 – 137 – 240 GAS
Sept – Oct – Nov – December
AC for Sept, October and November were mild but December we had highs of below zero.
Our HVAC system broke years ago. By the time we scrounged up the money to get it fixed we discovered it was half the cost to heat and cool only the rooms we occupy with hot oil heaters and window A/C units.. The utility companies think we are seriously energy conservationists, they have given us some really good usage rates for years.. Currently our electric cost is up a little less than 18% while the natural gas rate is up about 27%.. We have one of the highest water rates in the state, one would think we live in Key West or Florida in general.. We got notice yesterday there well now be a $3.75 service charge for auto draft payments via our banking institution.. turns out my bank knew nothing about it, the clearing services will now be processed by a 3rd party.. sent registered letter to city wanting to know who this 3rd party is, when this bid was posted, how they determined this fee was reasonable..
I am willing to bet that some member in the local government, a congressman, state senator, or city council member, owns this third party corporation, which charges the $3.75 service charge. And, they probably own it indirectly or someone who finances their campaign owns it.
There is a scandal in Charlotte NC where a city council member owns a very significant percentage of a construction company and this construction company is awarded many contracts by the city to develop various municipal projects. The ownership percentage exceeds by far what is allowed by law for a city council member. This is an example of corruption to which you are subjected.
I simply do not trust the politicians anymore, not even a little bit. Charging $3.75 to shuffle paper that was free since the founding of the city does not pass the smell test.
If I were joe biden I would think twice before asking those guys who worked on the Dakota or Keystone II pipelines to start those up again. Even though they probably still need those jobs, they would probably not say nice things to him and I doubt they would give a rat’s red arse what biden thinks of them either. They’d stuff his face into his mistakes, for sure. 😉
every month our electric bill go up $30 a month i shake clothes 10x before putting into dryer 30 minutes and if still damp put them on dryer rack as wrinkles are gone and our heat goes on at 68 degrees
I have a folding drying rack that I use until items are only damp, then toss them in the dryer for 5-10 minutes.
Dry clothes outside.
Not in 20 degree weather. Need a green house or a warm garage.
Climate. Clothes dry in 30 minutes in the Yucatan. No dryer needed. Dry season now. Rainseason we dry indoors..or hope no rain for an hour…lol
At this point, only towels, bed linens, socks and unmentionables go into the dryer. Everything else is dried on racks. Laundry day has taken in a new meaning in our home.
Try this–put dry towel in with load of laundry.
I read that here and tried it!
Really cuts the drying time.
Southern Indiana near Louisville. Not as bad here as many others are reporting. About a third more expensive for utilities.
I am fairly consistant in my usage of electricity here in S.E PA. January 2021 was $98.26 for 606 kwh, January 2022 was $98.07 for 549 kwh and January 2023 was $124.44 for 601 kwh. My bills are broken down into 2 categories, delivery and generation. The generation charges went from $0.0799 per kw in 2021 to $0.1149 per kwh in 2023. Propane $3.73 per gallon this month and $4.48 per gallon in March of 2022 so a good drop in price there. I stocked up on wood pellets (how I heat my house) this past summer and the price was around the same a year before that.
Northern VA. Electricity is doing the seasonal normal up and down summer to winter for the past 3 years. I do a yearly contract for natural gas for heating and cooking. Starting next month it will be up 9% to a little over $100 per month for the next year. Somewhat concerned … Gov Youngkin said he has worked on capping the state controlled utilities since he came into office. My concern there is will they (say electric) suddenly be out of business ’cause they couldn’t keep up with their supply. The unknown is there is a nuclear plant down in central VA that could be keeping the prices down.
Overall haven’t felt the expected up tic that a lot have experienced. What I am seeing is the extreme price changes seem to be where it is a co-op that can’t keep their supply costs under control.
Petro for the car – Exxon has had the best prices the past couple of years – went up to about $4.90/gal but is just under $4.00 with BiteMe using up the national reserves. Working from home so the commuting expense has not been an issue.
Here in Southern Iowa gasoline is $3.20 a gallon. We are on rural electric and it is averaging about $30 more a month. Propane is up about 50 cents a gallon compared to last year. We just bought 500 gallons a couple weeks ago.
We installed a wood stove last fall so it is helping us not use as much propane. We have 25 acres so we have plenty of wood. We have not purchased any wood.
Electric has increased 28% and propane is currently $3.59 a gallon, up $.24 in one month.
In New York State our female gender Governor is planning to ban all gas powered appliances by 2030. Everything will be electric for new homes and replacements. This has been a mild winter thus far but our electric has increased from .04 KW to .09 KW and delivery is up. This state is sitting on over 200 years of natural gas but fracking is not allowed. Next up will be no wood burning stoves….
Last year my natural gas went up from $33/mo. to $55/mo.
My electricity went down, about $10-15/mo., to about $55/mo.
However, my electricity is from hydropower.
Natural gas & electricity 35% up this year. In the NW ,Gasoline has doubled since President Trump 🇺🇸🤬🇺🇸
NE Washington St. Total electricity bill was $105 for November but jumped to $200 in December due to us not using the wood stove as much. Once we recover from a surgery, we’ll go back to 100% wood heat. That $200 per month is for all of the heat, well water, lights etc for both the house and shop. We’re part of an electric co-op so the rates are pretty reasonable.
I live in a rural area of Manitoba Canada. We have abundant cheap hydro electricity. Natural gas does not reach us. We use electric heat in a central electric forced air furnace. This means we are paying only a small amount more for electricity compared to last year, about 2% and a if that is additional taxes. Most of Canada uses natural gas for heat and my children tell me their gas costs have sky rocketed. most of that is Trudeau’s carbon tax.
In iowa we have a utility board that regulates rates, the electric companies have gotten around the rate issue by using service charges for their method of increasing rates by 40%. Remember as we become more efficient we use less so profits go down, so lets just add service charges onto the bill to make up the difference. I am an Alliant energy user, the other large electric provider for the state is mid american energy which is under the warren buffet umbrella. Tax payers have paid billions for wind energy in iowa and the rates still increase.
we have an outside wood boiler and we’re surrounded by a dead ash forest,havent paid for heat or hot water in 13 yrs just fuel for saws and splitter!😄😄Hold my beer Greta!!
Central KY: Electric here is 0.0706 per kWh. Then they add a $20 connection fee and a power cost adjustment of $27 and then $4 for franchise fee and $4 for school taxes.
December total was $167 for an all electric 1600 sq ft home. This December was colder than usual. December, January and February are the most costly months. The rest of the year the combined electric and water bill is usually under $100.
Southern California–gas central heat and tankless water heater, gas cooktop–bill was $135.80 in January, 2022. Despite using 20 less therms over the same time period as last year, my current gas bill is $336.12, an increase of 147.5%. A dozen eggs today at Aldi’s was $5.72 for NON organic eggs. FJB.
We paid double to fill our oil tank this past summer. Electricity has gone up almost double. Electricity has always been expensive in New Hampshire. Many people use propane or wood as supplements for heating. We heat with a combination of heat pumps, oil furnaces, and on really cold days, wood. We have a long house and don’t use part of it most of the winter, so we keep it at 50 deg. with one of our furnaces. This cuts down significantly on costs during the winter.
propane up just over 50%
electricity up about 100 %
New Hampshire
My electric is up 30%. Don’t drive much so not effected much by gas increase.
I just checked the K1 price from my old oil company. It’s more than double the price since I left Maine. I’d be freezing if I didn’t move.
Double, at least
Sundance
I live in Alabama but work on an Engineering project in Kentucky.
My home is in Alabama, and I have a small apartment in Ky.
So far there have been no increases in Electricity or Gas in Alabama.
I have been remote but watch what news media we have. All of the major Papers in Alabama were bought up and balled into a single web site called AL.com. It is ultra-liberal progressive and so has less readers than CNN etc.
What carries it is sports reporting on the two colleges, Alabama and Auburn. So, it is primarily a sports news service.
I did read a small article a few weeks ago that said the Tennessee Valley Association (TVA) did go woke (it’s a government agency) and so subject Tennessee and Kentucky in some areas to rolling blackouts, I have not noticed major interruptions.
In Alabama the Public Service Commission, headed by Twinkle Cavanaugh, stood up and told the Southern Company and the various gas services that we would not be participating in the Federal Governments farce. and that they would keep their plants open, and continue to burn Alabama Coal, and the Feds could enjoy a visit to the beautiful White Sand Beaches on the Gulf and find plenty of sand to pound up their A$$. So No increases have showed up for either electric or gas here.
My Apartment was just sold to a new company, and I have had the first rent increase in five years.
Also, while Electric has been included in my rent, I was told to go sign up with Kentucky Power for my own account.
So that will be an increase but a small one., when talking to the person at the power I signed up for direct pay. They told me the rate on my apartment was about $50/month and had not increased in a couple of years.
I might add that when I moved into the apartment in January 2018, I was told I had a $90 allowance for power/water etc. and would pay any overage. I have only had one month where I paid about $20-30, during a hard freeze. Most of the power use during evening hours is lighting, so the first thing I did five years ago is replace all bulbs in the apartment with LED bulbs.
That way a regular 60-watt bulb was replaced with a 4-watt (night lite equivalent) bulb. That and use of things like electric blankets and such verses the apartment heat pump have kept the electric bills low.
And so my tiny 5’1″ wife would not have to wrestle for TP, i bought and installed bidets on all three baths at the house in Alabama.
Twin Cities area, natural gas up 27% since last March, now $1.31 per therm with taxes and everything.
Electricity, XCel Energy is trying to get a rate increase of over 20%, spread out over several years, but those years start with January 1, 2022!!
-A retroactive rate increase!!
Dallas, Tx: Natural gas rate increased 45%, but our usage surpassed same time last year and bill tripled. Checked for gas leak, none, higher the next month. Judging from what’s posted on NextDoor, it’s neighborhood by neighborhood and it seems gas company is playing with everyone’s use. This happened last summer with the water. We watched videos and learned to read our gas meter. Now doing weekly recording of it to compare to next bill.
We had a 3 yr locked rate on electric that was up in May. Our rate was .09 kw/h, new rate would be .17, so we got a broker and found a contract for .13/.14 kw/h depending on total use. Ironically, the more you use, the cheaper the rate so not a lot of incentive to conserve electricity.
So all of our rates are consistently up about 50%.
Grocery bills up 30-40%. We now shop multiple store, shops sales, and buy in bulk.
We retired a year ago so, luckily, we have time to get creative and do our research.
I live in Texas and the increases have been modest. God bless the Lone Star State!!
Texas here – My natural gas bill went up 40% earlier last year. Usually $26 in summer/warm months, but was $45.
Just got a bill for Dec – $125 when it would normally be $75. Luckily it’s not too cold in TX for very long.
My AC is electric which has always been expensive & they added a ‘winter’ surcharge of $20+ after the winter 2021 storm. That is supposed to go away this year, but I bet it doesn’t. Just installed new energy efficient windows which is supposed to help with the heat this summer – we shall see.
Central Oklahoma.
Dec. 2022 Oklahoma Natural Gas:
$ 10.20 per Dth (Dekatherm)
16.103 Dth delivered
$164.25
Service Charge 36.77
taxes
Total: $ 212.56
Dec. 2022 OG&E Electric:
Total Incl. taxes: $143.00
Brick veneer home, 3100 sq. ft., 2 hvac systems
Gov. Stitt loves to talk about how affordable our electric/gas bills are.
(Gov. Stitt has been a good Gov., imho.)
Whatever your situation is, strap on your seat belts. The worst is yet to come. Plan accordingly.
Sunday, gas was $3.099. Monday, gas was 3.259. BTW, 2 years and 4 days ago, gas was $1.799.
Electricity is up a little but nothing compared to food. A year and a half ago, a dozen eggs was $0.69. Last week, a dozen eggs was $6.99. Just got out a package of ground round that a year and a half ago was $2.39 a pound. Last week, it was $5.09 a pound. At least I have a pension to supplement my social security, which my government “guaranteed” me upon my retirement. since I was paying into the system and the tax for it was taken from my paycheck each and every month. For some reason (and any sane person with eyes to see that can look at the numbers of daily border crossings for the past 24 months) knows that all of a sudden, social security money (like my tax money) is going to support people who came into the country ILLEGALLY from a FOREIGN country without the proper paperwork (therefore alien). Why can the selected government in DC not stop the invasion? Someone up there has to have enough sense to realize that THEY WILL NOT GET A PAYCHECK SOON.
It actually all went down, since I kicked my freeloading son out.
I am in NC. all-electric house (heat pump). only natural gas is fireplace. The electric bill is normal for this time of year (always costs more to heat than to cool). But my gas bill has doubled since last year. I haven’t even had the fireplace on — just the pilot light.
Here in sw va, we are on budget plan…70/mo for natgas, 132/mo electric,,,the reckoning up month for both is Aug, so far am showing credit balance for both,,,gas up over 3.37/gal, last week was under 3/gal
Here in Oregon. Tracking actual cost for equal usage can be difficult due to fixed charges/taxes which makes the less you use cost more per unit. I track started tracking my utility usage and cost back on 2005. Typically cost would go up in the low single digits every few years. In the last year comparing similar usage months natural gas is up about 20% and electricity is up about 13%. This is outrageous since it is due to government deliberate actions. That said I have been disgusted by the fixed charges and taxes that make the use of utilities regressive in it pricing. The more you use the less you pay per unit. This does really nothing to push for conservation, especially for water, and punishes the poor and those on fixed incomes.
What was Biden’s authority to do this???
The Guardian: Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak agree to increase gas exports …
Dec 6, 2022 — Joe Biden has agreed a deal to ramp up gas exports from the US to the UK as part of a joint effort to cut bills and limit Russia’s impact on …
Forbes: …3/27/2022 Biden’s Commitment For US LNG To Supply Europe
President Joe Biden announced an agreement on Friday committing the U.S. liquefied natural gas industry to supply an additional 15 billion cubic tons (bct) of LNG to Europe through the remainder of 2022.
The agreement additionally envisions U.S. LNG increasing that supply to Europe to 50 bct through 2030.
That’s because of windmills and solar energy failures. And of course the Ukraine crapola. All by design.
Those are issues in electricity distribution not natural gas. Both are hiking people’s energy bills. Sometimes the natural gas is actually provided to the end customer and sometimes the utility turns it into electricity.
Thanks for the reminder. UK blows up NordStream. US sends its natural gas as LNG for triple domestic price. So, utilities here charge triple. Of course, if Biden hadn’t shut down Keystone and made the oil companies too skittish to keep up fracking, the utilities could have used oil. So, Russia is rolling rubles selling to EU via third party countries. Such “smart” people running UK and US and EU.
I have Indiana Michigan Power and currently have drained my pipes and turned off most electical things because I am in FL. but I wanted to show my bill to you.
My service charge for use $8.31
Power supply cost $.45
Rate surcharge $.01
delivery service $2.28
Nuclear Decommissioning surcharge $.03
Monthly service charge $7. 25
renewable energy surcharge $2.00
Low income Energy assistance fund surcharge $.90
State sales tax $ .81
So with all the add surcharges my 8.31 bill becomes 22.04
With all of those surcharges and taxes, your electric bill looks like a cell phone bill.
In Arlington, Virginia, mine have increased about 40% year over year.
In Idaho — last year, same month – natural gas – paid 41 cents/therm — this month 56 cents per therm = 37% increase. Not much change in electric rate — .078 cents per kwh last year to .081 cents per kwh this year. Our heat and water heating are natural gas so the price increase has been significant