DIYbanter - View Single Post - How much are you really paying for electricity?

Han

" wrote in news:356dc96e-
:

They also have to swap out meters on a regular schedule
by law here in NJ. I'm not sure how the gas repair/replacement costs
compare to the electric utilities.

That's interesting. I have asked several times to get my gas meter
(which is inside in the basement) replaced with an outside meter here in
the PSE&G area. They've always said that I would have to pay for a new
meter. And I've said no, thanks.

Do you have a reference to that law or rule?

On the one hand they are a lot less susceptable to damage from storms
and the like. On the other hand
the repair work would seem to be a lot more involved,
ie excavating, pavement, etc compared to areas where
electric utilities are run on poles above ground. I would
expect that for gas, the overall repair costs are less.

You also have to factor in the cost of the distribution
system that is in place. They still have to depreciate
it, cover any debt that was taken out to install it, etc.

I'd venture to guess that maintenance for underground services is in the
long run less than overhead service. However, the initial investment is
much higher, even in densely populated areas such as the boro of Fair
Lawn. We have had 3 or 4 major electric outages of roughly 24 or more
hours in the last 2 or 3 years. All due to storms knocking down wires.

I pay a service charge of $5.99/month, and then a "distribution charge"
and "balancing charge" that go per "therm". These 3 are the delivery
charges. Together they are just under half of the total charges for gas
service.

--
Best regards
Han
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