On 6/7/2012 9:21 AM, Jim Yanik wrote:
"Arfa wrote in
:

How is electricity sold to the consumer in the U.S. ? Presumably it is
by the 'unit' of 1 kWh the same as here in the UK, but is the price
constant across the day, or is there an equivalent of the night-time
economy period that we have in the UK, where the per unit cost is
significantly lower for seven hours ? And is the pricing structure
'simple' like it used to be here, or a minefield of different tariffs
that you can choose from, that make it so complicated that you have to
go onto a price comparison site to try to get the best deal, and even
then can't be sure that you've got it right ? And who do you buy it
from ? Do you have a national supplier, or a state supplier, or a
local supplier or all of those ? Is it a massive mire of 'competition'
between suppliers like it is here now ? I say 'competition' in
inverted commas, because in reality, it's actually nothing of the sort
for the most part. Do you also have 'combined' tariff suppliers who
will supply your gas as well as electricity, to further muddy the
waters ? What is your typical price now for a unit of daytime
electricity ?

Just interested, as it's so ridiculously expensive and top heavy here
now, and I was wondering whether this has become the norm around the
world. Any of you Aussie boys (or girls) want to chip in with how it's
done down there ? Anyone else anywhere ?

Arfa



in central Florida,Progress Energy,I have a standard KWH rate,and then a
higher rate for consumption over 1000 KWH. I never get anywhere near that.
I have no choice as to what utility provides my electricity,it's a
monopoly.

there's also a fuel charge,for the first 1000 KWH,and an increased rate for
every 1000 KWH over that.

energy charge= 6.275c/KWH 1st 1000 KWH.
7.366c/KWH over 1000 KWH

fuel charge= 4.86c/KWH
5.86c/KWH over 1000 KWH.
then there's the taxes and special fees for this and that.

Similar situation here.
We have an energy cost and a delivery cost plus baseline fees/taxes.
Gives 'em more ways to raise rates.

We also have the option to pay MORE for green energy. Near as I can
tell, they put your payment in the green bucket long enough to
get some energy tax incentives and a photo-op, then the excess sloshes
out into the executive bonus bucket.

We also have a time-of-use option. You get to pay an additional fee
for the option to pay MORE for peak use and less for off-peak.
I don't have the glossy brochure handy, but last time I did the math,
my break-even point was switching 80% of my use to 4AM.

The time of use option solution is obvious. Switch EVERYBODY to time of
use.
Keep the peak rate the same and lower the off-peak rate.
You can raise ALL the rates later, when nobody's looking.
EVERYBODY has the incentive to smooth out the load peaks and valleys.
EVERYBODY wins...well, there'd be less in the bonus bucket.
And all those people marching down main street in opposition to that
wind farm
or transmission line could bring along their electric bill to
demonstrate that they're washing their clothes at 4AM
and cutting their total use below norm to eliminate
the need for that new energy source.