Old Man's Corners
- Thread starter Fatman17
- Start date
Meengla
Elite Member
My respects to those who brave the winters in cold regions of America without a good heating system. Even here in the South, winter is arriving albeit about a week late. We will use the central heating into April.
Outside my house right now:
SolarWarden
Trusted Member
One of the dumbest sports Saturdays unfriggin believable.
AZ_HighCountry
INT'L MOD
AZ_HighCountry
INT'L MOD
T-shirt weather if you're Canadian.
Davey Crockett
Elite Member
@Meengla
The high electric and water bills are ruining tens of millions of Americans, especially here in Oklahoma.
Summer electric bills for many low income are coming due.
PSO had cut off power 58 times for every 100 residential customers in 2024, the most recent year with federal data. It was the highest rate of any investor-owned utility in the country, and the company said most of those disconnections were on a small number of prepaid accounts like Cooper’s that shut off when they dipped below zero and then came back on within minutes of payment. On and then off again. On and then off.
As fall sets in across the country, the bill is coming due for the hottest summer on record in the United States. The last three months were about three degrees above average, hotter than the Dust Bowl summer of 1936 and the heat dome of 2021, and tens of millions of people can’t afford to pay for the air-conditioning that helped keep them safe in the deadly heat. About one in six U.S. households is already behind on its utility bills, according to federal data. More than a dozen hot-weather states like Arizona, Georgia, Virginia and Oklahoma restrict shut-offs during the most dangerous heat, so disconnections tend to peak in October, when a climate crisis turns into a collection notice.
PSO (Public Service company of Oklahoma) royally screwed up a few winters ago during a brutal cold snap, having to buy natural gas at the exorbitant market rate and passed the bill to the customers, while the executives and investors are still making bank.
We are still bailing out the utility company and it's investors for poor planning (greed) three years later.
Over the years, profits went to the investors instead of infrastructure and upgrades.
Now the politicians want to make Oklahoma a data center capital of America.
Seriously thinking of bailing out of Oklahoma when I start collecting Social (in) Security next summer.
The high electric and water bills are ruining tens of millions of Americans, especially here in Oklahoma.
Summer electric bills for many low income are coming due.
PSO had cut off power 58 times for every 100 residential customers in 2024, the most recent year with federal data. It was the highest rate of any investor-owned utility in the country, and the company said most of those disconnections were on a small number of prepaid accounts like Cooper’s that shut off when they dipped below zero and then came back on within minutes of payment. On and then off again. On and then off.
As fall sets in across the country, the bill is coming due for the hottest summer on record in the United States. The last three months were about three degrees above average, hotter than the Dust Bowl summer of 1936 and the heat dome of 2021, and tens of millions of people can’t afford to pay for the air-conditioning that helped keep them safe in the deadly heat. About one in six U.S. households is already behind on its utility bills, according to federal data. More than a dozen hot-weather states like Arizona, Georgia, Virginia and Oklahoma restrict shut-offs during the most dangerous heat, so disconnections tend to peak in October, when a climate crisis turns into a collection notice.
PSO (Public Service company of Oklahoma) royally screwed up a few winters ago during a brutal cold snap, having to buy natural gas at the exorbitant market rate and passed the bill to the customers, while the executives and investors are still making bank.
We are still bailing out the utility company and it's investors for poor planning (greed) three years later.
Over the years, profits went to the investors instead of infrastructure and upgrades.
Now the politicians want to make Oklahoma a data center capital of America.
Seriously thinking of bailing out of Oklahoma when I start collecting Social (in) Security next summer.
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AZ_HighCountry
INT'L MOD
Arizona Public Service not doing much better. Which is why our new house will include solar. The design is such that we can cut the electric bill to almost zero. The only charge we would have would be the monthly meter fee.
lose. 
lose.
Meengla
Elite Member
Lucky you. At my house, solar is not an option: The house is literally surrounded by tall trees on three sides and it will be too costly to safely cut them down. Besides that, I don't want cut trees down unless I absolutely have to. But every summer's southern strong thunderstorms--and we get at least a dozen each year--worries me about some tree falling on our house. It was my mistake to not have cut more trees while the house was being built.
Having said that, our AC and Heating (central HVAC) maybe inefficient, 20 year old system but we have never crossed even $300 / month. The power bill has risen to due inflation / greed in just last 3-4 years but we can afford to pay the bills.
Meengla
Elite Member
Oklahoma is supposed to have brutal winters and brutal summers.
But what water bills also high there? My water bill has never touched even $40/month. Most months it is about $34 and that includes a $4 some utility company's infra upgrade surcharge and $1 for bank automatic payment. And it is good water too: I have a gadget to measure TDS (Total Dissolved Solid) and it comes not far from bottled water.
Davey Crockett
Elite Member
My water bill never even touched $40 a month in the six years I lived here.
Back in 2020 it was $52/month. Includes ambulance, police (who aren't worth a shit) and a $11 fee for administrative (who somehow managed to be more useless than the police).
Now it's $79 a month.
Keep in mind it's just me, six quick showers a week and doing dishes three times a week.
Water quality? I suppose it's ok when it comes out of the tap, but I wouldn't use it after a few days. Turns black.
Even after the "$1.5 million" new water tower. Federal grant.
First thing the town did was buy a half dozen brand new police vehicles, and they didn't forget Animal Control and Code Enforcement.
The new water tower was finally finished last year. Almost ran out of funds.
For others, who use water like normal people, the water bill will likely go over $150 a month.
Yes, people are pissed around here.
Yes, brutal summers and winters.
Back in 2020 it was $52/month. Includes ambulance, police (who aren't worth a shit) and a $11 fee for administrative (who somehow managed to be more useless than the police).
Now it's $79 a month.
Keep in mind it's just me, six quick showers a week and doing dishes three times a week.
Water quality? I suppose it's ok when it comes out of the tap, but I wouldn't use it after a few days. Turns black.
Even after the "$1.5 million" new water tower. Federal grant.
First thing the town did was buy a half dozen brand new police vehicles, and they didn't forget Animal Control and Code Enforcement.
The new water tower was finally finished last year. Almost ran out of funds.
For others, who use water like normal people, the water bill will likely go over $150 a month.
Yes, people are pissed around here.
Yes, brutal summers and winters.
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AZ_HighCountry
INT'L MOD
Consider reinsulating your attic space with spray foam. That is what we are doing.
As for your HVAC, regular cleaning of the coils and replacement of the filters. Believe it or not, when our system runs, I change the filters every 30 days. A friend of mine had his own HVAC business, and installed the new system in the home we sold, was big on that. I agreed. Cheap insurance.
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