additional cost
day to day living
gas and food price
low salary
poor family
shocking news
too much problem
29% jump for electric bill... shocked?
By jairgirl
@jairgirl (2877)
United States
June 16, 2008 9:33am CST
hello,
im watching the news right now and they are showing that there will be 29% addition to the cost of electricity (i assume next month) i was shocked coz it is 29% imagine 29% jump that is way too high.
seems like we have to stop a lot of stuff right now,,,
no more traveling coz it cost so much to buy a gas,
less food to shop coz the price is higher now (blame it to the gas and now we have to add the electric bill to that)
no more other fun i guess.
i cant imagine a family living pay check to pay check and already having a hard time coz of the gas and food price and now electric bill YET the salary is still the same.
it is very sad that it is happening and i wish there is other way, i hope there will be an independent company who will stand against this and provide something for the mass that is cheaper than those big company can provide.
i saw so many families suffering both from economy and from environment (i saw iowa, missouri and illinois) it is just devastating.
i mention the news to my hubby and he is very surprised, we are just two at home but we do spent so much already when it comes to electricity.
we do try our best to conserve water and energy in so many ways (like unplugging appliances and washing/drying our clothes twice a month as well as using slow cooker for cooking as it is known to use less energy than the normal electric stove)
anyway, how do you feel about this?
to others who live in other country, how's your electric bill out there?
will such news, affect your time in mylot or other internet stuff that you like to do in days?
love to hear your thoughts.
have a good one.
1 person likes this
7 responses
@checapricorn (16060)
• United States
17 Jun 08
Hi jair, I have not read the news about this yet and I am also sad knowing the sudden increase...Very huge percent...I guess, I will limit my washing/drying since I am having it 2-3 times a week...My husband and I tried already to save, we cut off our home phone since we both got cell phone and it's just an additional bill...I am even planning to have just a bike rather than the car to save more..It's really getting hard and I agree with you that the salary remains the same...
1 person likes this
@checapricorn (16060)
• United States
18 Jun 08
I see..thanks for that tip jair, doing it after 7 pm. I will do that..yea, we are just 2 here..LOL! I am not also using dishwasher this time...I agree about what you mean with regards to the Bike thing...Scooter is a great idea!Thanks!
@checapricorn (16060)
• United States
19 Jun 08
Not a regular yet..Need to take my exam to get another license here!Thanks and have a great night!
@vanities (11395)
• Davao, Philippines
18 Jun 08
i thought that its our country only been suffering for the high price of electricity and fuel..but im wrong its a world wide problem...its certainly dont affect my logging in this site, but we always unplugged the fridge and others appliances before we sleep and turn it on in the morning in this way we can conserve a lot of energy at home..which means of course lower bills to pay..
1 person likes this
@jairgirl (2877)
• United States
18 Jun 08
hello vanities,
thanks for sharing your experienced, anyway i dont think unplugging fridge every night will help you save electricity in the long run coz you have to think about the effects of it and the temperature already achieved by the thermostat at the day.
also, you will make the motor works harder each time coz he have to reached the right temperature each time.
i think the best way to save electricity for your fridge is to lower the temperature by a notch and that will make a huge difference over time.
dont you have frozen products inside it? it will thaw and that is not safe for your health and refreezing something is not good at all.
it is advised that you used your major appliances (washer, dryer, dish washer, ironing, vacuuming) at night at least 7 at night and onward as it doesnt used that much electricity compared when you used it at day time.
there are so many other ways that you can do to save energy and i always try to follow it as much as i can.
anyway, great to know that you are doing the conserving part for the benefit of all.
btw, NO it is not only your country who is experiencing the economy problem coz it is world wide like you said and they also suffered from many calamities as well (flood in midwest states out here and china too)
have a good one!
1 person likes this
@josephperera (2906)
• Sri Lanka
25 Jun 08
Hoo Ha ha ha ha! I am rolling on the ground and laughing. That is because our electricity bill in Sri Lanka increased by 100%. (Honest). Last month train fares doubled. What happens in the US affects us a lot. The dollar is very weak theses days.
In addition to that we have a war with the separatist LTTE. It seems to be going on. Many people are making money from it, so maybe no one wants it to end. One reason for the price increase is because the government wants weapons to fight the war.
1 person likes this
@jairgirl (2877)
• United States
25 Jun 08
hello again,
WOW,,, that is a huge leap of price i already feel a 29% is way too much but a 100? geezzzz i wish we can start having the barter system again haha!
yeah, the ongoing war in the world and the depreciation of dollar sure affects the whole world.
there are less and less people enjoying their lives now and just trying to survive one day at a time.
it is pretty sad coz it is already hard enough and to add more is just not fair.
there are countries like yours, iraq, US, some parts in africa who seem to make/want the war keep rolling. one reason for this is money and the other is power.
the big weapon companies are earning billions of dollars each time there is a war.
and then oil company will follow.
there is an ongoing hearing right now in US senate wanting the "oil speculator" be gone (i think or just do something about it coz it is really them who is dictating the price of oil)
anyway, so many issues in our world.
i wish we all just follow a rule on making our world a happy and peaceful one but it is impossible now.
every one needs to survive and we seem to be in a world where the weak dont have a place here. (i said this coz i heard someone mention it to me and part of me agrees with him)
thanks for the thoughts.
hope the war there will end soon.
takecare
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
20 Jun 08
I have not checked our electric bill yet. It usually runs around $50 to $80 a month depending on the month and it is combined with our gas bill and in winter it is around $200 a month for everything. We get our hydro produced locally and we have Lake Winnipeg near by and there is a lot of standing water around - those horrible thunderstorms, and we have an air conditioner, and keep the lights off, use cold water, and do not turn on the air conditioner on until evening and just turn if off when we go to bed. I could not imagine washing our clothes twice a month and we do use cold water.
I will still get on the internet and myLOT because I do get a little money here so if we have to all cut down on internet activities, we will not make as much.
So what you should do is write to your congressmen, support the president's decision to open the oil fields, get them to stop converting corn fields to ethanol, etc. That will help a bit.
1 person likes this
@jairgirl (2877)
• United States
23 Jun 08
hello suspenseful,
nice to see you here and know that you are doing your part to conserve energy.
we dont have gas at the apartment and i guess we are paying not more than $150 a month for water and electricity coz our AC is on all the time as it is way too hot out here.
regarding the agreeing with the president, IMHO i would not as it is not much really and it will just harm a lot of natural resources and animals in the long run.
what i want is for the government to come up with the alternative source of energy and not depend on just oil.
i know there are some states now that are moving forward to their conservation by using alternative energy (wind mills, solar panels, farms that produce methane)
all in all i have to say that oil is not the answer to our problem right now but TECHNOLOGY.
we have to move on, not depend on oil and grow up (in sense of technology)
anyway, appreciate your response.
have a good one!
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
17 Jun 08
I find that to be incredible!!! It is getting to a point that you can't afford to live!!! I just got my first electric bill which was for about two weeks and it was $40 plus the hook up charges. I have been running my air this month so I will have to wait and see what is happening on that. If it comes down to it, I will do what my brother does and only run it for a little while before I go to sleep to cool it down. I will decide after I see the next bill. I don't have a job yet so it could be bad. Fortunately, I have enough money to get by for about two months right now. Talk to you later.
1 person likes this
@jairgirl (2877)
• United States
17 Jun 08
hello there,
thanks for sharing your thoughts, yes it is way too much and i guess at the moment that is the least that we need to overcome the hardships.
i know there are a lot of people who loses their jobs and some their home and now another thing is coming.
i wish there is a way for them to change it and or at least get the money somewhere else other than those who are living pay check to pay check OR worst none at all.
i think, it will be best to have the AC on only when you are really uncomfy but if the home is not that hot it would be best to just leave it as it is and not use too much electricity.
we dont watch tv at the day unlike before that we let it running with or without anybody at the couch so i am happy that those little things will help us save some.
sorry to hear about the situation right now, i hope you get the job soon before your savings gone.
my hubby is the same way when we move here and it is very hard but i am happy that we are going back to normal now.
i wish you the same.
takecare
@SwtJenlove (1090)
• United States
16 Jun 08
i read something in the paper about that here in my area too. I hope the prices of everything starts going down soon or we all are going to have major financial problems if we dont already.
1 person likes this
@jairgirl (2877)
• United States
16 Jun 08
hello,
i think the raise is nationwide so it will be implemented to all states which i feel is pretty sad coz there are so many things going on right now and it is just not helping the middle class family more so the lower class.
i dont think the prices of anything will go down anytime soon coz the gas prices is not going down and may reach a record high YET each time.
i have heard that saudi will lower it's price and will open some of their oil reserves but who knows really.
seems like a lot of family will struggle more, the house foreclosures in my area is almost 50% higher than last year so i cant imagine how they can afford to have a better life nowadays.
anyway, appreciate your thoughts.
takecare
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
16 Jun 08
Our electric bill will be going up because our electri cooperative has to pay more for the power they buy from Florida Power and Light. There is nothing anyone can do other than to conserve as best as you can. The utility companies are experiencing increases in their expenses, too, and they have to make a profit or they will go out of business.
@jairgirl (2877)
• United States
16 Jun 08
hello spalladino,
that sounds to be a lot of increase out there and then you have to add another increase coz i think the 29% raise is nationwide.
yes, i can understand the fact that they have to increase the payment or they will go out of business but as a company they should also come up with a better way of outsourcing energy and not just depend on other companies for that.
i know some state are already practicing having their own energy source like wind mill, solar panels as well as collecting methane gas from their livestock.
there are so many ways in my opinion to answer this, it's just that the normal person dont have the means and the money to experiment and come up with the ideas they have in mind.
anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts. i hope the price raise in your area is not that high so it wont affect much people out there.
have a good one.
