Things that annoy me (3 Viewers)

Combat said:
The seemingly endless cold. My heat has been running continuously for the entire month. Can't wait for the next bill. "Drill, baby, drill" is working at the pump but the electricity costs are unreal.
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Right there with you; this bill is going to be a doozie, the gas company has already sent out an email to the effect of "If you are having issues paying your heating bill, please contact our office to work out a payment plan"............when you get one of those emails, you know you're screwed.
 
mikemiller1955 said:
Doug...one thing that I am now consistently showing on my electric and gas bills...is the increase in the "delivery charges"...

my electric is a fixed rate...which is pretty good...better than a lot of my neighbors...
but the delivery charge has sky rocketed as theirs has too...I don't understand that increase......
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As I understand it, the outrageous delivery charge (I get whacked with that too) in this state is due to us not having the ability to create our own gas and electricity, so we have to buy it/import it from other areas if that makes sense, thus the delivery charge.

I could be wrong, but that's how I understand it.

During a press conference last year when peoples utility bills around here skyrocketed, our peabrained governor was explaining away the costs, then her brilliant secretary of energy said "We don't need to create our own gas and electric, too expensive, especially since it's cold just 'a few' days a year here due to global warming."

Umm.............WHAT?!?!?.........."a few" days a year; it's been in the single digits air temperature wise for close to a week, minus 0 with the wind chill.

And yet, morons in this state will vote the governor back in when she runs again; as a state, MA is too far gone to be saved.
 
Warrior said:
As I understand it, the outrageous delivery charge (I get whacked with that too) in this state is due to us not having the ability to create our own gas and electricity, so we have to buy it/import it from other areas if that makes sense, thus the delivery charge.

I could be wrong, but that's how I understand it.

During a press conference last year when peoples utility bills around here skyrocketed, our peabrained governor was explaining away the costs, then her brilliant secretary of energy said "We don't need to create our own gas and electric, too expensive, especially since it's cold just 'a few' days a year here due to global warming."

Umm.............WHAT?!?!?.........."a few" days a year; it's been in the single digits air temperature wise for close to a week, minus 0 with the wind chill.

And yet, morons in this state will vote the governor back in when she runs again; as a state, MA is too far gone to be saved.
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In Texas we have our own Power Grid that serves about 90% of our 32 million users...utilizing natural gas...wind...solar and some nuclear...and I am surprised to read that wind/solar powers over 30% of that…about 1/3...and that’s substantial…

there are only 3 minor grids in North America...the other 2 are in Quebec and Alaska…

Texas produces the most wind power of any state in the US...I know the current administration doesn’t subscribe to wind power...but I think renewable energy commercialization (wind/solar) is a smart idea…

with all that said...my delivery charges keep going up...so what’s up with that?
 
Combat said:
The seemingly endless cold. My heat has been running continuously for the entire month. Can't wait for the next bill. "Drill, baby, drill" is working at the pump but the electricity costs are unreal.
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Unfortunately our energy is subject to State regulation and tax. I travel as you know extensively for work and it kills me when I see the Gas in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Florida to name a few. CHEAP compared to what I pay in Maryland and Pennsylvania on Gas is WORSE. It is infuriating when combined with the income, property taxes AND fees we pay here. Then you look at your home bill.....................Do you know Maryland last year and I kid you NOT in these words and legilslation said "We are going to protect consumers and get rid of choice for distribution charges due to predatory bidding". Are you kidding me, so I went from Dominion at a competitive 6 cents to the ONLY choice now of BG&E at 13 cents. Uh, where is my consumer protection??? I swear, I hate and I mean hate corrupt government and that is what we have here in Maryland.

Tom
 
mikemiller1955 said:
In Texas we have our own Power Grid that serves about 90% of our 32 million users...utilizing natural gas...wind...solar and some nuclear...and I am surprised to read that wind/solar powers over 30% of that…about 1/3...and that’s substantial…

there are only 3 minor grids in North America...the other 2 are in Quebec and Alaska…

Texas produces the most wind power of any state in the US...I know the current administration doesn’t subscribe to wind power...but I think renewable energy commercialization (wind/solar) is a smart idea…

with all that said...my delivery charges keep going up...so what’s up with that?
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Hi Mike
Since this is what I do for a living (Building Energy plants), I can try and explain. First - Texas is way cheaper than any energy produced right now. Over time, you will also see Solar increase and Wind decrease b/c Solar is far cheaper to build, operate and own as the components last much longer and contracts are much better. You should also see an increase in Natural Gas too. Delivery charges unfortunately are in the hands of the grid operator and that is where it is subject to market. (they are trying to fund infrastructure improvements). All of that said, be thankful you are in Texas regarding costs, it is no comparison to other States. I am hopeful that we are able to keep building in Texas as that is one of the few places where a free market can be obtained that allows Companies a profit to actually build the plants. Most States are nearly impossible due to over regulation, high infrastructure costs, HIGH extortive permitting fees, etc.

Probably doesn't answer everything, but it is a reason Texas has gained something like 4M new residents!
Tom
 
tdubel said:
Hi Mike
Since this is what I do for a living (Building Energy plants), I can try and explain. First - Texas is way cheaper than any energy produced right now. Over time, you will also see Solar increase and Wind decrease b/c Solar is far cheaper to build, operate and own as the components last much longer and contracts are much better. You should also see an increase in Natural Gas too. Delivery charges unfortunately are in the hands of the grid operator and that is where it is subject to market. (they are trying to fund infrastructure improvements). All of that said, be thankful you are in Texas regarding costs, it is no comparison to other States. I am hopeful that we are able to keep building in Texas as that is one of the few places where a free market can be obtained that allows Companies a profit to actually build the plants. Most States are nearly impossible due to over regulation, high infrastructure costs, HIGH extortive permitting fees, etc.

Probably doesn't answer everything, but it is a reason Texas has gained something like 4M new residents!
Tom
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Tom...your response definitely touched on "delivery charges"...as your inferring "infrastructure improvements" as the culprit...very informative...thanks for the concise reply...
 
The metric system. I have no doubt it is more logical than whatever system we ended up with in the U-S-A which makes no mathematical sense, but I'm old enough to remember when they tried to convert Americans. Whoever thought that was going to happen was either an optimist or completely out of touch with reality.
 
mikemiller1955 said:
Doug...one thing that I am now consistently showing on my electric and gas bills...is the increase in the "delivery charges"...

my electric is a fixed rate...which is pretty good...better than a lot of my neighbors...
but the delivery charge has sky rocketed as theirs has too...I don't understand that increase......
Click to expand...
Mike-
I gather Texas got its act together and you don't have those widespread outages when the temps drop below 30. That is some progress. Here in PA the power goes out whenever the wind blows and it might not come back on for a week. A totally corrupt system built on greed and incompetence. I see trees laying on power lines that are not removed for months. Yet I'm paying $700 or more per month. Why not bury the power lines? There might be some upfront cost but then we are done with it.
 
Combat said:
The metric system. I have no doubt it is more logical than whatever system we ended up with in the U-S-A which makes no mathematical sense, but I'm old enough to remember when they tried to convert Americans. Whoever thought that was going to happen was either an optimist or completely out of touch with reality.
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Here in UK and it was the same in Australia, NZ, SA we didn't just have Imperial measures, we had the added bonus of figuring out our small change, when we had 240 pennies to the pound, 12 pennies to the shilling and for older folk you had four farthings to the penny !
Still it gave everyone a mental workout with these calculations.
Though I am of an age when we were being taught both measurements, I veer towards the older Fahrenheit measurements for temperatures, rather than Celsius and same goes for weights, pounds over kilos, yards over meters !
 
Combat said:
Mike-
I gather Texas got its act together and you don't have those widespread outages when the temps drop below 30. That is some progress. Here in PA the power goes out whenever the wind blows and it might not come back on for a week. A totally corrupt system built on greed and incompetence. I see trees laying on power lines that are not removed for months. Yet I'm paying $700 or more per month. Why not bury the power lines? There might be some upfront cost but then we are done with it.
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Doug...yes...they did some updates/modifications on the Grid since then...no wide spread outages in Texas this year that I have heard of...comparing outages...I'll put my satellite fed Direct TV against your power system on who gets the most outages...if a bird flaps it's wings in front of mine...I might lose my signal...and agreed...everything should be under ground...telephone lines...electric lines...television lines...an upfront cost but would probably decrease costly maintenance substantially once done...
 
mikemiller1955 said:
Doug...yes...they did some updates/modifications on the Grid since then...no wide spread outages in Texas this year that I have heard of...comparing outages...I'll put my satellite fed Direct TV against your power system on who gets the most outages...if a bird flaps it's wings in front of mine...I might lose my signal...and agreed...everything should be under ground...telephone lines...electric lines...television lines...an upfront cost but would probably decrease costly maintenance substantially once done...
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I quit on Directv for 2 reasons - price (went through the roof) and loss of signal. Minor drizzle would kill it every time. I went with Hulu Live.
Tom
 
Groundhog Day is a nice tradition but I'm not sure that I fully understand it. If the groundhog sees its shadow, that apparently means six more weeks of winter. But he can only see his shadow if the sun is out which might lend itself to the opposite outcome that spring is coming sooner. And my understanding is that the outcome is predetermined and has nothing to do with whether he even sees his shadow. In PA, "winter" lasts sometimes into April. So six weeks would not even be a bad thing.
mikemiller1955 said:
Doug...yes...they did some updates/modifications on the Grid since then...no wide spread outages in Texas this year that I have heard of...comparing outages...I'll put my satellite fed Direct TV against your power system on who gets the most outages...if a bird flaps it's wings in front of mine...I might lose my signal...and agreed...everything should be under ground...telephone lines...electric lines...television lines...an upfront cost but would probably decrease costly maintenance substantially once done...
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I switched to cable many years ago for that reason. Most people here dislike the cable provider Comcast but I've always had a good experience with them except for the rising cost. I'm not a fan of streaming so sticking with it for the time being. I've never fully understood why there is so much reluctance to bury the utility lines. Particularly in places that frequently experience terrible weather. Many fires in California resulted from electric lines and have cost the citizens tens of billions in lost property. When you add in the loss of lives and disruption, it seems like a no brainer. But I also can't figure out why California struggles with water shortages but refuses to fund a desalination plant that would provide access to unlimited water from the ocean.
 
tdubel said:
I quit on Directv for 2 reasons - price (went through the roof) and loss of signal. Minor drizzle would kill it every time. I went with Hulu Live.
Tom
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Direct TV...Infinity...Comcast and Dish TV are becoming archaic...I truly believe they are going the way of the pay phone and encyclopedias...they may not be here much longer...I'm old school and still have my Direct TV...but younger people are opting for streaming...the bundles and options are unlimited and much less expensive...Netflix...Prime...Paramount Plus...they are financing their own new movies and series and cutting into Direct TV subscribers...I still have HBO on my Direct TV...and they just show the same movies over and over...how many times can you watch Lord of the Rings...or The Fast and Furious...they expect you to pay a premium but rarely have new material...and their bills...you need an attorney to decipher them...even when my monthly service stays the same...every month seems like I have a new different price...

and don't get me started on the NFL...lots of teams are selling their viewing options to streaming services for big bucks...leaving mainstream ABC...CBS...NBC...FOX...and making me subscribe to several streaming services just to watch my local games several times a year...:mad:
 
Combat said:
Groundhog Day is a nice tradition but I'm not sure that I fully understand it. If the groundhog sees its shadow, that apparently means six more weeks of winter. But he can only see his shadow if the sun is out which might lend itself to the opposite outcome that spring is coming sooner. And my understanding is that the outcome is predetermined and has nothing to do with whether he even sees his shadow. In PA, "winter" lasts sometimes into April. So six weeks would not even be a bad thing.

I switched to cable many years ago for that reason. Most people here dislike the cable provider Comcast but I've always had a good experience with them except for the rising cost. I'm not a fan of streaming so sticking with it for the time being. I've never fully understood why there is so much reluctance to bury the utility lines. Particularly in places that frequently experience terrible weather. Many fires in California resulted from electric lines and have cost the citizens tens of billions in lost property. When you add in the loss of lives and disruption, it seems like a no brainer. But I also can't figure out why California struggles with water shortages but refuses to fund a desalination plant that would provide access to unlimited water from the ocean.
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Presumably same sort of reasons as in UK, in that getting wayleaves from landowners where the cables run and cost of burying cables rather than overhead on pylons is so much cheaper.
Though the environmental impact also has come much more into play in recent years, leading to more cables being buried.
Of course that brings its own dangers and issues, when digging work is carried out on land where burned cables have not been identified as being there and cables are accidentally damaged leading to power outages.
 
Combat said:
Books that contain a hundred or more pages of notes at the end. I bet not one in a thousand readers uses or consults them. For those that do, the publisher should just put a webpage link in the book that can be accessed for that purpose.
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Not a bad idea, though my old History professors in the 90's would've thrown a pilum at me for suggesting it at the time...
 
Dad's bro, who was a contract estimator for a big electrical company (after being an electrician for years) always said that lines should be buried if possible. Then he'd say the initial cost would be more than paid for over time. He even mentioned that it might lower delivery charges.
Isn't investment in infrastructure usually good? Unless it's totally corrupt, it's like irrigating fields that could've been a desert forever but will now produce crops or improve a million other things that could bring prosperity. Regarding this issue, the overhead may be affordable.
Just my 2 cents. This state is infamous for bad bills of every kind and there was a recent scandal over corrupt dealings with a electrical company.
Also, IMHO, if any state should get cheap energy, it's Texas. I mean, c'mon:confused:
Best Wishes and stay warm (like mum insists we do here - I'm sweating & the meter is flying...)
Paddy
 
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