Electricity Rates

Was just looking at my electric bill, comparing what we paid per month last year (before the wood stove went in, when we were trying to heat the place with space heaters because the propane needed for the radiant system was even worse). Last winter, we were paying between $200 and $300 in the dead of winter. This year, we're paying less than $25 for electricity. Don't know yet how many cords we'll burn but I'm guessing 3 to 4.

This is in Washington state, where electricity is cheap. Can't even imagine what it would cost in parts of the country where electricity is dear. We have a monthly base charge of $7.87. Then the per KWH rate is 9.2103 cents but there are credits. When those are factored in, it's 7.756 cents per KWH. If one goes over a certain usage the rate jumps up. Don't remember if we were hitting that higher rate last winter or what that rate was.

It struck me that, as much as we're saving with wood, the savings would be even more profound elsewhere. I'm wondering what others have saved by switching from wood to electric (and where).

Begreen, I have a propane instant hot water heater and the stove is propane too. We seem to go through around 50 gallons of propane every 3 months. Not bad. On top of that we have electric and wood for the stove.

Dan -- Wow, that's really high. What part of the country? Here, we pay through the nose for water. Even though it rains all the time. I think much of it is for water treatment. Probably $100 a month.

Looks like my rate is pretty darn good at 7 3/4 cents per KWH. Still, I'm glad we're heating with wood. Way less expensive than electricity. Last winter, running four space heaters, the place was barely warm and we were spending at least $200 a month.

No income tax but, for those of us who are self employed, the B&O tax makes up for it. Plenty of water but really expensive water, which had me scratching my head for a time. Electricity's cheap and there are deals on wood. Natural gas is cheap if you can get it. There are no lines where I'm at so it's propane (which isn't cheap at all).

Much of our cost comes from the septic portion of the bill. Too many people living in the watershed for the reservoir that serves Bellingham. For years, big storms would cause the sewers to overflow and raw sewerage would pour directly into the lake. They rebuilt the sewers a few years back and we're paying the price. I'm not convinced our water district is well managed so that's an issue too. But it is what it is and I love living here. There are miles of woods behind my home that can't be developed or logged precisely because we're in a watershed. So I view the cost of water/sewer as the price I pay for seclusion.

Laurent Cyr said:

We pay 0,0557 here in Québec. When I bought the house in 2006, we were paying over $3,000 in electricity per year (without the wood stove). I`ve now brought it below the $2,000 mark. Everything is electric in the house; stove, force air furnace, fridge, freezer, air conditioning. No propane. I pay $165 per month. I wish solar was cheaper...or that I was handy on the electrical and mechanical side of things. I`ve got a fast flowing Stream on the property, and I`m sure I could tap into hydro-electric power from that fast flowing water.

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I'm guessing the permit requirements are strict for something like that.