Check out this add from AT&T in 1993. Pretty cool to see what came true.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Know Your Fees!
This afternoon in the lunchroom at work, some of my colleagues were discussing the amount of fees charged to our utilities and how it impacts conservation and cost savings. The theory was that the impact conservation has on cost savings is minimal as it is actually the extra charges that are making these services more expensive. So tonight I have decided to do a little research with my own bills.
I have taken multiple bills from my Water, Hydro, and Gas bills and broke down every charge as a percentage of the total charges. Here are my findings :
Hydro Bill
Usage - 45.45%
Delivery - 44.01%
Regulatory Charges - 5.39%
Debt Retirement Charge - 5.15%
So my total electricity that I have purchased represents only 45.45% of my total bill and I am paying almost an equal amount for the transfer of the electricity through a wire! What I like the most though is the Debt Retirement Charge. I don't even know what the hell that is! It sounds like something that isn't really my problem though.
Gas Bill
Customer Charge - 25.64%
Delivery to You - 17.30%
Transportation to Enbridge -11.29%
Gas Supply Charge - 45.77%
Alright, I am confused about what the difference is between the Customer Charge and Gas Supply Charge. I would say that the Gas Supply Charge is my usage, but that would mean that 25.64% of my bill is a charge for the privilege of being an Enbridge Gas customer!
Water Bill
Water Consumption - 21.89%
Water Service Charge - 30.66%
Sewer Charge - 35.76%
Sewer Service Charge - 11.69%
So the water in which I used represents only 21.89% of my total bill. The sad part about this one is that the water department is run by the local regional government. I understand that I need to pay for sewers and pipes and processing of the water, but I thought that was one of the reasons why my property taxes are so high! And what the hell is a Water Service Charge, and why does it cost so much more than the actual water?!!
In Conclusion
To be fair, all of the fees on my bills increased with the total amount of product consumed, so conserving will have a positive impact on the total of your monthly bills. But that does not excuse the blatant gouging that is happening with out utilities. We all get angry about how outrageous the price of gas for our automobiles fluctuate, but these utility fees seem to be slipping by without detection. Where are the countless front-page headlines taking these utility companies to task? Where are the protests about the inflated Water Service Charge? This might just be another reason to research other means for fulfilling our utility needs. Maybe it isn't that much more expensive. After all, we would be dropping all those service charges!
I have taken multiple bills from my Water, Hydro, and Gas bills and broke down every charge as a percentage of the total charges. Here are my findings :
Usage - 45.45%
Delivery - 44.01%
Regulatory Charges - 5.39%
Debt Retirement Charge - 5.15%
So my total electricity that I have purchased represents only 45.45% of my total bill and I am paying almost an equal amount for the transfer of the electricity through a wire! What I like the most though is the Debt Retirement Charge. I don't even know what the hell that is! It sounds like something that isn't really my problem though.
Customer Charge - 25.64%
Delivery to You - 17.30%
Transportation to Enbridge -11.29%
Gas Supply Charge - 45.77%
Alright, I am confused about what the difference is between the Customer Charge and Gas Supply Charge. I would say that the Gas Supply Charge is my usage, but that would mean that 25.64% of my bill is a charge for the privilege of being an Enbridge Gas customer!
Water Consumption - 21.89%
Water Service Charge - 30.66%
Sewer Charge - 35.76%
Sewer Service Charge - 11.69%
So the water in which I used represents only 21.89% of my total bill. The sad part about this one is that the water department is run by the local regional government. I understand that I need to pay for sewers and pipes and processing of the water, but I thought that was one of the reasons why my property taxes are so high! And what the hell is a Water Service Charge, and why does it cost so much more than the actual water?!!
In Conclusion
To be fair, all of the fees on my bills increased with the total amount of product consumed, so conserving will have a positive impact on the total of your monthly bills. But that does not excuse the blatant gouging that is happening with out utilities. We all get angry about how outrageous the price of gas for our automobiles fluctuate, but these utility fees seem to be slipping by without detection. Where are the countless front-page headlines taking these utility companies to task? Where are the protests about the inflated Water Service Charge? This might just be another reason to research other means for fulfilling our utility needs. Maybe it isn't that much more expensive. After all, we would be dropping all those service charges!
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