Electric rates - "price to compare" question

[Spacehead]

Here in PA, on June 1st electric rates went up. Of coarse everyone is bitching about it so i decided to take a closer look at my bill. There are 2 electric companies around here, i happen to be in a co-op based company. Our rates aren't going up but are already higher than the other one, or so i thought.

When they say look at the "price to compare" if you're shopping around for a supplier what should that include? With the company i have now they include the cost of generation, transmission & distribution for the "price to compare".
I asked one of my coworkers if i could take a look at his bill & on his the "price to compare" is only generation & transmission.

Anyone know what should be included for a fair comparison? I'm not really looking to switch i'd just like to know.

 

[BoomerD]

Actual electricity rates, delivery charges, surcharges, any monthly charges, etc.

Our local PUD charges $39/mo. just to have service, regardless of any actual usage, then $0.911/kWh.

https://ghpud.org/rates-and-policies/720-2021-22-rate-summary/file

 

[nakedfrog]

Mine doesn't appear to break it down like that.

 

[Red Squirrel]

When looking at my bill I find a big chunk of the charges are actually fixed fees. So when rates go up, yeah, it's annoying, because it's not like I'm getting more for it, but in the grand scheme of things it's usually only a few bucks extra. That's how they get you though. A little at a time, but long term it adds up.

I remember when Tim Horton's coffee was closer to a dollar for a large and a donut was 99 cents. Now it's over 2 bucks for a coffee and close to 2 bucks for a donut. More if it's a "specialty" one. The quality sure as hell has not gone up either.

 

[sdifox]

Mine doesn't appear to break it down like that.

So just divide the bill by kwh used and get the blended rate.

 

[sdifox]

When looking at my bill I find a big chunk of the charges are actually fixed fees. So when rates go up, yeah, it's annoying, because it's not like I'm getting more for it, but in the grand scheme of things it's usually only a few bucks extra. That's how they get you though. A little at a time, but long term it adds up.

I remember when Tim Horton's coffee was closer to a dollar for a large and a donut was 99 cents. Now it's over 2 bucks for a coffee and close to 2 bucks for a donut. More if it's a "specialty" one. The quality sure as hell has not gone up either.

Be happy you are getting small town locally baked goods and not the half cooked frozen stuff we get. They just finish the cooking at the local store.

When I go to Collingwood I enjoy the baked goods in their Timmies because they are made from scratch locally in store.

 

[Spacehead]

Actual electricity rates, delivery charges, surcharges, any monthly charges, etc.

Our local PUD charges $39/mo. just to have service, regardless of any actual usage, then $0.911/kWh.

https://ghpud.org/rates-and-policies/720-2021-22-rate-summary/file

Yeah, yours is pretty straight forward on calculating the cost for the month. Mines similar:
MONTHLY RATE (last month 369 kWh)
Generation: $.04937 per kWh (x 369 = $18.22)
Transmission: $.01105 per kWh (x 369 = $4.08)
Distribution: $.04062 per kWh (x 369 = $14.99)
Cost of Service Charge: $ 30.00
Total bill = $67.29
Anyway, add those 3 things up & i was always told that was our "price to compare", so $0.10104 per kWh. Now i'm not so sure. Guess i'll call & ask, if other companies aren't calculating this the same way.

Beginning June 1, electric distribution companies report the following changes in their PTCs(price to compare) for residential customers:

Citizens’ Electric, up from 7.3995 cents to 9.3667 cents per kWh (26.6%);
Met-Ed, up from 6.832 cents to 7.936 cents per kWh (16.1%);
Penelec, up from 6.232 cents to 8.443 cents per kWh (35.4%);
Penn Power, up from 7.082 cents to 8.694 cents per kWh (22.7%);
PPL, up from 8.941 cents to 12.366 cents per kWh (38.3%);
Wellsboro Electric, up from 7.7569 cents to 9.592 cents per kWh (23.7%); and
West Penn Power, up from 5.667 cents to 8.198 cents per kWh (44.6%);

https://www.puc.pa.gov/press-releas...-june-1-price-changes-for-electric-generation

 

[MtnMan]

Duke Energy - NC

Basic Customer Charge - $14.00
Energy charge - 743.000 kWh @ $0.10652000 - $79.14
Storm Recovery Cost - 743.000 kWh @ $0.00300000 - $2.23
Renewable Energy Rider - $1.41

 

[skyking]

Actual electricity rates, delivery charges, surcharges, any monthly charges, etc.

Our local PUD charges $39/mo. just to have service, regardless of any actual usage, then $0.911/kWh.

https://ghpud.org/rates-and-policies/720-2021-22-rate-summary/file

Clallam PUD is $40.50 to say hello, and $0.0778 per KWH.
Tacoma City light is $17.90 for the meter and ~$0.08355 per KWH.
That $40.50 is the significant number for us. The new house will have the maximum of 12KW of solar panels grid-tied with a second meter, and they have to store our excess energy from March to March. We will probably be net zero on consumption, but we get stuck with the $40.50 no matter what.

 

[dullard]

As others mentioned, the bills are generally in two categories: (1) costs that are fixed each month and (2) costs that depend on how much electricity you use. To properly compare bills, I would add up all of the costs in category (1) and separately add all of the costs in category (2).

The costs may have a bunch of different names. For example, on my bill, I have a monthly "customer charge", a monthly "facilities charge", a monthly "dividend", and various taxes on those charges. These types of charges are the exact same every month: whether I live in a one room shed using just a single lightbulb for electricity or if I have a multi-million dollar mansion using massive quantities of electricity. These fixed charges are about half of my bill. The industry trend is to keep making this a bigger and bigger portion of your electric bill (presumably since their employee salaries are fixed monthly). But it does have a sad trend of making the poorest people pay about the same as the wealthiest people regardless of the amount of energy the use. These should all be lumped into category (1).

Then I have about additional charges that depend on the amount of energy used. For me, this depends on the season (winter is a different price than summer). Also there are sales taxes on these charges. Ultimately, since this charge and tax depend on the amount of electricity I use, they should be grouped into category (2).

Then just compare category (1) and category (2) charges from each company.

 

[nakedfrog]

Didn't realize I had it so good with Puget Sound Energy, the basic charge for electricity is $7.49 (and $11.52 for natural gas).

Electricity
Tier 1 (First 83 kWh Used)
(4/27/2022 - 4/30/2022)
0.095631
Tier 1 (First 517 kWh Used)
(5/1/2022 - 5/25/2022)
0.092377
Energy Exchange Credit −0.006689
Electric Cons. Program Charge
(4/27/2022 - 4/30/2022)
0.003825
Electric Cons. Program Charge
(5/1/2022 - 5/25/2022)
0.004923
Other Electric Charges & Credits 0.004037

 

[waffleironhead]

just going to throw up my rates for comparison. (DLP wisconsin)
1108 kWh $135.18
adjustment clause $6.60
state low income fee $3.15
customer charge $9.45
total cost for 1108kWh=$154.38

 

[Red Squirrel]

Be happy you are getting small town locally baked goods and not the half cooked frozen stuff we get. They just finish the cooking at the local store.

When I go to Collingwood I enjoy the baked goods in their Timmies because they are made from scratch locally in store.

Actually I don't even think they bake here anymore. They used to though. I noticed the cinnamon rolls are especially affected as they are hard now. I think it's all done in Toronto, they seem to offload everything there now it's crazy. Even our newspaper printing and even local mail. If I mail a letter to someone across the street it gets sorted in Toronto lol.

 

[nakedfrog]

just going to throw up my rates for comparison. (DLP wisconsin)
1108 kWh $135.18
adjustment clause $6.60
state low income fee $3.15
customer charge $9.45
total cost for 1108kWh=$154.38

Dang, you mining crypto or running electric heat or something?

 

[skyking]

That $7.49 that's what I'm talking about for the net metering I'm going to do. I'm stuck with that 40 bucks. I'll spend about $25,000 on solar panels then I'll still have a $40 power bill no matter how well I do!

 

[waffleironhead]

Dang, you mining crypto or running electric heat or something?

Partial electric heat yeah. Electric is cheaper than propane for heating right now.
thankfully heating season is over.

 

[dullard]

That $7.49 that's what I'm talking about for the net metering I'm going to do. I'm stuck with that 40 bucks. I'll spend about $25,000 on solar panels then I'll still have a $40 power bill no matter how well I do!

It is for that reason that I'm considering doing a small no-inverter solar installation. Basically directly hook up a DC heat pump to a few solar panels on my garage roof and get free heating/cooling supplement from there on out. Something like this: https://www.hotspotenergy.com/DC-air-conditioner/ Saves all the cost on going full solar: the inverters, the batteries, the wiring, the new meter, etc. Everyone recommends against that approach, but the high monthly fixed electric bills just make net metering a much less attractive option for me.

 

[sdifox]

Dang, you mining crypto or running electric heat or something?

I am paying 250 a month for hydro.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Here's my last HydroOne bill for comparison and break down of TOU charges.

Residential - Urban High Density
Electricity ................................................................. $70.84
Delivery .................................................................... $57.53
Regulatory Charges ........................................................... $3.09
HST (87086-5821-RT0001) ..................................................... $17.09
Ontario Electricity Rebate ................................................. −$22.35
Total of your electricity charges........................................... $126.20


                          Usage (kWh)       Rate (¢)        Amount

On-Peak                   117.2538          17.0            $19.93
Mid-Peak                  127.8708          11.3            $14.45
Off-Peak                  444.6606           8.2            $36.46

 

[nakedfrog]

I am paying 250 a month for hydro.

I was only referring to the kWh usage, not the dollar amount.
The rental I was in last year had an electric boiler and baseboard heat, and my "hydro" bill (as y'all annoyingly insist on referring to it) peaked at $400USD in winter, or $500CAD. It sucked.

 

[sdifox]

I was only referring to the kWh usage, not the dollar amount.
The rental I was in last year had an electric boiler and baseboard heat, and my "hydro" bill (as y'all annoyingly insist on referring to it) peaked at $400USD in winter, or $500CAD. It sucked.

Our kwh rates are 17, 11.3 and 8.2 depending on time of use. And since I am mostly WFH it stings.

 

[nakedfrog]

Our kwh rates are 17, 11.3 and 8.2 depending on time of use. And since I am mostly WFH it stings.

I'm 100% WFH and used 360 kWh last month (some of which was my partner running a space heater)
Your peak rate is a bit higher at 0.135, but your other rates are lower.

 

[Brainonska511]

Here in MA, choosing a supplier only really impacts the generation part of the bill. The other parts of the bill, like transmission, are controlled by the local utility - some of those are fixed costs and some are a per kWh charge.

 

[allisolm]

Wow! So many folks with bills detailing charges, rebates, fees, rates and so on.

My bill says:

Electric - Residential
Service from 4/1/2022 - 4/29/2022 $87.25
Curr Read 67816
Prev Read 67235 Billed usage 581 KWH

I have no idea if there are any fees or other charges or anything included. I have no choice of providers so I just pay it.

 

[sdifox]

Wow! So many folks with bills detailing charges, rebates, fees, rates and so on.

My bill says:

Electric - Residential
Service from 4/1/2022 - 4/29/2022 $87.25
Curr Read 67816
Prev Read 67235 Billed usage 581 KWH

I have no idea if there are any fees or other charges or anything included. I have no choice of providers so I just pay it.

blended rate of 15 cent is great.