Posted on 12/26/2015 3:01:54 PM PST by Olog-hai
Already among the two-dozen states suing to overturn new power plant emission rules, North Carolina is picking a separate fight with the Environmental Protection Agency by adopting a plan for compliance the agency is likely to reject.
State officials hope that will create a shortcut to a federal appeals court and head off any attempt by the EPA to drag out the court case while its rules get further entrenched.
North Carolina's approach is unique because it splits the difference between the handful of states that have said they won't submit any plan to the EPA, and about a dozen that are hedging their bets by developing compliance plans while they try to defeat the federal rules. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
I lived within five miles from a Duke Energy coal-fired power plant for over 20 years, they’ve spent considerable money putting scrubbers on the smoke stacks. There is no faint yellowish-brown streak across the sky anymore as there was two decades ago, hasn’t been for years, just steam for all I can tell. Even if there is some level of pollution remaining, I’m all for keeping it up and running. Solar is too peaky and expensive, wind is unreliable here. Hydroelectric gets the environmentalists upset for some reason despite being one of the cleanest, and nuclear? Forget it, people are entirely irrational and will not allow another to be built. Electricity is relatively inexpensive here in NC and I’d prefer to keep it that way.
Year Cost per killowatt 2010 0.1394 2011 0.1440 2012 0.1573 2013 0.1582 2014 0.1635 2015 0.1673How does this compare?
I’m paying 9.37 cents per kilowatt hour for residential. The coal-fired plant that I mentioned is the third most-efficient in the country.
I’m paying 11.7 cents here in CO from a co-op.
Problem is they have all the add on’s, like $20 for grid access, and other stuff so that for a small time residential user like me it drives it up to 20 cents.
My bill is up over the past five years, rate increases, five years ago it was 7.37 cents per kilowatt hour residential. It’s hard now to keep the monthly bill below $100.00 for a 1600 sf house unless I’m willing to endure uncomfortable temps, which are to me having heat less than 69 in winter and air over 74 in summer.
$.17 cents for PGE here in Kalifornia on my agriculture rate basically if your use is the middle of the night. Two other rates for morning and evening are about 25 cents and noon to six are 39 cents.
We use Smart Meters here because then we can think we’re Smart (not)
I know. Leave the state and I would if I could dig up my farm and move it.
Our utility, PGE, doesn’t want to generate electricity any more.. Just sell what subsidized residential solar green energy they can coax homeowners into making. The home owner gets paid about 3 cents a KW ! But gets to avoid the general rate rape.
My house is more or less the same size as yours.
Our Electric averages around $100 per month, a little higher in winter when we use more lighting, less in summer.
We have natural gas heat, about $125 in cold months, down to $30 in summer when all we have is hot water.
No AC/ it gets below 60 nearly every night in summer. We are at 7400 feet.
Personally, I think we are getting ripped by both electric and gas, but what can a guy do?
My house is all electric. 15 SEER heat pump, works pretty well for all but the very coldest weather we get here. When the rare single digits and below come around, the “emergency” heat strip kicks in, and the bill will be a big one if that happens more than a few times in a billing cycle. All said, gas heat is better from a comfort perspective still, it’s warmer overall whereas a heat pump takes several seconds to begin blowing warm. But, this house had what I wanted other than that.
I just re-read your earlier post, I guess I shouldn’t complain about my bill.
My house is about 3500 feet, 3 levels. Sorry, don’t know how I did that. We ended up with a house and location we call our ‘dream home’. More house than 2 people need, but we would be foolish to move, unless market conditions improve considerably.
Anyway, most winter nights here are in the single or teen digits, and almost up to freezing most days.
Here in Idaho, I pay under 9 cents per.
7.9 cents here in S. MS
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