Posted on 02/16/2023 7:36:37 AM PST by george76
Brent Eldridge had heard that prices for natural gas were high this winter, but nothing prepared him for how bad it could be.
When he opened the envelope from Long Beach’s utility department, he couldn’t believe the total: $907.13, nearly eight times higher than his bill at the same time last year.
“It made me want to puke,” said Eldridge, 48, a pastor.
Household budgets in the Golden State, already stretched thin as prices soar for everything from rent to eggs, are being pummeled by monster gas bills.
Southern California Gas Co. and Pacific Gas & Electric began warning customers in January that they would see higher bills after the wholesale price of natural gas hit record highs. But reality didn’t sink in for many customers until their bills started arriving later in the month.
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Bills have soared “to levels that we haven’t seen in the last 20 years,” Richardson said. “We know families are struggling to make ends meet.”
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SoCalGas and PG&E attributed rising costs to unusually cold weather
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California imports about 90% of its natural gas.
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The increase is not fair for working-class families.
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Lionel Mares .. reading the fine print of his bill, which said he was being charged $3.45 per therm (one unit of natural gas), up from 84 cents at the same time last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Huh. One of my neighbors, no doubt.
I have ~1700sq ft and my average electrical was $97 in 2022.
So, at $12/mo her rooftop solar farm is paying itself off at about $85 a month via the PG&E bill. What’s not being accounted for, here, is the portion of the monthly mortgage — principal and interest — that represents the installation cost of that solar energy system. That cost was integrated into the purchase price, so she’s ended up trading a larger monthly electric bill for a larger mortgage.
The money is still going bye-bye every 30 days.
“she’s ended up trading a larger monthly electric bill for a larger mortgage”
True, but with house prices in California, you won’t find the solar cost in the mortgage.
Depending where in Concord, tho.
Crystyl Ranch is gonna set ya back seven figures, but there’s homes in the sixes in older parts of town.
Nope, they aren’t in seven figure territory. Lol.
I go to https://nextdoor.com and read all the horror stories of the new massive gas bills here in the San Fernando valley.
This is on top of the massive electric bills.
All thanks to the democrat party.
it’s been pretty chilly this winter... even in LA area
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