Enmax fixed vs. floating rates...

[Mazrim]

I get that Enmax won't read meters all the time, but is it normal for them to repeatedly update your usage? I've been getting this for a couple months now on my electricty. It's been up 500 kWh and down 600 kWh which isn't exactly a small amount. How could they be that far off? The bill looks hilarious with all the credits and charges.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by timun

Spoiler!

Not everyone can live in a van down by the river, man.

(just kidding mine is higher than yours because I used energy like it’s going out of style and but I’ve still never topped 540).

[Whynotnow]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

The equity thickness piece you can argue either way based on risk tolerance.

But any argument for higher ROE is basically founded on, "we think our customers should pay us more money." I'd like that in my business also.

But AB regulated transmission assets all trade for a price to book value of >1, which means the ROE is so attractive investors are willing to pay more than $1 for a dollar of alberta transmission assets. As long as that remains true the ROE should be declining not increasing, because that means there would be no issue attracting capital for new investments.

Also, I wasn't saying BHE overpaid for Altalink, quite the opposite. They're shrewd investors and wouldn't overpay. Since they're willing to pay more than the assets regulated cost base that implies Altalink is getting too good a deal from power consumers and their return on equity could be dialed back to benefit consumers.

There are a few reasons that paying a premium to rate base makes sense and it’s not because the equity thickness and ROE are too high. In many cases it’s because you see rate base growth, you are buying the growth with the premium. You can’t squeeze roe much more, or equity thickness for that matter, this high interest rate period has shown the pressure that puts in place. It’s not as if Alberta’s roe is out of step with other jurisdiction and there’s almost no regulated rate assets that have sold near the rate base in the world, let alone Alberta.

[Zary's-Mustache]

Originally Posted by timun

Spoiler!

Damn we used 997 KWH and I am pretty anal about shutting off lights when not In use. We do have 2 sets of appliances and 2 extra freezers. Small 1100 square foot bungalow with a developed basement.

I don't get how we reached that much.

[BigNumbers]

We easily go over 3,200 in the summer. Two furnaces and AC units cooling about 3700sq ft

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by BigNumbers

We easily go over 3,200 in the summer. Two furnaces and AC units cooling about 3700sq ft

Those are big numbers, BigNumbers.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

I get that Enmax won't read meters all the time, but is it normal for them to repeatedly update your usage? I've been getting this for a couple months now on my electricty. It's been up 500 kWh and down 600 kWh which isn't exactly a small amount. How could they be that far off? The bill looks hilarious with all the credits and charges.

They once went six months without a read for me. Overcharged me about $400.

Funny thing was, none of the numbers were marked as estimates. It was only when they did an actual read were all the numbers on the graph shown as estimates. Grr...

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Shazam

They once went six months without a read for me. Overcharged me about $400.

Funny thing was, none of the numbers were marked as estimates. It was only when they did an actual read were all the numbers on the graph shown as estimates. Grr...

I was a meter reader at Enmax many moons ago. We would get a notification if there was a meter on that day's route that hadn't been read in several months. We had flyers with is that asked the homeowner to read the meter and how to call the reading in.

Did you ever see anything like that?

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

I was a meter reader at Enmax many moons ago. We would get a notification if there was a meter on that day's route that hadn't been read in several months. We had flyers with is that asked the homeowner to read the meter and how to call the reading in.

Did you ever see anything like that?

I think most electric meters are outside now. Mine is visible from the back alley (with binoculars). It would be way more effort to come drop a flyer than actually read the meter.

[DoubleK]

They wouldn't not read it if it was easily visible. They provided binoculars

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by BigNumbers

We easily go over 3,200 in the summer. Two furnaces and AC units cooling about 3700sq ft

This screams large suburban house. I always grouped you with a Sunnyside/Hillhurst condo-living yop-gobbling Druh-loving crowd... Very deceptive.

[AC]

2 furnaces and AC as the reason for massive energy bills makes it sound like you're cranking the heat and the AC and letting them fight it out. Like a significantly less exciting version of BattleBots.

[BigNumbers]

I should buy one of those whole home monitors and see why... I assume the kids leaving PS5s and TVs and stuff on isn't helping...

The problem is, so much of your bill is stupid fixed charges, tough to whine about LED lights left on like my old man would have...

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by BigNumbers

The problem is, so much of your bill is stupid fixed charges, tough to whine about LED lights left on like my old man would have...

I think a lot of those costs are tied to consumption even moreso than NG. For me it's either 36 or 37% of my bill is the cost of the electricity and that's with a fixed rate of 7.9 cents per kwh. All my other charges look to track with the variation in monthly consumption. As far as I can see the admin charge is based on days in the billing cycle, and the rest are based on how much I used. That fixed charge is 27 cents a day in my region. So if I cut my electricity use by 30%...my bill would drop like 28.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

They wouldn't not read it if it was easily visible. They provided binoculars

I get that that's the expectation, but by experience my meter is visible from the alley 100% of the time. It gets read much less than 100% of months.

[timun]

Originally Posted by BigNumbers

I should buy one of those whole home monitors and see why... I assume the kids leaving PS5s and TVs and stuff on isn't helping...

The problem is, so much of your bill is stupid fixed charges, tough to whine about LED lights left on like my old man would have...

Originally Posted by timun

I'd start with publishing delivery charges, rate riders, etc. on everyone's bills. We show the math for the energy charges: we should show it for everything else.

[...] in my experience the average consumer [has] no idea what the charges on their bills are, just that they're there and it doesn't seem to matter how much energy one uses, and they feel they're getting ####ed one way or another.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by timun

When you’re right, you’re right lol

[Raekwon]

At least I know why mine is so big for an average house. Keeping the A/C at 17c because builders don't separate the HVAC for floors so have to keep it low and cold on the main floor to keep the upstair cool. Considering Split A/C if my unit ever dies to help with that.

5 or 6 PC's running all the time some are servers/router some are general use, and then consoles. I'm sure if I just did some basic calculations the result would come close to my bill usage. with my rate near doubling in August though I may need to make some changes . . .

[Fuzz]

Grab a Kill a Watt meter or something similar off Amazon and it will pay for itself. I have a TV with peripherals upstairs I don't use much, and it was drawing 40W just sitting there all the time. Same with a speaker system in the garage. I just turn the power bar off now. I had no idea until I had the meter.

If you have lots of electronics, the old wall wart plugs draw power even when not in use. Pretty easy to go around your house with one of these things and decide what you really do want to keep paying power for.

[BigNumbers]

As a follow up, I know it's not just lights and PS5s...

I have a decent sized hot tub, electric heat in my garage, and a big dehumidifier in the garage (for days like today!). Lots of things that improve quality of life, but come with a power cost.