Electric Bill (Chattanooga, Johnson City: credit score, income, costs)

[mbmouse]

I read beachbyrds electric bill amount and though to myself, "WOW, chatt has much cheaper electric rates than Johnson City". Then I got out our $217.00 electric bill for September and did the math. We pay $0.07 per KWH and you pay $0.08 per KWH so not much difference except that evidently my family are electric hogs and yours isn't LOL!.
We do however have teenage boys so we have an extra fridge plus an extra freezer in the garage and we do A LOT of laundry.
As for the water/sewage bill, it was $46.06 for water, $57.32 for sewage and $15.00 for trash pick up which equals $118.38. Now I am not sure what unit of measure they are using as the bill says 84 for water and 84 for sewage and I am sure that is not gallons, so not sure of the cost per unit difference between the counties. Anyone else have their water bill broke down and can compare by unit?

[alleycat]

Even though I live in Nashville, I'm actually have water and sewer service by the Harpeth Valley Utility District. This is a "user owned" utility that began years ago with Metro Water didn't provide water and sewer service to all parts of the county. The HVUD rates are much lower than Metro Water rates. Metro Water is a bloated government utility that is used to hand out political patronage. They probably have twice as many employees as they need.

Here's the HVUD rates:

Up to 1,000 gallons- Water $5.25 / Sewer $5.75
Next 2,000 gallons- Water $1.90 / Sewer $3.55
Next 3,000 gallons- Water $2.80 / Sewer $4.75

All of those are before any taxes. There is a summer adjustment in the sewer rate.

I pay an average of about $12 or $13 a month.

[hiknapster]

MBMouse: Is that water and sewer bill for a month or for more?

Alleycat: My water is through the Halls/Powell water district. I think $60 is really high. I think most of Knox County is Knoxville Utility Board, which they say is cheaper.

According to our water district, they raised the rates a couple of times in the past two years because they have to improve the infrastructure.

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

MBMouse: Is that water and sewer bill for a month or for more?

Alleycat: My water is through the Halls/Powell water district. I think $60 is really high. I think most of Knox County is Knoxville Utility Board, which they say is cheaper.

According to our water district, they raised the rates a couple of times in the past two years because they have to improve the infrastructure.

One month

[hiknapster]

Yikes, MBMouse! It must be all that darned laundry!

I just got last month's electric bill. It is $88! Thank goodness. The month before was a killer. And it looks like this month is almost twice as high as last year. It was this darned heat wave. I suspect that the next bill will be very reasonable. Bear in mind that I can't open my windows.

[goodbyehollywood]

My bills are really high, and I've been traveling, so I haven't even been there to run up the bills! I had one of those energy audits done in CA. They came out and red flagged all your "energy eaters" and made recommendations to make your home more energy efficient. Anybody know who to call to have that done here?

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by goodbyehollywood

My bills are really high, and I've been traveling, so I haven't even been there to run up the bills! I had one of those energy audits done in CA. They came out and red flagged all your "energy eaters" and made recommendations to make your home more energy efficient. Anybody know who to call to have that done here?

TVA sponsors some kind of energy audit through your local electric distributor. I've known people who've had it done. You can also get a no or low interest loan to pay for any approved improvements.

I would just call my local power company, or look them up on the 'net.

[knoxgarden]

Start with TVA's "energy right" program
TVA energy right Program
That will direct you to your local utility if needed.
I had a new heat pump installed through this program. I was very happy with it. Easy loan approval, low interest and TVA inspects the installation before they release the funds to the company. It cut my bill by more than half -- literally pays for itself.

[alleycat]

A high-efficiency heat pump will make a significant difference is your power usage, especially in the summer.

[mmw]

Who is the electric provider for Blount County? Does anyone know the standard KWH per rate for such?

Just want to do some comparing to my horrible electric company here in Ohio, who is charging 5.6 cents per KWH!

Thanks!