Poll: Californians - How much was your December PG&E Bill? (San Diego: rent, HOA)

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Interesting tips. If I had a dryer, I must admit I'd use it. I hate ironing :-)

I so drool over that Wedgwood range of yours! I love that you could use it even on spare the air days. Those suckers will really heat a room! I remember having old wood stoves back in my hippy days in WA state. I never got good at baking with them, but they were fun to use. I love how yours has the option for gas, too.

That stove is very heavy and will last several lifetimes... I know I will use it somewhere.

Can't remember the last time I ironed

My grandmother living on the farm cooked with a combination wood/electric untill the week she passed away... all winter she would use the wood side and the kitchen was always nice and warm... she baked all the time too.

In summer, she would use the electric unless it was bread baking... in the hot months there was no reason for all the extra heat.

Grandfather would supply all the wood needed from trees storms would topple.

Back on topic...

One reason my PGE usage is on the lower side is because I live in Oakland CA... A few years back, Parade magazine did a study based on living anywhere in the United States based on climate... the criteria was the number of heating and cooling days... Oakland CA was judged as having the best climate in the entire United States!!!

[kettlepot]

$49 for December. 1000 square foot house in San Diego. Attic insulation, but no wall insulation.

Why is my bill so low? Well, number one, it's San Diego. Secondly, my stove, heat, dryer, and water heater are gas. Finally, so far this winter, I have only turned the heat on during that week of the cold snap. I've made a point of opening the blinds every morning to let the sunlight and heat in. But I have to admit, there have been mornings when the house has cooled down to 60 degrees at night. Perfect for being in bed, but it makes it very difficult to get myself out of bed.

For those with higher bills, natural gas is so cheap, and electric is so expensive, that it is probably cheaper to heat the entire house with your gas furnace than to use a small room heater to heat the one room you are currently in.

My highest bill ever: $100 during the electricity "crisis" of 2000.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

That stove is very heavy and will last several lifetimes... I know I will use it somewhere.

Can't remember the last time I ironed

My grandmother living on the farm cooked with a combination wood/electric untill the week she passed away... all winter she would use the wood side and the kitchen was always nice and warm... she baked all the time too.

In summer, she would use the electric unless it was bread baking... in the hot months there was no reason for all the extra heat.

Grandfather would supply all the wood needed from trees storms would topple.

Back on topic...

One reason my PGE usage is on the lower side is because I live in Oakland CA... A few years back, Parade magazine did a study based on living anywhere in the United States based on climate... the criteria was the number of heating and cooling days... Oakland CA was judged as having the best climate in the entire United States!!!

Originally Posted by kettlepot

$49 for December. 1000 square foot house in San Diego. Attic insulation, but no wall insulation.

Why is my bill so low? Well, number one, it's San Diego. Secondly, my stove, heat, dryer, and water heater are gas. Finally, so far this winter, I have only turned the heat on during that week of the cold snap. I've made a point of opening the blinds every morning to let the sunlight and heat in. But I have to admit, there have been mornings when the house has cooled down to 60 degrees at night. Perfect for being in bed, but it makes it very difficult to get myself out of bed.

For those with higher bills, natural gas is so cheap, and electric is so expensive, that it is probably cheaper to heat the entire house with your gas furnace than to use a small room heater to heat the one room you are currently in.

My highest bill ever: $100 during the electricity "crisis" of 2000.

Okay, this was my theory with this thread - that our weather is so mild, that utility bills are lower than other parts of the country. So, when thinking about moving here and the supposed high cost of living, they should consider that their utility bills will be cheaper. So, perhaps the rentmortgage payment here, minus the normal utilities where they are from, will equal a cost of living less than they expected.

But, obviously, there are many variables.

[NewToCA]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Okay, this was my theory with this thread - that our weather is so mild, that utility bills are lower than other parts of the country. So, when thinking about moving here and the supposed high cost of living, they should consider that their utility bills will be cheaper. So, perhaps the rentmortgage payment here, minus the normal utilities where they are from, will equal a cost of living less than they expected.

But, obviously, there are many variables.

We moved here from the Midwest, and found that our heating bill runs about $250-$300 lower for the season but our electric bill (Sacramento, not the California coastal areas) runs about $100 or so higher in the summer than before, and water/sewer is about $300 higher for the year.

Taking all three into account, our utility bills are slightly higher in California.

[moochdawgg]

just got it yesterday $341 my home is 2800 sq ft 4bed 3 bath single level. Of which $205 was elect. and $135 for gas. Solar is becoming an interesting thought when I replace my roof.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

We have Southern California Edison for our Electric in Ventura County and Southern California Gas Company for our gas, two seperate companies.

Our electric bill is normally around $37 or so. Our gas bill is under $35 a month. Maybe $72 a month for both. We live in a 4 bedroom 2 and a half bath home. Take into account that we have a laundry room that we have not used since we have owned the home. Have yet to remodel that so we have held off on buying a washer and dryer as of yet. I would assume that the bill will change when we finish that room and start using our own washer and dryer.

I have replaced all the lights with flourescent and LED's. We also turn off lights all the time. We limit the time that the kids can spend on the TV. Kitchen is closed after 6:30 so people are not opening the refrigerator during the night. We hardly ever use lights during the day and normally most things are off all day long. Even at night when we are watching TV we have most of the lights off in the home.


Now lets talk water, sewer, and trash. In Oxnard you pay the city for these services. Not all cities have their own trash service but Oxnard does. We average about $115 a month for that. Our lot is only 6,000 square feet though and about 40% of the back yard is patio. The front yard does take a bit of water to keep green.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by moochdawgg

just got it yesterday $341 my home is 2800 sq ft 4bed 3 bath single level. Of which $205 was elect. and $135 for gas. Solar is becoming an interesting thought when I replace my roof.

Wow, where do you live?

[moochdawgg]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

Wow, where do you live?

Hello I live in the SF east bayarea, and don't use heat at nite. However, I have a well pump that uses elect. We have a lot of electronics here.. computers TV's ect. Our home is large and I have heard of PG&E bills over 400.00 for large homes during the winter or summer being common here. No water bill though as I live out in the boonies on septic & well

[felinius]

Alameda Power: $30-50/month

SMUD (Sacramento): $60-130/month, depending on the weather

The inland areas were very expensive in the summer because you'd *have* to use the AC ... I tried staying in an apartment without AC during the summer. It reached 90F just inside the apartment alone!

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by moochdawgg

Hello I live in the SF east bayarea, and don't use heat at nite. However, I have a well pump that uses elect. We have a lot of electronics here.. computers TV's ect. Our home is large and I have heard of PG&E bills over 400.00 for large homes during the winter or summer being common here. No water bill though as I live out in the boonies on septic & well

Location is everything. We live on the coast and even with larger homes few have AC here. A coworker lives in a 5,000 square feet home at the beach and no AC. Around here the temps average in the 70's year round. Which is interesting because it has been in the high 70's to low 80's recently. I love January. LOL With weather like this even a heater is seldom used.