Utilities?

[Terri722]

Originally Posted by milfeld

What are utilities prices like? Winter? Summer? We pay $250/month for electric (average annual billing) and $50/mo for gas (avg.) in Fort Worth, Texas.

TIA,
Sandy

Wow...we live in a small town near Beaumont Texas and our electric is
outrageous...granted that we have a swimming pool and I know that is
part of the problem...but we have already reached $430 this summer...
I honestly think $280 is the lowest it's ever been....

[fragkeeper]

Ive already seen my elec bill hit over $800 in tx here this year. $300 utilities sounds like a godsend for us.

[Idunn]

"One of the happiest days of my life was when I went to the gas utility and the electrical utility and said, ‘I want my accounts disconnected,'" he says.

"Although the June sun is already glaring over the vast mesa outside Taos, N.M., the smooth, mud-plastered walls inside the half-finished building are cool to the touch. "It makes the space that you hang out in 65 to 75 degrees year-round, with no fuel," Reynolds says."

There is another way. Bananas in January anyone?
Miller-McCune | Article | Earthship Trooper (http://www.miller-mccune.com/article/589 - broken link)

[TurcoLoco]

For the last several years, more than the mortgage, utilities fees had me thinking...

Most of the energy sources are not running out or low as companies claim but when one jacks up their price(s), the rest follows suit. At the end everyone gets the shaft, naturally.

[reginhild]

Comparison of Colorado Springs Energy Star home w/Xeriscaped lawn vs. non-Energy Star home w/all Kentucky Bluegrass (including estimate for increase due to 2009 water rate hike):

Since we have built an Energy Star home (3200 sq.ft.), our Winter utility bill has been right around $200/month (includes gas heat, electric, water, sewer). Our Summer utility bill was around $140/month (We have a Xeriscape yard with only 1010 sq.ft. of Kentucky Bluegrass). Our Spring/Fall utility bill was around $110/month. (home completed in 2008)

Previously we were renting a similar size home (3200 sq.ft.) that was not as energy efficient and had 6x the amount of Kentucky Bluegrass. Our Winter bill was $250-300/mo. Our Summer bill was $250-300/mo. Our Spring/Fall bill was around $140/month. (home built in 2000)

With new water rates going up 40% (2009) our old rental home would now likely be $300-$380/month in the summer but our new home will likely be around $170/month in the summer. Over the whole year we will likely average $100/month savings with the new home - about 33% reduction.

[danskone8]

In Pueblo during the Winter months, my gas bill is just under $100 and electric is $65 for a 1,750 sq. ft. house, for just myself and one medium-size dog. Being line-of-sight to Cheyenne mountain, just below Pikes Peak, adjacent to Colorado Springs, I get my TV signal out of the air without the typical cable or satellite service. Would be interested in selling my single-family house if anyone is interested. Colorado Springs becomes too expensive for retirement living, so many people relocate to Pueblo West, which offers Pueblo Reservoir for those who enjoy boating water sports and more but has some growing pains. Another community for people to consider is Canyon City, but locals have changed the spelling to Canon City to placate the Chicano populace, and it also satisfies the local Abbey where their vinyards are being commercialized, and they even grow peaches.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by danskone8

Another community for people to consider is Canyon City, but locals have changed the spelling to Canon City to placate the Chicano populace. . . .

You are joking, right? Cañon City has been spelled that way since the town was founded back in the 1860's. You'd better do some research and see how many Colorado locales have Spanish names--including 18 of the 64 counties. Oh, by the way, all of Colorado south of the Arkansas River or west of the Continental Divide was part of Mexico until the Mexican Cession of 1848.

To prove the point, here is a photo of the Cañon City Livery Stable (note spelling on advertisement), taken according to the Denver Public Library Western Collection data for the photo (from whence it was obtained) as being between 1869 and 1879.