Did the City allow AEP / PSCO Electric Power Company to up their rates?

[Mike 01Hawk]

So... this past month we've been running sans AC/Heater.  It's been great.  We pretty much KNEW our power bill would be dirt cheap this month.  So we were a little shocked that it actually went up! 

Guess April is the time they up their rates?

Previous bill:
972 KWH, $70.00 = $0.0720 per KWH
March15-April15 bill:
738 KWH, $72.28 = $0.0979 per KWH 

Power usage decreased a significant 234KWH, I was assuming this month's bill would have been ~$54 instead.

Did AEP get a pass on significantly upping their rates?  They've been in the 7c range for as long as I've been tracking.

[Hoss]

So... this past month we've been running sans AC/Heater.  It's been great.  We pretty much KNEW our power bill would be dirt cheap this month.  So we were a little shocked that it actually went up! 

Guess April is the time they up their rates?

Previous bill:
972 KWH, $70.00 = $0.0720 per KWH
March15-April15 bill:
738 KWH, $72.28 = $0.0979 per KWH 

Power usage decreased a significant 234KWH, I was assuming this month's bill would have been ~$54 instead.

Did AEP get a pass on significantly upping their rates?  They've been in the 7c range for as long as I've been tracking.

This was front page news about two weeks ago.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20100401_49_A1_AEPPSO450348&archive=yes

Also, the city has nothing to do with whether or not AEP ups their rates.  That's the OCC (Oklahoma Corporation Commission).

[swake]

So... this past month we've been running sans AC/Heater.  It's been great.  We pretty much KNEW our power bill would be dirt cheap this month.  So we were a little shocked that it actually went up! 

Guess April is the time they up their rates?

Previous bill:
972 KWH, $70.00 = $0.0720 per KWH
March15-April15 bill:
738 KWH, $72.28 = $0.0979 per KWH 

Power usage decreased a significant 234KWH, I was assuming this month's bill would have been ~$54 instead.

Did AEP get a pass on significantly upping their rates?  They've been in the 7c range for as long as I've been tracking.

The city doesn't set rates, the state Corporation Commission does.

[Hoss]

The city doesn't set rates, the state Corporation Commission does.

Technically, the state doesn't.  AEP does.  The state just votes whether or not to allow them to.

And I wasn't aware that the OCC doesn't allow AEP to make a profit off fuel costs.  That was new to me.

[Conan71]

Interesting, we've been getting a fuel rate credit (not sure how long), now they approve a fuel adjustment when natural gas is staying very low. 

I'm not quite understanding an adjustment for fuel increases as natural gas closed at 3.93/mcf on the spot market yesterday.  It spiked briefly around $7.50 the first of the year but it's been below $5.00/mcf most of the last year.  I can't believe that AEP/PSO would have bought gas at the peak of the market.  I'm assuming though that AEP must be open with all their books to the OCC.

I believe most of their inventory of fired power plants are natural gas with one or two coal plants (sgrizzle said a couple of weeks ago, it's escaping me now).

[rwarn17588]

Previous bill:
972 KWH, $70.00 = $0.0720 per KWH
March15-April15 bill:
738 KWH, $72.28 = $0.0979 per KWH 

Man, I'm just startled by your power consumption. Even during the hottest summer before we got our solar panels, I can think of one time that we went over 800 KWH, and that was during a heat wave in which the AC was running all the time.

Do you have a big appliance or something that's causing a power drain? A sump pump or water pump, perhaps?

[sgrizzle]

Man, I'm just startled by your power consumption. Even during the hottest summer before we got our solar panels, I can think of one time that we went over 800 KWH, and that was during a heat wave in which the AC was running all the time.

Do you have a big appliance or something that's causing a power drain? A sump pump or water pump, perhaps?

average useage is 1000kwh. My highest (july 08) was 3600.

Yes, PSO has one coal plant and the rest are gas.

And yes conan they have a fuel rate "increase" but if you will look, it's a fraction of a penny. Gas is low but it's not at historic lows. The big swing is because the refund is over.

PSO passes on what they pay for gas. I believe they lock in rates when they can but at PSO's volume, no-one wants to lock in very low rates or very extended periods of time. AEP also has to justify all of their expenses and is kept at a fixed profit point above those expenses. When rates go up, it's because allowed expenses go up, technically. People also complain because "The OCC approves every increase" when in actuality there are a lot of steps and a lot of negotiating. AEP asks for an increase, OCC asks for a decrease and then OCC decides on a "fair" middle ground.

[Mike 01Hawk]

That explains it Hoss, we don't receive the local paper nor watch the local news.

Rwarn, our Summer peak was 2400+    In October of 2009 though we had better double pane windows installed, so hopefully it won't be that bad this summer.  House was built in '85, ~3400sq/ft so it has two zones.  We have two fridges hooked up, and our stove/oven is electric   However we have gas water and a gas furnace.  Oh and we usually have a Laptop and a Desktop on 24/7 (in S3 sleep mode mind you).  I also changed a lot of the lights over to CFLs.

The next step would be to get a solar water heater, siding to up the R factor of our house (a minimal amount )  And then I guess look at solar panels.  

Our neighbor 2 houses down has two Windspire VAWTs  I still need to talk to him, but last time I looked into it, it'd take forever to recoup the costs.

@ the current rate, our Summer peak is gonna cost us north of $230  

Here's my full electricity log.
         Date                 KWH      Cost      Per KWH
6-12 to 7-14-2009     2424   $175.79    $0.0725
7-14 to 8-12              2004   $145.93    $0.0728
8-12 to 9-11              1476   $108.65    $0.0736
9-11 to 10-12              955     $75.21    $0.0788
10-12 to 11-10            673     $53.25    $0.0791
11-10 to 12-11            897     $64.74    $0.0722
12-11 to 1-14-2010   1139     $75.80    $0.0665
1-14 to 2-12                874     $63.22    $0.0723
2-12 to 3-15                972     $70.00    $0.0720
3-15 to 4-14                738     $72.28    $0.0979

[Hoss]

average useage is 1000kwh. My highest (july 08) was 3600.

Yes, PSO has one coal plant and the rest are gas.

And yes conan they have a fuel rate "increase" but if you will look, it's a fraction of a penny. Gas is low but it's not at historic lows. The big swing is because the refund is over.

PSO passes on what they pay for gas. I believe they lock in rates when they can but at PSO's volume, no-one wants to lock in very low rates or very extended periods of time. AEP also has to justify all of their expenses and is kept at a fixed profit point above those expenses. When rates go up, it's because allowed expenses go up, technically. People also complain because "The OCC approves every increase" when in actuality there are a lot of steps and a lot of negotiating. AEP asks for an increase, OCC asks for a decrease and then OCC decides on a "fair" middle ground.

On the fuel rate change, the article stated:

Before the rate change, fuel rate was minus (yes, minus..it was a rebate after all) 1.61 cents per kw/h
After the rate change, fuel rate was 0.16 cents per kw/h

That's a net increase of 1.77 cents per kw/h

So someone who consumes ~750 kw/h per month should expect a bill increase of about 13.25.

My household consumes about 900 per month on average (I have three PCs on nearly full time, but it used to be upwards of 1500 kwh a month).

We are also on AMP.  76 this month.  Our monthly bill without AMP would have been 95.  Granted I live in 1400 sq ft house, and we never have the a/c on any lower than 75 in the summer.  We have gas heat, so that's a non issue as far as AEP goes (aside from the blower motor, anyway).

[Cats Cats Cats]

TXU in Texas has 11 cents  KWH year round flat rate (it says average of 2000kwh) so I don't know if that means you pay more after 2k or what.

Oh, and they have a few terms for that rate...

"TXU Energy Resident's ChoiceSM is a fixed rate plan only available through online channels that has a minimum term of 12 months and an early cancellation fee of $150. Enrollment in an automatic recurring payment plan is required. The only circumstance in which the price could change during the 12-month minimum term is to reflect actual changes in law or regulatory charges as described in the Electricity Facts Label (EFL). See the Terms of Service Agreement and Electricity Facts Label for more details. "

[Hoss]

As an average, Oklahoma has some of the best rates in the country.  Granted this report was done before the AEP rate hike, but at that time, Oklahoma was only being beat by Missouri, North Dakota and Nebraska for lowest residential electricity rates in the country.

I'd be curious to see the report reflecting the rate hike.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html

[Conan71]

(I have three PCs on nearly full time, but it used to be upwards of 1500 kwh a month).

Running a porn site server farm? 

[Conan71]

TXU in Texas has 11 cents  KWH year round flat rate (it says average of 2000kwh) so I don't know if that means you pay more after 2k or what.

Oh, and they have a few terms for that rate...

"TXU Energy Resident's ChoiceSM is a fixed rate plan only available through online channels that has a minimum term of 12 months and an early cancellation fee of $150. Enrollment in an automatic recurring payment plan is required. The only circumstance in which the price could change during the 12-month minimum term is to reflect actual changes in law or regulatory charges as described in the Electricity Facts Label (EFL). See the Terms of Service Agreement and Electricity Facts Label for more details. "

Sounds like the "lock-in" rate ONG offers it's customers for gas every fall. 

[sgrizzle]

As an average, Oklahoma has some of the best rates in the country.  Granted this report was done before the AEP rate hike, but at that time, Oklahoma was only being beat by Missouri, North Dakota and Nebraska for lowest residential electricity rates in the country.

I'd be curious to see the report reflecting the rate hike.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html

Probably still in the bottom 5.

Gotta love the rates in Texas.. Deregulation FAIL.

[Hoss]

Running a porn site server farm? 

Nope.  My personal PC, my weather station PC, and my Mother's.

Oh, you were joking!

Doh!