topic Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS in Community Chat

A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

MamaWick — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 20:04:21 GMT

If your utilities are on auto pay, stop it for a month or two. If your heating bill is normally, say $75 a month but sky rockets because of our blackouts and rolling blackouts (and yes, that causes increase in usage), the auto pay will deduct that sky rocketed amount.

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

Kachina624 — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 20:15:32 GMT

There has got to be something wrong with recent reports of astronomical bills. People couldn't possibly had their meters read and have gotten their bills that fast.

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

Lali1 — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 20:17:56 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
There has got to be something wrong with recent reports of astronomical bills. People couldn't possibly had their meters read and have gotten their bills that fast.

I thought the exact same thing. Something very very wrong about this story. People don't care to find out if things are true they just freak out and go crazy.

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

patbz — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 20:20:51 GMT

The reason Texans know what their bill will be is because the rate per kilowatt jumped by 9000% so if they take last month's bill, check the kilowatt usage, multiply by 9000% they've got it!( ugh).

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

millieshops — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 20:34:30 GMT

I am not personally involved but I do have Texas relatives, so I read to begin to understand the issues, but decided to quit because it seems as if there is a political component to this and that’s one more layer I know zilch about.

now all I know is what I know from living for years in cold weather and experiencing the horrid discomfort of being without winter power. So sorry, Texas

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

LTT1 — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 20:38:54 GMT

@MamaWick wrote:
If your utilities are on auto pay, stop it for a month or two. If your heating bill is normally, say $75 a month but sky rockets because of our blackouts and rolling blackouts (and yes, that causes increase in usage), the auto pay will deduct that sky rocketed amount.

Thank you for your helpful input!

I'm sure the Texans that read this will appreciate it💛

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

ValuSkr — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 20:53:19 GMT

@MamaWick wrote:
If your heating bill is normally, say $75 a month but sky rockets because of our blackouts and rolling blackouts (and yes, that causes increase in usage), the auto pay will deduct that sky rocketed amount.

I understand about rates increasing, but wouldn't your usage be less during blackouts and rolling blackouts?

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

MamaWick — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 20:53:46 GMT

@Kachina624 Warning about auto pay...just in case. Our bills ARE going to be higher because of the surge...but I don't know how much higher, so why take the chance if one had auto pay?

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

Cakers3 — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:03:18 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
There has got to be something wrong with recent reports of astronomical bills. People couldn't possibly had their meters read and have gotten their bills that fast.

@Kachina624 You keep asking the same question on all the threads.

Most meters are read remotely now. Many customers are on e-billing so it is very realistic that they received a bill depending upon their billing dates.

I cannot verify if all these stories about bills being $17,000 and it is possible that they are receiving ESTIMATED bills before a final bill is issued.

Just as the floating stories regarding $999/day hotel fees, many stories are not always true.

But it is possible some have already seen their bills.

hth

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

granddi — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:03:37 GMT

@Lali1 wrote:
@Kachina624 wrote:
There has got to be something wrong with recent reports of astronomical bills. People couldn't possibly had their meters read and have gotten their bills that fast.
I thought the exact same thing. Something very very wrong about this story. People don't care to find out if things are true they just freak out and go crazy.

Unfortunately, the reports are true. As a Texas living through all this misery, there are many layers to our problems.

Texas Electrical Power is deregulated. You must "shop" for the deal you want. This could be a fixed price per killowatt hour or it can be flexible depending on many factors. One of those factors is the price of natural gas. When the power was depleted by demand and equipment break/shut down, more natural gas had to be purchased by the power company but at a "spot" price. This price was many times the lower contracted price. The extra cost was passed onto customers. Spot price= think of price gouging of essentials during any disaster.Texas is not a part of the national grid. They decided to have their own source.

We were able to access our electric account and see our usage since last billing. This must be how some know their bills. Many actual bills are shown by local tv.

Far West Texas and far East Texas opted to not enter this go it alone energy plan that was hatched decades ago by none other than ENRON. Texas citizens will be following the money. This will be the most expensive casulity loss in our history--more than Harvey.

Natural gas lines froze. Wind generators were not winterized. Nuclear Power went down. Power plant equipment froze. Transformers blew.

Everything went wrong that could have gone wrong. It was a worst case scenairo.

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

mspatmac — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:04:08 GMT

@patbz wrote:
The reason Texans know what their bill will be is because the rate per kilowatt jumped by 9000% so if they take last month's bill, check the kilowatt usage, multiply by 9000% they've got it!( ugh).

@MamaWick @patbz Thanks for the reminder MamaWick, with all that's going on I didn't think of that. Patbz, great explanation, fully explains why it's important to stop auto pay.

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

Kachina624 — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:05:13 GMT

@MamaWick. I agree, I'd shut off the auto pay too. I had a rude awakening years ago when I had a sudden leak that resulted in a $600 water bill. To this day, I still pay it manually every month.

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

Kachina624 — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:10:32 GMT

@Cakers3 wrote:
@Kachina624 wrote:
There has got to be something wrong with recent reports of astronomical bills. People couldn't possibly had their meters read and have gotten their bills that fast.
@Kachina624 You keep asking the same question on all the threads.

Most meters are read remotely now. Many customers are on e-billing so it is very realistic that they received a bill depending upon their billing dates.

I cannot verify if all these stories about bills being $17,000 and it is possible that they are receiving ESTIMATED bills before a final bill is issued.

Just as the floating stories regarding $999/day hotel fees, many stories are not always true.

But it is possible some have already seen their bills.

hth

@Cakers3. If its okay with you (or not) I'll keep asking the same question until I get a sensible answer. Yours was not it.

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

kaydee50 — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:15:42 GMT

@granddi Thank you for a very good and clear explanation of what is happening in Texas. Good luck to you!

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

Kachina624 — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:24:02 GMT

@granddi. Some people are going to have a lot to answer for. You can probably kiss a lot of politicians goodbye. This scandal will go on for years. Millions of people snookered.

Thanks for the logical explanation. All of the 35 years I lived in Texas, I never heard of that Mickey Mouse electric company. I just paid Houston Lighting and Power every month and didn't give it a second thought.

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

Greeneyedlady21 — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:22:16 GMT

@granddi Thank you for your candid informative answer. I hope and pray things get better soon.

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

Anonymous032819 — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:22:25 GMT

@Cakers3 wrote:
@Kachina624 wrote:
There has got to be something wrong with recent reports of astronomical bills. People couldn't possibly had their meters read and have gotten their bills that fast.
@Kachina624 You keep asking the same question on all the threads.

Most meters are read remotely now. Many customers are on e-billing so it is very realistic that they received a bill depending upon their billing dates.

I cannot verify if all these stories about bills being $17,000 and it is possible that they are receiving ESTIMATED bills before a final bill is issued.

Just as the floating stories regarding $999/day hotel fees, many stories are not always true.

But it is possible some have already seen their bills.

hth

@Cakers3

You are 100% correct.

The days of an actual human being going around and reading meters are a thing of the past.

Now, a computer keeps track of how much energy and gas is consumed by the customer.

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

Lali1 — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:25:21 GMT

@Cakers3 wrote:
@Kachina624 wrote:
There has got to be something wrong with recent reports of astronomical bills. People couldn't possibly had their meters read and have gotten their bills that fast.
@Kachina624 You keep asking the same question on all the threads.

Most meters are read remotely now. Many customers are on e-billing so it is very realistic that they received a bill depending upon their billing dates.

I cannot verify if all these stories about bills being $17,000 and it is possible that they are receiving ESTIMATED bills before a final bill is issued.

Just as the floating stories regarding $999/day hotel fees, many stories are not always true.

But it is possible some have already seen their bills.

hth

In my area they are not read remotely. A car with a big reader rides around and reads them. They don't get out of the car it just reads as it goes. Just as Kachina said there's no way that has happened will all that is going on. I don't believe this story applies to the majority of us. Maybe something happened by accident but the average person is not going to get a bill like that.

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

Kachina624 — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:29:44 GMT

@Anonymous032819. Maybe thats how they do things in California but we have meter readers here. So the reply was not 100% correct. How could you possibly know what they do in every municipality in the US to so positively affirm that someone is 100% correct?

Re: A TIP FOR MY FELLOW TEXANS

Spurt — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:50:46 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@granddi. Some people are going to have a lot to answer for. You can probably kiss a lot of politicians goodbye. This scandal will go on for years. Millions of people snookered.

@Kachina624

To put it in Reader's Digest terms. There is a separate charge on the bill in addition to the wattage used....the separate charge is called a "fuel adjustment" and it's based on the market price for energy....thats what's going to cause the increase.....

Now our Mayor says it should definitely not be the consumers but ERCOT (the energy distributor) that should bear the additional cost due to mismanagement.

Our energy company, CPS, said they would try to spread the increase out over a 10 year period....But now other considerations are on the table.... The long-term plan is still taking shape and options on the table include bonds, federal aid and working with state lawmakers. (there's something called a "rainy day fund" the State has in place....for unforseen catastrophes)..... But I dont trust the CEO of CPS...she has been caught in so many lies as she's tried to throw other people under the bus for her part of the mis-management at the local level....