The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

Local News

March 11, 2010

Bills heat up with record-setting cold

Jamicá C. Ashley

As temperatures rise outside, some people may be hot around the collar from opening their electric bill.

Record-setting cold and snowfall left many North Carolinians with their thermostats turned up during most of January and February and as those bills continue to come in this month, many are wondering what they can do and how much more cold weather they can afford.

"Our rates have not changed but usage has increased substantially," said Winston Howell, communication specialist with Edgecombe Martin County Electric Membership Corp. "We've mostly seen increases from anywhere from 10 to 25 percent. This is the coldest winter we've seen in a while."

For those heating their home with electricity, Howell said that heating costs could account for 60-80 percent of their bill.

"Our members using electric furnaces are being affected the most," he said.

The 11,758 customers receiving electricity through Edgecombe Martin EMC pay a basic charge of $15.90 per month. Added to that is the actual amount of power consumed.

The summer and winter rates are not the same, with the winter rate being lower than the summer rate.

During the summer, May through October, customers are charged $0.0994. During the winter, customers are charged $0.0982 for the first 1,000 kWh, $0.0869 for the next 1,000 kWh and $0.0826 for usage over 2,000 kWh, plus a three percent sales tax.

Buddy Harrison, the Town of Tarboro's electrical director, said that the 6,000 customers within the town limits are paying a set price for their electricity, 0.138678 cents per kWh and that no one was excluded from the cold snap.

"We haven't had a cold snap like this in over 30 years, so yes, there was an increase for everyone.

"Our heating units end up running longer and it winds up costing all of us more," Harrison said.

One way to help lower heating, and soon cooling, costs is to switch to an energy saving heat pump.

"We advise people to take advantage of the tax credit available for changing to an Energy Star quality heat pump for their heating system," said Howell. "They could get up to $1,500 back."

For those who would enjoy those long-term benefits but who's budget won't allow such a venture, Howell offers a few other tips on how to lower your heating costs.

"Set your thermostat as low as 68 (degrees) in the winter," he said. "When it starts to warm up, turn it off during the day. These newer units recover quickly."

Those using a heat pump are not advised to turn their heat pump off but to maintain one setting all the time to help control costs.

Harrison advises making a few minor adjustments to help lower electric bills and conserve energy.

"Change to energy efficient light bulbs," he said. "Turn lights off if you're not in the room. Every little bit helps. If you have any air leaks, stop those. It's not just electricity usage that hurts but gas, too. Conserve everywhere you can."

People within Tarboro can have a free energy audit done of their home to see where money and energy can be saved, Harrison said.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported heating oil and propane costs per week and between Jan. 11 and Feb. 15, there have been some significant changes.

The week of Jan. 11 saw residential heating oil costs at $277.6 and residential propane at $293.9. A few weeks later that cost dropped to $270.3 for residential heating oil while residential propane dropped slightly to $293.3.

Wholesale costs saw a substantial difference. Wholesale heating oil saw a decrease of $28.3 from $220.5 during the week of Jan. 11 to $192.2 the week of Feb. 15.

There are some tips to help households keep heating costs low the remainder of the winter:

• Don't heat empty space; close vents in unoccupied areas of the home

• Plug any leak; install proper insulation

• Turn down the thermostat

• Set hot water heaters to 130 degrees; wash clothes in cold water

• Consider a programmable thermostat – it costs about $100 but when used correctly can save North Carolinians up to 10 percent on their home heating bills.

Many needed help with their heating bills and turned to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Emergency funding to North Carolina more than doubled this year. The state received more than $25.9 million for 2010 for LIHEAP.

The LIHEAP distributed $4.5 billion amongst all of the states in base funding.The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released $1.2 billion to the states in January to help low income citizens heat their homes.

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