By: Andy Wendt
With the recent news that the PUCO has given the OK
for Duke Energy to
increase their fixed base rate I thought it might be a good
time to reflect back
a bit. But first, and in order to put things in
better persepctive, lets
take a look at the these approved increases. This summer our
fixed base rate for
anyone using Duke natural gas, even if you use zero natural
gas, will go from $6
to $15 per month . By this October we will pay a fixed base
of $20.25 for the
privilege of being a Duke Customer and within a year that
privilege will cost us
a fixed base of $25.33 per month. In the eyes of the PUCO
this is justified in
order to help Duke recover the cost of their aggressive
equipment replacement
program. Ok. That's where we stand now.
.
Now if you have not already done so click on the
thumbnail of the
Cincinnati Gas & Electric Bill dated December 1959. I found the bill
last week, which is the bill for my current residence, while
working on a home
remodel project. My best guess is that it has survived these
49 years under the
base of the kitchen cabinets.
I did remove the last name of the previous home
owner but with that being the
only exception the bill is unaltered. From the 3 cent stamp
to the computer
punch card that it's printed on this bill is definitely a
window into another
time. I suggest you take a good long look at that
bill, and perhaps enjoy
your own memories of that time, because those days are
gone.
As it stands now, within a year, every one of us here in
Middletown who have
a natural gas hookup will be paying a fixed base rate(AKA
paying for nothing) of
what amounts to 87% of an actual gas bill from the winter of
1959. If you are
interested, my combined Gas and Electric bill at the same
house, and during the
same time last winter was over $350. To briefly mention a few
more numbers: The
rate of inflation for that same time period (1959-2008) is
627%. The increase in
the utility bill itself is approximately 856%.
As you can tell by the computer punch card used to
send the bill out, there
are obviously a lot of expenses from "equipment
replacement programs" that Duke
needs to recover. Which only makes me wonder if I could save
just perhaps save a
fraction of that 229% real increase in the cost of my
utilities if I signed up
for computer punch card
billing.
Follow this link to the
Office of the Ohio Consumer's Counsel for more information
and to find out how to make your voice heard on the PUCO approved Duke rate
hike.
