Don't you know the utility rate is going up, up, up, up, up
(Crime changed to utility)
To live in this town you must be tough, tough, tough, tough, tough!
You got rats on the west side
Bed bugs uptown
What a mess this town's in tatters I've been shattered
My brain's been battered, splattered all over Manhattan

Uh-huh, this town's full of money grabbers
Go ahead, bite the Big Apple, don't mind the maggots, huh
Shadoobie, my brain's been battered
My friends they come around they
Flatter, flatter, flatter, flatter, flatter, flatter, flatter
Pile it up, pile it high on the platter

Shattered - The Rolling Stones



As with all costs in our lives, today's blog will focus on the rising
costs of our utility bills.  The Department of Energy reports that
electricity usage is 13x what is was in 1950. Our consumption is also
expected to rise meteorically over the next two decades as our lives
become more connected to smartphones, electric cars and the like. Oh
and by the way the cost of electricity is also on the rise.

These days, in developed countries like the United States, the average
household has about 35 electrical appliances and the average annual
cost of using these appliances is about $1,100. If you live in a state
where electricity is expensive, that annual price tag goes up to about
$1,600 a year. In five years, you'll pay somewhere between $1,300 and
$1,900 a year to use your fleet of devices, and that's only if you don't
buy anything new to plug in between now and then, including a car.

Households paid a record $1,419 on average for electricity in 2010,
the fifth consecutive yearly increase above the inflation rate, a
USA TODAY analysis of government data found. The jump has added about
$300 a year to what households pay for electricity. That's the largest
sustained increase since a run-up in electricity prices during the 1970s.
Electricity is consuming a greater share of Americans' after-tax income
than at any time since 1996 — about $1.50 of every $100 in income at a
time when income growth has stagnated, a USA TODAY analysis of
Bureau of Economic Analysis data found.



More information at:
http://www.electricchoice.com/electricity-prices-by-state.php



So what are some things you can do to reduce your costs:

1. Turn off your appliances when not in use.  Especially all those
computers and entertainment products
2. Use power strips
3. Turn out the lights
4. Take shorter showers
5. Use dishwasher only when full

Enjoy the day.

Webman