I guess I can't really complain too much about my electric and gas bill. I still live in my starter home for more years than I care to admit, but since it's a small home, I don't have a lot of space to heat or cool. So compared to many homeowners or those who rent and pay for their gas and/or electricity, my bill is probably on the smaller end.

I am on the New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) budget plan. I have been for many years and it works for me. I also read my own meters and rarely miss a month, so I know exactly how much electricity and gas I'm using even though I don't quite understand how it all works.

Being that I'm on the budget plan, meaning my bill stays the same each month for a year (I believe it's only evaluated once per year, two at the most) I pay close attention to whether I'm ahead or behind on the actual amount of money paid out as compared to what has been actually billed at the end of each month.

For my monthly budget billing, as of December 2021, I was about 10 dollars ahead (that's in my favor.) At the end of January, I was about 90 dollars behind. How did that happen, I wondered. Sure there were a few cold days, but not enough to warrant that much of a change.

What I didn't realize until I did some research, the rate for everyone's ( I assume) gas and electric rates (and fuel oil as well) went up in January. And so did my monthly budget amount. I was confused as to why, exactly.

The Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin recently published an article to explain why rates have gone up, and for some, it appeared to double. The Press article quotes the United States Energy Information Administration as blaming the rising costs on increased demand faster than supply.

And you know what happens, right? The costs trickle on down, finally landing on you and me. My electric supply charges went up in December from approximately $0.054/kwh (kilowatts per hour) to approximately $0.065/kwh in January 2022. Fortunately, my monthly budget increase is only $5 dollars more per month, so I can't complain, but I'm sure there are others who certainly are experiencing energy rate sticker shock.

via Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

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