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theREALPLM OP t1_j6rt171 wrote

Reply to comment by NegativeIcecream in PPL electric “accidentally” took a 3 month advance on automatic payments today by theREALPLM

I'm also shocked by my natural gas bill which is $100 higher than December (already high-average), it was my highest utility bill ever (it's not even cold!!!!). This kind of financial hit could be devastating to someone . Both get automatically deducted on the same day.

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xxdropdeadlexi t1_j6s04s5 wrote

who is your natural gas provider?

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theREALPLM OP t1_j6s0703 wrote

UGI

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PocketSpaghettios t1_j6s3b6q wrote

Ugh, I used LESS gas this year than the same time last year, but had to pay $100 MORE. I nearly choked when I saw my $400 bill

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BeerExchange t1_j6s7z9v wrote

I've seen the same with electricity. I went out of my way to make my house more energy efficient through insulating and air sealing. As a result we used like 15-20% less electricity but our bill was $10-20 more than last year because of electric rates going up by like 40%.

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Wickersaltlamp t1_j6s5471 wrote

$400 in December? Do you have a giant house? Mine wasn't that bad and I thought gas was supposed to be cheaper than oil.

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PocketSpaghettios t1_j6s7uaz wrote

My house is 1690ft^2. We try to keep the temp around 68°F. We're gonna get new windows because all of ours are garbage, but that's gonna be a $10k expense 🤮 our furnace is also from the 70s so I'm sure it's not super efficient. I want to add more insulation to the attic too but my partner and my dad don't think it will help (I don't think it could hurt but what do I know)

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justasque t1_j6t6c5f wrote

See if the power company will do an energy audit to help you figure out which improvements give the most bang for our buck. Plus those kits where you put plastic over your windows really do make a difference. Also, thermal curtains help. We have kind of gotten away from the old ways, and with an older house and colder weather, they are worth rediscovering. (And I’m with you on the attic insulation, if there isn’t a decent amount already.)

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Wickersaltlamp t1_j6sa5fe wrote

Yeah, that's not a huge house, so the windows should make a huge difference, unfortunately, for your wallet. More insulation should help too. Not sure why it wouldn't. My house has a furnace from the 90s and insulation from the 70s, windows are good as far as keeping their seals. I'm thinking of adding all new insulation. The finished part of my basement has no floor insulation and I think it's a big problem.

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PocketSpaghettios t1_j6sacll wrote

Unfortunately we bought our house knowing a lot of it wasn't updated. That's why it was such a good deal. It's going to be painful, but it's becoming more and more obvious how necessary the windows are

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Wickersaltlamp t1_j6sbiq2 wrote

At least you got a deal! You could be me buying a house with known problems and not a good deal lol

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ho_merjpimpson t1_j6t70w1 wrote

id try some decent curtains, or some of the window film to see if it makes a big difference before you make a big adjustment.. how old are the windows?

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PocketSpaghettios t1_j6t9o4b wrote

The house was built in the 1960s and a couple of the windows are original. So literally anything would be an improvement on what we have lol

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ho_merjpimpson t1_j6tb0qe wrote

id definitely consider doing some of the film to hold yourself over. its not the greatest looking stuff, but who cares. it will save you hundreds just dealing with it the rest of this year.

that or even get some quality full coverage curtains for the original windows, and getting in the habit of keeping your blinds closed when you arent in the room.

we have a pellet stove, but we can literally cut the amount of fuel we burn in half by keeping blinds shut vs open.

i know you didnt ask for this advice, but it might help you out.

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hoptimus-prime t1_j6thzck wrote

Attic insulation can be a big saver especially if you're able to plug up any decent sized holes that may have arose from animals or wear/tear. A colleague of mine recouped his investment on insulating the attic in about two years!

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Mijbr090490 t1_j6u78cj wrote

Attic insulation will help tremendously as well as air sealing the attic. Fwiw, even old gas furnaces maintain about 80% efficiency, so unless you go to a condensing gas furnace you won't see much improvement on the electric bill. If I were to upgrade it would definitely be to a high efficiency unit.

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Top_File_8547 t1_j6ug63n wrote

Our gas bill dropped by almost half when we got a new furnace in 2008. It’s 92% efficient. That’s probably your cheapest choice. We also had shitty windows until last year. The bill has gone down since the windows too but not as much as the furnace.

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QuickNature t1_j6vgzat wrote

Attic insulation will help a lot as heat rises. The more you slow the escape the of heat from your house the better. This is also works the opposite in summer as well if you run AC. It will reduce how much heat can flow into your house.

Windows are also a huge factor that effects the transfer of heat. If they are single pane, you are hemorrhaging head outside. Double pane with good weather stripping will make a huge difference. Those plus the insulation would have a larger net effect than buying a new furnace.

The last thing I would upgrade is the furnace. They are surprisingly efficient, even if they are older. Still should update it if you can afford it because efficiency has increased, but the windows and insulation will help the most.

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princeoinkins t1_j6sclxp wrote

where are you at? I'm outside Lancaster and I work selling windows/doors/lumber. I can give you a good price

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Or0b0ur0s t1_j6scj02 wrote

It is. Oil is running $1k per fill up at this point.

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Wickersaltlamp t1_j6sdljy wrote

Thats true. My tank usually gets filled around halfway and has a 300-400 bill this year.

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Eisernes t1_j6snm7m wrote

I paid $350 in a house about the size as the person you asked and on cold days I still have to wear a sweatshirt. Was about half that much last year.

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Wickersaltlamp t1_j6sp0jc wrote

That sucks! I thought i was getting screwed with oil (I am), but I wasn't sure how significant the difference was between the two.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6s2fie wrote

UGI pretty much has a lock on natural gas in this area. No competition to temper the prices.

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Genkiotoko t1_j6s4fpt wrote

There are third parties you can opt into for supply, although in not sure how good most of them are.

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ho_merjpimpson t1_j6t6ptw wrote

i mean, thats not really how it works with heating fuels. there is always competition. and if not, there are likely dozens of propane companies that would undercut them if their prices were that inflated and would be more than happy to convert your shit over to burn propane.

prices are high in the area because prices are high everywhere.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6u1baf wrote

>my natural gas bill

No, we are not discussing in general "heating fuels." Natural gas is pretty specific and it is piped by UGI thru pipes placed by UGI to houses occupied by UGI customers in a relatively large area serviced exclusively by UGI.

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ho_merjpimpson t1_j6u3qfn wrote

dude, you are flat out wrong. whenever there is not competition for a utility (including natural gas), the rates are literally regulated by the government and they have to request price hikes. This includes UGI.

the idea that they are inflating the prices because there is no competition is straight up wrong. argue it all you want, it wont make you right. i cant spell it out any clearer.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6u5o8x wrote

Ah, so, you've dropped your propane angle? A fuel not regulated by the PUC, btw.

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ho_merjpimpson t1_j6ueq72 wrote

>Ah, so, you've dropped your propane angle?

Ah, so, you've dropped your monopoly angle?

the propane angle was another way to explain why your monopoly statement was silly. if nat gas was inflated to any meaningful degree there are a ton of propane companies that would be a direct competition to natural gas customers. you seemed to not understand that, so i went elsewhere to show you another reason you were wrong.

>regulated by the PUC

so what you are saying is that propane is not regulated by the puc, but natural gas is? thanks for proving my point. propane is not regulated because there is no monopoly on it. there is a fierce competition that keeps the price low.

natural gas is regulated. so your comment about it being a monopoly that allows inflated gas prices... while reddit upvote bait... is simply wrong.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6uh809 wrote

>you've dropped your monopoly angle?

Was that a word I used?

oh

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ho_merjpimpson t1_j6uiz47 wrote

keep pretending that ugi is inflating prices because they have a mono... ohh, im sorry. a lock on gas because they are the only person that can provide it thus are able to inflate their prices.

again. for the dim witted....

ugi cannot raise their prices despite having a mono... oops. a lock on their product, because it is a heavily regulated product.

you are wrong. have a nice day.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6ukazg wrote

>keep pretending that ugi is inflating prices because they have a mono

2 things in your sentence which I did not state. Why be such a dishonest dingo? Is UGI paying you to spam the sub with your garbage?

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ho_merjpimpson t1_j6unnuc wrote

> UGI pretty much has a lock on natural gas in this area.

=they pretty much have a monopoly

>No competition to temper the prices.

= they can inflate the prices

>2 things in your sentence which I did not state.

you might not know that you are stating these things, but you are.

>Is UGI paying you to spam the sub with your garbage?

you got me. hail corporate.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6wut8n wrote

Unable to counter my specific comments, you insert gratuitous commentary that supports only your narrative. I need not temper my comments just because you want me to state something different. Nor does what your latest comment subjugate my point to your narrative.

Fact: the lack of competition places UGI in a position where they, and they alone, can determine the market price. Is it a monopoly? Technically, no. You do not deny that point - the lack of competition - when you describe the propane situation.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6uhbt2 wrote

>propane is not regulated because there is no monopoly on i

Is that why propane is not regulated?

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thatdood87 t1_j6t72ob wrote

Wow. They fucked me up too. I put plastic over my windows in beginning of December and didn't put the heat up above 80 degrees and my bill was sooooooooooo high, like double what it usually is.

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CriticalMammal t1_j6ss20c wrote

Not sure if anyone else mentioned this but with UGI you can enroll in a payment assistance program to get an even bill every month.

Mine stays at $160 a month year round based on their calculations. You might pay a little more in off seasons but there's no surprises from what I've noticed.

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Tapdncn4lyfe2 t1_j6thza9 wrote

I had to do this and mine came down to $171. I bought my new house in November of 2022 and got my first bill at the end of December and it was around $350. I was like how in the hell did we use that much heat. We keep the house at 68 degrees..

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BigDaddyCaddy68 t1_j6wu5nc wrote

I had UGI at my old home. I had months where their service and delivery charges were more than the gas I used. Fucking bullshit.

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sara128 t1_j6sy5gf wrote

Everyone is talking about PPL, but I was way more shocked when I got my UGI bill! My electric bill was $88, not too bad. But UGI was $164! And my bill for last month UGI was only $40... (1100 Sq foot house, heat set between 65-69)

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bad185 t1_j6v07hw wrote

Are you on budget billing by chance? Mine was $200 higher, almost had a heart attack! But it was because I was billed $200 less than my actual 2022 usage so I had a budget shortfall.

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RamHands t1_j6v1nd3 wrote

But that should have been evened out over the next budgetary cycle, not paid all at once.

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bad185 t1_j6v365b wrote

I called UGI about it, and they said they reconcile the budgets at the end of the 12th month of the cycle. My mortgage does the same, although they do offer the option to pay monthly or all at once. UGI didn't.

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RamHands t1_j6wkc21 wrote

I was stuck on ppl. Ppl adjusted every 3 months, then they split your over on the next 3 months. Same for if you’re under.

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