GULP.....WAPA bill....

shelly,

I don't believe Hovensa sells gas to local stations on STT and STJ, which is why our gas is much more expensive than gas on STX.

Hindsight is 20/20, no?!?

Read this as it almost explains it all, except what to do now.

http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_editorial?id=17595030

Teresa

I would like to see WAPA sold to an agency with a proven track record and a preponderance of satisfied customers, and yes, there are many out there. Utilities are necessities for many folks and if locals can't manage them properly they should be forced to turn the utilities over to an entity that can meet our needs for a fair price. I'm holding my breath now - HA!

dntw8up: Guess you weren't here a few years back when a private stateside power utility put in a most viable bid to purchase WAPA? What a great deal it was with all contingencies addressed, with consumer pricing all in place and guaranteed for several years, WAPA indebtedness included. How soon it went down like a zinc cupcake in an overly hot oven...

STTResident,

If you're referring to the effort to sell WAPA to Southern Energy a few years ago you'd be wrong, I remember it well.

"Wrong" how?

Wow

Before we get into a discussion of the Southern Energy thing.

Several people have asked ....What is the Kilowatt unit COST? In other words, what does it cost for "one" kilowatt hour?

This could help many people understand their bills and communicate with WAPA.

For example, I pay for electricity in a mid sized California City. My Kilowatt cost per unit varies (depending upon season and amount used) Between about 07 cents per unit to as much as .18 cents per unit. 500 Kilowatt hours cost me as little as $35.00 and as much as $90 . That can make a major swing in monthly cost.

I assume that WAPA also has usage, if not seasonal cost adjustments.

Let's try to make sure everyone is being charged "fairly".

I admit that I haven't yet seen a +$80 charge for what? HC?

Sorry ...rich
I saw your three month posting. Did it change by amount? etc?

Wrong when you said, "Guess you weren't here a few years back when a private stateside power utility put in a most viable bid to purchase WAPA?"

billd,

I'm reading from my current bill. It includes charges for these line items:

Customer Charge
CONS Charge of .071317 per KWH
Pilot Surcharge at .001950/KWH
WHS Surharge at .002/KWH
Res LEAC at .218920 (this is the actual per KWH used charge)

The non-KWH line items added up to $93 and raised my bill from the actual $256 KWH usage cost -- the average total of our monthly WAPA bills since we completed the remodeling our home in October 2005 -- to just pennies under $350 this month.

Hope that helps.

--HC

STT Resident:

1. Was the power line fixed outside your place?....I hope we have power at P.P.

2. I'm not looking forward to seeing my July WAPA bill.

3. We'll stop by to say hello during our Sept. trip.

F.I.

Yes, it was fixed after the second truck came by. Bet you won't like your bill(s) at all! See you September. Cheers.

I empahthize! It's a shame that the wealthy are becoming the only ones who can afford to live here. I'm beginning to have flashbacks of returning to the snowbelt.

More data:

My rates per KWH.

March: .176346
May: .182278
July: .218920
August: .237047

Keeps going up!

And they said in the news they were just raising it 20% in July...they said nothing about a continuous rate hike. You know, WAPA's Inability to run thier business shouldn't be something that thier customers should have to pay for. Oh well, i guess there's nothing you can do when there is no other source of Electric.

THis month the bill was $29.32. Again we are not on island, with only the fridge and hot water heater running.
So from $25 to $30 in the last few months, thats a 20% increase. $5 isn't much, but 20% OUCH! LOL!

More data:

My rates per KWH.

March: .176346
May: .182278
July: .218920
August: .237047
September .237047

Tough to figure out WAPA. My Aug bill dropped by almost $300.

We received our WAPA bill for month of August for our home on Water Island. The bill is $85. We have all the breakers in the entire house turned off except for the one that keeps the 1 year old refrigerator running (ONE refrigerator!). And, the refrigerator is turned up as high as possible to still allow it to run (the manufacturer told us its not recommended to turn off / on when the home is vacant/not vacant ) - nothing in the frige except for jugs of water which supposedly 'tricks' the frige into thinking its BAU or something ....I still don't understand. This refrigerator is the only device using electricity. $85. Go figure!

Wow that sound way out of hand. I am not sure how many here are aware that TV's and other appliances still drain energy when they are off. The only way to prevent that from happening is to unplug them when not in use. It might just help a little. How many here have researched solar energy? I wonder if enough people got together perhaps an energy co-op could be founded. I could see wind mills working well on any of the island. STX has the room. I know it is a long shoot. I will do some homework and see if there are solar powerded batteries which might be a vaible alternative. I noticed the public housing has solar panels. Perhaps all home owners should invest in solar panels. I understand that they came a long way. I feel for you guys. I will budget $500 on my energy bill cost of living sheet for now. Ouch....

Iris

If the aveage homeowner and small business owner could afford solar set-up that certainly is an option. However, the initial set-up cost is unfortunately way too prohibitive for most..

Just looking at your bill isn't telling you much - you need to look at the per kwh charge. My July bill spanned a 32 day period whereas August spanned 28 days so of course was lower. I dread opening the damned thing!

STT is quite right about solar. In general it is very expensive to install and the return takes about ten years to just recoup the savings that might be realized to make have it it pay. If you have tax credits available it saves about two years on that ten years. I've always thought you really have to be into more than saving money when thinking of installing solar. You have to take the bigger picture approach of saving the planet.

Thats down right scary....

I can not afford 650 in rent and 300 in electric bills... -- I just couldn't swing that truelly seems insane to me....

Didn't i read that you can find studios in the 650is range that include utilities? How can the landlord pull that off?

Robert
If the landlord is including Utilities the chances are there is no AC. If you dont have AC and few appliances then your utility bill should be below $100 some folks I know are even under $50. If the landlord is offering AC and can still charge you that, then he probably has a cousin working for WAPA.

Rural Management - part of the Dept of Agriculture I believe - offers funds for alternative energy for co-ops and perhaps individuals. I know they have an office in Gallows Bay on stx.