WAPA Rate for May

Residential 268 KWH -- $99.00
4 bdrm stand alone house.

My last bill was dated May 12, so don't know if that's "May" enough for you. I get 17 WAPA bills. They ranged from .35 to .37, depending on usage, with the higher users getting the lower rate. (That's just wrong, in my opinions.) That was an overall per KWH rate, including all the little "extras". I just took the bill amount and divided by the kwh's.

My current bill, service period 4/7/10 - 5/6/10, is $ 52.73. I see customer charge, cons chg, ln loss sur, pilot sur, res leac. My consumption for that service period and daily average cons.
Which one is the KWH Rate?

Ours was at .645 per kilowatt hour.

Juanita, how did yours come to that rate?

YOWZA!!! I just logged in and checked our house back in Seattle and the cost is .089/kwh. .645 is obscene! At what point does it become cheaper to buy a big diesel generator and split it a neighbor or two? This is just crazy. Things are more expensive because we're on an island but in my gut I know the costs here are so high because such a large number of consumers of electricity aren't paying customers.
I bet half of the power load is legally (e.g., government buildings/agencies that don't pay their fair share) or illegally stolen...

We actually pay less here than we did in Kentucky. We don't have heat or a/c to consider here.

Diesel Generator....yuck...Dont forget to calculate the costs of maintenance and fuel over 30 years...

Your better off going solar...after its paid off in 3-4 years, you have free power for 30-40 more...

PS. Current local and federal incentives can pay for 80% of the entire system cost.

Tippi:

Are you sure about your $0.645 rate?

At Point Pleasant we've been billed for $0.45/Kwhr for May.

I don't know if WAPA is billing us as a residential or commercial customer.

F.I.

Ours was at .645 per kilowatt hour.

Juanita, how did yours come to that rate?

I just took the amount of the bill and divided by the number of kwh used. I didn't separate out any of the surcharges, leac, etc., just total bill by total kwh.

on my bill there is a $5.45 per month customer charge, independent of how much you use. that is why in Juanita's case, the charge per kwh varied between the different bills.
other charges that are per kwh as follows
cons chg @ .083255
line loss sur @ .002196
pilot sur @ .000686
res leac @ .260853

TY Juanita

I'm going to call WAPA in the AM and inquire why our rate is so high.

If you first subtract the fixed monthly charges from the total bill, and then divide by the total KWH, then you might find the cost per KWH to be the same in all cases (except for residential vs. commercial).

For me the total cost of electric includes both the "stupid" LEAC & cost of electric or same as Juanita uses.

The last 2 bills I rec'd for our residence was bill due 5/03 (billing period 2/22/10 to 3/19/10 and bill due 6/1/10 (billing period 3/19/10 to 4/19/10). May 3 bill was 445KWH used in 25 billed days for total cost of $.3376 per killowat hour. June 1 bill was 536 KWH used in 31 billing days for a total cost of $.3573 per KWH. Haven't rec'd bill yet for 4/19 to sometime in May usage.

Jumbie -STX

I cited a diesel generator because irrespective of ecological impact I was under the impression it's still the most economically reachable option - but I'm not an expert here. I'm under the impression that the economy of scale still isn't there for alternate energy sources to make them economically viable for the average household yet but that a place like USVI will be one of the first where it becomes an economic reality given the higher structural costs associated with power generation.

Also,on the solar option, I thought I read that panels don't last much more than 10 years or so? Are there 30-40 year panels out there and are they much more expensive than typical panels?

Diesel Generator....yuck...Dont forget to calculate the costs of maintenance and fuel over 30 years...

Your better off going solar...after its paid off in 3-4 years, you have free power for 30-40 more...

PS. Current local and federal incentives can pay for 80% of the entire system cost.

In this climate, I would be surprised if anything on a roof lasted 10 years.

Solar panels should last 30+ years. There output diminishes with age. After 20 years I think they are still specked at 80% of name plate.

Even with the Puerto Rico government giving me 75% in tax credits my system may barely break even or at worst NEVER break even. I did all the work myself and got great prices on the internet. I am OFF grid and don’t use AC. On grid only systems will break even sooner but when the grid goes down you don’t have power. Batteries need replacement in 5 – 10 years. That costs as much as grid power would cost for me. Inverters and Charge controllers also don’t last forever.

My system cost $16K+ and I got $12K in tax credits. I use 8KWH/day at most, that’s 8*.25cents = $2/day or $730 a year at MOST. In 5.5 years I could break even (best case) and then my $2500 batteries may need replacing. Then 5 years after that maybe my inverter needs work…

I am not trying to discourage anyone from going solar. I love it and it is fun for me but I am an engineer and it was a fun project to do.

Hi Jumbie,

Are the rates the same for STX and STT? Your post has good info as it gives me an idea of average monthly usage. What exactly do you run at home - int/ext lights, washer/dryer, fridge, microwave, toaster oven, dehumidifier, dishwasher? # of rooms? Do you use an AC? I currently live in a fairly large 4 br house (only use 1 br) in the Hudson Valley area of NY and run all the above on electricity (oil heat, gas stove.) From Jan 18 - Mar 18 ttl usage was 833kwh and from Mar 18 - May 18 usage was 636kwh (billed every 2 months.) Of course the cost here is much less, around $0.080-0.089 per kwh. I do realize a smaller apartment will use less fuel unless I run an AC often. Can anyone tell me what a small 1br or studio usage in kwh might be? I am a bit of a numbers guy and will post all of my findings in detail if I can get good info. Thank you all for your input.

MarMoe
I have no idea if STX residential rates are the same as or different from STT residential rates.
The above cost per KWH for my last 2 bills did not have A/C running. We have an A/C unit in downstairs efficiency apt but no A/C upstairs.. When the A/C unit is used downstairs the KW usage per month jumps way up. For example if A/C was run 24/7 the 536 KWH used for the bill due 6/1 --KWH would have been more in 650-700KWH range..

We have a propane gas dryer, gas stove and a solar hot water system for use upstairs. Since solar hot water tank was installed 2 yrs ago and I put a timer on the hot water heater for downstairs I noticed a drop in the kwh used, Our washing machine is a front load water saving type. Downstairs we have a small 6 gallon hot water heater on a timer that only has the water heater turned on 2hrs per day. We have energy efficient fridge upstairs and also the energy saving flourescent light bulbs in most of our light fixtures. We have about a 1100 sq ft home.. Upstairs has 17 ft ceilings with ceiling fans - living room/kitchen (1 room) a 14x14 bedroom, 1 walk-in closet and a small bathroom with anoutside shower.

Jumbie -STX

We actually pay less here than we did in Kentucky. We don't have heat or a/c to consider here.

We live in Kentucky. We receive our electricity through a utility called, appropriately enough, Kentucky Utilities. Our rate is as follows:

Customer Charge: $5.00 per month Plus an Energy Charge of: $0.06424 per kWh

We heat with natural gas, which isn't cheap at the moment, and in the summer, AC is a must in hot and humid KY. Our average monthly utility bills for both will average $250-$400 depending on the weather (and we live in a well insulated house).

Let's not forget that these rates are helping to pay for the 40% increase in salary for the head of WAPA. He is a busy man, after all...

For me the total cost of electric includes both the "stupid" LEAC & cost of electric or same as Juanita uses.

The last 2 bills I rec'd for our residence was bill due 5/03 (billing period 2/22/10 to 3/19/10 and bill due 6/1/10 (billing period 3/19/10 to 4/19/10). May 3 bill was 445KWH used in 25 billed days for total cost of $.3376 per killowat hour. June 1 bill was 536 KWH used in 31 billing days for a total cost of $.3573 per KWH. Haven't rec'd bill yet for 4/19 to sometime in May usage.

Jumbie -STX

Just received our WAPA bill for residential service 4/19 to 5/18. Used 450 kwh in the 29 day billing period. The total cost for electric including LEAC and other charges is now up to $.3593 per killowat hour. So in last 3 billings cost has increased from $.3376/kwh to almost $.36/kwh.

Jumbie -STX

Hey stop your bellyaching! In most any other company if the CEO increases revenue (YOUR RATE) by 50% or more he/she will get a multiple of their salary, not a measly 40% bump 🙂

Let's not forget that these rates are helping to pay for the 40% increase in salary for the head of WAPA. He is a busy man, after all...