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The trouble started because gas processing plants at wellheads froze up, being insufficiently winterized, so gas-powered peak generation capacity simply wasn't

The trouble started because gas processing plants at wellheads froze up, being insufficiently winterized, so gas-powered peak generation capacity simply wasn't there. What's the gas spot price in Texas right now?

maxerickson 6y ago
I'm talking about the previous bill that doesn't include the last week being fairly high. My electric bill last month (which will be one of my larger bills for the year) was $45. It's not directly comparable since I live alone, but I wouldn't expect my total energy bills to exceed $300 if I added 3 more people to the household either. The current situation is pretty clearly a failure cascade where multiple things were not sufficient for the weather event.
- HarryHirsch 6y ago
  What kind of housing do you live in? My bill (Southern US, 1970s built SFH, two people) typically is ~ 75 dollars. If you live in a McMansion, a bill of 350 dollars is easily achieved, the extra enclosed space is costly. That's another issue putting strain on the US power grid, the fact that housing size has steadily increased over the last few decades, consequently electric usage for heating and cooling also went up.
  - maxerickson 6y ago
    It's an older house, in a northern state, so 3 or 4 bigger heating bills a year. No AC, so small summer electric bills. Definitely not a McMansion, but it could be made quite a bit tighter (the house is not awful, it just gets fairly cold here for 3 months).
  - o-__-o 6y ago
    I live in a 4000sq ft “mansion” in Texas. My gas bill is about 30-60/mo (not sure what this month will take us to.. maybe 75ish). Electric is 90ish with a max of about 350 in the summer if we have all three a/c units running. I find the assumption of 10% of your sqft to equal the cost of your electric in the summer to be pretty accurate. Also mansions typically have zoned air systems which helps bring down costs
- quercusa 6y ago
  I wonder if he uses electric resistance heat? Seems unlikely - most places in Texas need A/C to be livable, so I'd expect people to have heat pumps.
  - secabeen 6y ago
    Many heat pump systems have "emergency" heat via a secondary electric resistive loop.
    - quercusa 6y ago
      Yes, but he was paying $387.79/mo before the emergency. Maybe an average rate to smooth out summer costs?

maxerickson 6y ago

I'm talking about the previous bill that doesn't include the last week being fairly high. My electric bill last month (which will be one of my larger bills for the year) was $45. It's not directly comparable since I live alone, but I wouldn't expect my total energy bills to exceed $300 if I added 3 more people to the household either. The current situation is pretty clearly a failure cascade where multiple things were not sufficient for the weather event.

HarryHirsch 6y ago
What kind of housing do you live in? My bill (Southern US, 1970s built SFH, two people) typically is ~ 75 dollars. If you live in a McMansion, a bill of 350 dollars is easily achieved, the extra enclosed space is costly. That's another issue putting strain on the US power grid, the fact that housing size has steadily increased over the last few decades, consequently electric usage for heating and cooling also went up.
- maxerickson 6y ago
  It's an older house, in a northern state, so 3 or 4 bigger heating bills a year. No AC, so small summer electric bills. Definitely not a McMansion, but it could be made quite a bit tighter (the house is not awful, it just gets fairly cold here for 3 months).
- o-__-o 6y ago
  I live in a 4000sq ft “mansion” in Texas. My gas bill is about 30-60/mo (not sure what this month will take us to.. maybe 75ish). Electric is 90ish with a max of about 350 in the summer if we have all three a/c units running. I find the assumption of 10% of your sqft to equal the cost of your electric in the summer to be pretty accurate. Also mansions typically have zoned air systems which helps bring down costs
quercusa 6y ago
I wonder if he uses electric resistance heat? Seems unlikely - most places in Texas need A/C to be livable, so I'd expect people to have heat pumps.
- secabeen 6y ago
  Many heat pump systems have "emergency" heat via a secondary electric resistive loop.
  - quercusa 6y ago
    Yes, but he was paying $387.79/mo before the emergency. Maybe an average rate to smooth out summer costs?