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For every percent that utility prices go up (or really: non-optional bills), A larger and larger slice of people simply cannot make it work and have to sacrific
by Waterluvian 4y ago
For every percent that utility prices go up (or really: non-optional bills), A larger and larger slice of people simply cannot make it work and have to sacrifice something.
There's an important point: how much of this was non-optional vs. luxury? I keep my home at 22, but if I had to, I could probably set it to 19 and tell everyone to wear a sweater in the winter. So not everyone, but definitely some slice of the population probably went from 19 to 16 or lower.
In Canada this can be a serious issue. My gas bill literally doubled for the same volume compared to last winter. This can be a sudden $100-200 extra monthly expense. Luckily it's illegal to ever cut anyone off from gas in the winter... but that doesn't fix the financial catastrophe.
- MayeulC 4y agoWait, you are not wearing a sweater inside during winter? 19 is like, the temperature we set during off-peak hours, otherwise it's more like 18 (and we let it coast down during the evening). Admittedly, it's quite cold when not moving around, so I spent most of the winter with at least 3 sweaters, a hot water bottle, and a blanket (and 2 layers of pants, usually). When moving around, 17-18 is quite comfortable though, a long sleeved shirt or light sweater is usually enough.
- 908B64B197 4y ago> Wait, you are not wearing a sweater inside during winter? He's Canadian. Over there electricity costs 0.044 € / kWh https://www.hydroquebec.com/residential/customer-space/rates/rate-d-billing.html https://www.hydroquebec.com/residential/customer-space/rates...
- Waterluvian 4y agoMy monthly gas bill was $350 in January. It’s a luxury I enjoy given how pedantic my dad was about the thermostat. Also my hydro is closer to 9 cents.