Ouch,

[Clipper]

www.wktv.com/news/double-digit-rate-hikes-proposed-by-national-grid/article_32a1e80e-1e21-11ef-91a2-8f056ffad397.html

A double digit rate increase is a hard pill to swallow. We have seen similar increases in the price of power paid by customers. The hits just keep on coming for American consumers. In many cases the increased prices are not noticed until we reach the register and our order is totaled. A few cents here and a few cents there and before you know it, the quick stop at the grocery store that cost us $15 last week costs us $17 or $18 this week and may well cost us $20 next week or the week after. I bought ten pounds of butter recently while it was on sale for $2.99. Butter has been priced anywhere from $5.99 to $7.99 lately. It was not that long ago that $2.99 was the normal every day price.

Energy costs are rising everywhere. Today's news here carried an announcement of a planned solar project that will include 1/2 a million solar panels and will power 42,000 homes and will employ 300 people. They are holding public hearings prior to approving the project that would come on line in 2027 if approved. I can only imagine what the cost of the project would be and what impact it would have local power bills. Increased needs bring increased costs and someone has to shoulder the costs.

wcyb.com/news/local/proposed-wolf-hills-solar-project-to-power-42000-homes-in-washington-county-virginia-republican-congressman-morgan-griffith-bristol-industrial-park-steve-malnight-catalyst-energy-partners-jobs-energy-open-houses#

[Clipper]

While on the subject of increased costs of living, I am curious as to what you pay for trash pick-up where you live.

Bristol Virginia dumped their garbage for decades into a huge limestone quarry pit with what must have been little regard for regulations. Last summer it all came to a head when leachate began bubbling out of the ground, a stench drifted over the entire area, including here on the Tennessee side of the border. We are over 10 miles from that site and when the wind was right WE were hit with the putrid smell in the evening or when the air was heavy. Up in town and on the Virginia side, near the dump, no one could open their windows and air conditioners were sucking up the smell. The city had to buy residents air filtering devices and deodorizers. Bristol Va has had to spend millions to create leachate wells so that the stinky stuff can be pumped out and hauled away, They had to haul in thousands and thousands of tons of dirt to cap the dump. They have pipes that burn off some of the methane and for now the smell is under control, but the cleanup and remediation will take years and the costs will be huge. The costs to the city were huge and are still climbing. I imagine that the remediation will take years and will continue to cost huge amounts of taxpayer money, even with the federal funds that have flowed in.

Bottom line for Bristol Virginia residents is that just a few weeks ago the city announced that the fees paid by residents for trash pick-up would rise to $70 per month. I almost fell out of my chair. We pay a private hauler to pick up our trash because we live outside of the city. We pay $27 a month for weekly collection and he will take just about anything I take down to the road. On a couple of occasions when I forgot to put the can by the road he even came up, grabbed the can from under the carport, dumped it and returned it to the carport. We have had the same driver on our route for years and at Christmas we tip him 25 or 30 bucks for the over the top service and extra attention he pays to his customers.

Gee, I never recall having taped any tip envelopes to the "blue bags" for the guy that turned the orange recycling pail upside down and dumping the stuff on the lawn because Kathy's mom forgot to take the wax paper out of a cereal box.

[Atticus Pizzaballa]

I laughed at the man rep for Grid who said government programs like HEAP will offset the increase.

I pay nothing directly for garbage removal. Each building has two very large trash containers at end of driveway. One for garbage and the other for recyclables.

Yup everything keeps going up except enough in Social Security to keep up. My recertification process ended this month and I signed contract for another year along with AN INCREASE IN MY RENT OF $ 40.00. Sounds like not much but SNAP now goes down as well as HEAP and along with that my internet price jumped $15.00 because the Feds dropped the ACP program. But I am lucky Spectrum will only increase my price to $15. rather than $30.

Now I will have to adjust my grocery store budget to reflect the loss of money.

[BHU]

We pay a yearly solid waste fee to the city which increased to $100 this year. Plus the blue bags which are now $1.95 for a large.

I like how WKTV left out the percentages that National Greed is asking for which is 20% for Natural gas & 15& for electric. And they'll getvit from the Non Public Service Commision.

[Clipper]

May 30, 2024 10:48:05 GMT -5 Atticus Pizzaballa said:

I laughed at the man rep for Grid who said government programs like HEAP will offset the increase.

I pay nothing directly for garbage removal. Each building has two very large trash containers at end of driveway. One for garbage and the other for recyclables.

Yup everything keeps going up except enough in Social Security to keep up. My recertification process ended this month and I signed contract for another year along with AN INCREASE IN MY RENT OF $ 40.00. Sounds like not much but SNAP now goes down as well as HEAP and along with that my internet price jumped $15.00 because the Feds dropped the ACP program. But I am lucky Spectrum will only increase my price to $15. rather than $30.

Now I will have to adjust my grocery store budget to reflect the loss of money.

I guess you will have to forego the caviar and eat canned sardines in mustard sauce or make salmon patties with canned salmon.

We had to forego the frequent steaks on the grill thing and only have steak occasionally. I make a hamburger steak and when I cut it I use a steak knife and pretend it is tough. I think everybody is having to change the way they shop for groceries. The prices are killing everyone.

[clarencebunsen]

Or you could become a National Grid owner and bitch when the dividend rate goes down and cheer when it goes up. I wouldn't buy it, you wouldn't cheer very much.

[BHU]

May 31, 2024 10:07:07 GMT -5 Clipper said:

May 30, 2024 10:48:05 GMT -5 Atticus Pizzaballa said:

I laughed at the man rep for Grid who said government programs like HEAP will offset the increase.

I pay nothing directly for garbage removal. Each building has two very large trash containers at end of driveway. One for garbage and the other for recyclables.

Yup everything keeps going up except enough in Social Security to keep up. My recertification process ended this month and I signed contract for another year along with AN INCREASE IN MY RENT OF $ 40.00. Sounds like not much but SNAP now goes down as well as HEAP and along with that my internet price jumped $15.00 because the Feds dropped the ACP program. But I am lucky Spectrum will only increase my price to $15. rather than $30.

Now I will have to adjust my grocery store budget to reflect the loss of money.

I guess you will have to forego the caviar and eat canned sardines in mustard sauce or make salmon patties with canned salmon.

We had to forego the frequent steaks on the grill thing and only have steak occasionally. I make a hamburger steak and when I cut it I use a steak knife and pretend it is tough. I think everybody is having to change the way they shop for groceries. The prices are killing everyone.

What's a hamburger steak?

[Atticus Pizzaballa]

I heard Grids commercial again and that increase os for DELIVERY FEES!!!!!! That is stupid.

[Atticus Pizzaballa]

May 31, 2024 10:07:07 GMT -5 Clipper said:

May 30, 2024 10:48:05 GMT -5 Atticus Pizzaballa said:

I laughed at the man rep for Grid who said government programs like HEAP will offset the increase.

I pay nothing directly for garbage removal. Each building has two very large trash containers at end of driveway. One for garbage and the other for recyclables.

Yup everything keeps going up except enough in Social Security to keep up. My recertification process ended this month and I signed contract for another year along with AN INCREASE IN MY RENT OF $ 40.00. Sounds like not much but SNAP now goes down as well as HEAP and along with that my internet price jumped $15.00 because the Feds dropped the ACP program. But I am lucky Spectrum will only increase my price to $15. rather than $30.

Now I will have to adjust my grocery store budget to reflect the loss of money.

I guess you will have to forego the caviar and eat canned sardines in mustard sauce or make salmon patties with canned salmon.

We had to forego the frequent steaks on the grill thing and only have steak occasionally. I make a hamburger steak and when I cut it I use a steak knife and pretend it is tough. I think everybody is having to change the way they shop for groceries. The prices are killing everyone.

I already use protein powder. Three days a week I have a Greek Salad with 30 grams protein powder. The Equate Isolate Whey Protein Powder which is the best and is safe is usually $18.94 at my favorite store and lasts me almost a month. One day I enjoy a salmon steak with garlicky lemon spinach. Other days meatballs. And my favorite meal tossed salad and scrambled eggs!!! I do not like to eat red meat because of health reasons that I believe in to steak or beef hamburger is out. I use ground chicken or Turkey. Now with my lung diagnosis which calls for a biopsy to confirm it makes everything worse. It will be an interesting several months ahead. Anyone know a good place for cremation and a nice person to drive me to Old Forge to deposit and shake me loose over Bald Mountain.  

[clarencebunsen]

Delivery fees are the costs associated with delivering power from the place where it is generated to the places where it is used. Building the line is probably amortized over the useful life of the line. Maintaining the network and replacing the stuff that breaks is probably costed annually but I am not an accountant.

[clarencebunsen]

If you don't like the performance of the Public Service Commission talk to Gov Kathy. That's her job.