Utility Costs
The cost of utility provided electrical energy continues to increase.
We have all seen our utility bills jump and in some cases multiple times in
one year. In view of this fact everyone needs to conserve.
Multi-Tier Billing
Multi-Tier Billing is where the price per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity is now set in an incremental tier,
with each tier costing more. The more energy you use,
the more tiers you pass through, and the more you pay. Below is an example:
* First 100 kWh is $0.13 per kWh
*
Between 101-130 kWh is $0.18/kWh
* Between 131-200 kWh is $0.28/kWh
*
Over 201 kWh is $0.30/kWh
*
etc., etc., etc...
Smart Meters
A Smart Meter is an electrical meter that
records consumption in intervals of an hour or less and communicates that
information back to the utility for monitoring and billing
purposes. Smart meters enable two-way communication between the meter and the
central system. Unlike home energy monitors, smart meters can gather data for
remote reporting.
Remember when your utility: read your meter, subtracted the reading from the
previous month, and billed you for this month's consumption? With the new Smart
Meters, the utility measures your usage by the hour.
Apparently, this is to give utilities a more accurate measurement of energy demand and
to help people track and reduce their usage.
Smart Meters have already come with a slurry of customer complaints that electric bills
have shot up since the new meters were installed.