Flat rate electricity like water?

[James Wilkinson Sword]

If we can have flat rate water (pay a fixed fee for as much as you use), why isn't the same true of electricity? Both cost the company more if you use more.

[alan_m]

and set the amount to be paid based on that of the highest domestic energy user.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

Why on earth would they do that? It would have to be the mean (just like with water), otherwise the company would make a fortune for no reason.

[Ed Pawlowski]

It would be unfair to the low user to pay the same as a big user. I pay for the water I use above a minimum every quarter. Seems fair to me.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

It would be no more unfair than flat rate water, which most people have. And it means you're not constantly thinking "I mustn't flush the toilet I can't afford it".

I'd hate to be in your situation, where you have to consider every water usage. I just freely use whatever I need.

[angelicapaganelli]

I don't have flat rate for either electricity or water. I pay by the gallon or kWh, respectively.

Cindy Hamilton

[James Wilkinson Sword]

Isn't that really annoying when you try to avoid flushing the toilet, try to turn the tap off immediately you've used it, don't want to water the garden, etc? Or you don't want to rinse out food containers for recycling, because you have to pay to do so? If I had to pay for my water, nothing at all would ever be recycled. I ain't paying for it!

[Meanie]

We don't have a flat rate, we pay for what we use. The same applies to all utility services.

What is your flat rate and how is it determined?

[dpb]

Certainly would be rare in US and if ever so would be dependent upon being in an atypical situation regarding available supply and distribution.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

Water (and sewage) is =A3360 a year (for both, not each). It's based on= the average a household uses. You're charged more for a larger house (= determined by value of house). My house is medium sized.

I fail to see why most of the UK has this system for water (saves the co= st of water meters, saves people worrying about how much water they use)= , but they don't do the same thing with electricity.

-- =

Seven wheelchair athletes have been banned from the Paralympics after th= ey tested positive for WD40.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

I can understand metering in very dry desert areas where they want to conserve water, but you're not Australia. Isn't a large proportion of the USA where you can get water cheaply? You have huge lakes.

How do you go about your daily life? You must be thinking "can I avoid flushing the toilet, can I avoid taking a bath, can I avoid watering the garden".

[angelicapaganelli]

), why isn't the same true of electricity? Both cost the company more if y ou use more.

to turn the tap off immediately you've used it, don't want to water the ga rden, etc? Or you don't want to rinse out food containers for recycling, b ecause you have to pay to do so? If I had to pay for my water, nothing at all would ever be recycled. I ain't paying for it!

Um, no. I just use the water I want to use, and pay for it.

Same with electricity. My electric bill is sky-high because we have an outdoor hot tub that we heat throughout the winter. But it's worth it to us.

Cindy Hamilton

[James Wilkinson Sword]

How much would it cost (if you've ever worked it out) to water your garden? Don't you stop and think "can the plants survive without this cost"?

If you're not reducing your usage of water at all, then there's no point to having metering is there? The only reason they put it there is to make people use less.

[alan_m]

But you fixed charge is £100 more than my usage charge!

Fixed totalprice electricity would result in everyone switching from gas to electric for central heating because it wouldn't matter how much they used which in turn would push up the price to supply everyone which would push up the average price the companies would have to charge.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

On Sat, 31 Mar 2018 15:02:21 +0100, alan_m wrot= e:

My total charge is even higher than the above if I got a meter, even if = I used almost no water. Having a meter costs money - making the meter, = fitting it, maintaining it, reading it, etc.

Clearly the gas should be flat rate too.

And if we used heat pumps, they're as efficient as gas is. I'm going to= switch to using one instead of my gas central heating, for two reasons.= One, it doubles as an air conditioner. Two, my gas central heating is= at least 20 years old.

And I wouldn't mind paying a higher average price if it meant not caring= about how much I used.

-- =

There are forty =A3100 million notes in the Bank of England.

[alan_m]

The price you pay for living in Scotland. You could vote in politicians that could make the companies give you a meter for no extra charge.

Don't forget that if Scotland goes nuclear then the cost of electricity would be so low that they wouldn't have to meter it.

[Graham.]

Now where have we heard that before?

[James Wilkinson Sword]

I don't want one, I use a lot of water. What I was after was flat rate electric just like the water, then I wouldn't be turning things off all the time. Come on, this is the 21st century, we shouldn't be short of energy.

Indeed, which is why I always choose the non-green option when buying electricity. I can, to some extent choose what power I'm buying. The green stuff costs extra.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

From anybody with common sense. Nuclear is very cheap. Renewables are very expensive. The only reason solar power saves you money is the government pours your own taxes into it to keep the treehuggers happy. I was going to get solar panels installed on my roof, until the government reduced the subsidies, now they aren't economically viable, even though they're still partially subsidised, which means we simply shouldn't be using them. If things cost more to use, it's because they use more resources. Like recycling - everyone says it's a good thing, but if it costs more to recycle the plastic, that's probably because it uses a tonne of diesel to transport it, and a tonne of electricity to process it. So don't recycle it.

[trader_4]

Same here in NJ, it's tiered pricing, has been for decades. In fact, water here is like electricity in CA and some other hippie places, the more you use, the higher the rate goes. It's been that way for decades too.