I just got a letter that says my village (Morton Grove, IL) contracted with an electrical supplier to provide juice that ComEd was providing. Effective rate goes from 8.5 cents per kwh to 4.42. If I don't opt out, I'm in. Sounds too good to be true. Anybody else run into this?
Vic - CUB in IL has gotten past the legislature an ordinance that allows communities to aggregate all the residents of that community into a larger buying pool and getting lower electrical cupply rates. COM Ed is still the distributor, and they will be billing you like always The electrical supply charge the COM Ed folks get is anywhere from 6.2 to 8.5 C per kwh, so you will see a reduction in oeverall charges. I am in an unincorporated area of Naperville, and I just signed up for First Energy Solutions to become my supplier at under
5.8C per kwh, not as much of a savings as you will see, but still enough to buy some McDonalds at the end of the month.
Hi, For whom?
Damned good rate. I have ConEd here in CT and pay .0659. Most suppliers are about .07 and the utility is .082. Given your location, I'd say it could be true as power is usually lower than here.
As for buying a Volt, with that rate the payback would only be about
20 years.
Volt? Hell, no. Get a Prius at about half the price.
IMHO, hybrids are only economical if you drive more miles than average ~>12,000 yr.
Thanks, Bob. That's what I gleaned from the papers sent by the village. Except they didn't mention CUB, just a referendum, allowing village negotiation of rates, that passed here in March. Didn't even know about that referendum, since I've generally ignored village politics. One of my sons is in Naperville, so I'll ask him if that was all automatic there. FES is the new provider here too. I see half the power in IL is nuke, and half coal. Don't know how that figures in to what seems to be low rates.
That rate is only locked for a year. We'll see how kickbacks can affect it next year. Well, we won't actually "see" unless somebody gets caught..
I figured more like 83.33 years. Based on estimated electric savings of $40 a month and paying $40k for the Volt. I'm going to pass on the Volt.
May not have a choice! God, er, Heir Dictatatpor Obama can call buying a Volt a tax and FORCE you to buy one!
I*M*NHO, The current crop of hybrids are not economical for the purchaser, though it could be argued that today's purchasers are necessary to *ever* make them economical.
Jim
The reality is those willing to spend their bucks on the latest will do so. It'a always been like that. Always. Nothing has changed. Me, I keep a low profile. $2.5k on a car has been my sweet spot. Might have to go $4-6k on my next. Inflation. $40k for a Volt is a non-starter. But if I was a $40k car type, the Volt would be my local commute car. It's great for that if you have the bucks. If you don't have the bucks, it makes a good punching bag.
Real interesting the village is negotiating a rate based on multiple users.
One, of course, compares cost versus the options. The option you compared is not having a car (which has no cost?)
Consumers Report occasionally does comparisons. They include purchase price, fuel cost, depreciation, maintenance, and other costs. In 2008 the payback on a Prius was 1 year. Savings over a comparable over 5 years was $2000. Some other hybrids saved significant money. Some hybrids cost significantly more over 5 years. One of these days they should do a comparison that includes Volt and Leaf.
I was using the difference between the Volt and a comparable gasoline sedan. You should check to see if GM is offering special financing on the Volt. If you can get 1000 months at 0%, it would be worth it.
I did see one in the wild and it was a good looking car. I have to wonder though, just how good is the heat on a freezing day or the AC on a 90+ degree day. I like good climate control.
I didn't subtract for a comparable gasoline car because I have a couple of them already, but I get what you're saying. I would have only knocked off $4-6k anyway, which is what I expect to pay for my next car, maybe a few years from now.
Owners seem happy with the climate control, but you might not be. A/C or heat naturally knocks a few miles off the battery range. Like they say, the only reason you need to divorce your wife is she doesn't cut the salami how you like it cut. Plenty of Volt info here.
Right now, the Volt is not too practical as it won't make my daily commute and is very expensive. Unlike others, I don't really knock that car at all. Remember the Wright Flyer? That was not all that practical either, but is seems to have evolved into something or practical use from what I've seen at airports.
I really hope Tesla gets going too. They seem to be ahead of the Volt, but are also about 20k pricier.
As for heat: At ambient temperatures of approximately 25° F (?4° C) or below, the ICE will operate to assist in warming the coolant used to warm the vehicle?s cabin. After the coolant temperature reaches approximately
150° F (65° C), the ICE will turn off and remain off (as long as the battery state of charge is sufficient) until the engine coolant temperature drops to approximately 104° F (40° C), at which time the ICE will restart. This function will continue as long as the ambient temperature is approximately 25° F (?4° C) or less while driving. After the ambient temperature rises above approximately 25° F (?4° C), the vehicle will resume normal electric operation (as long as the battery state of charge is sufficient).And the AC: If the temperature gets into the mid-80s or above, the car turns on the A/C in cycles to cool the battery (which would really rather live in the 70s...) You will get cold air from the vents during this cycle if the climate control is set to lower than ambient, but that's just a side effect.
Overall, a complex system
anything that cuts us dependenmce on foreign oil is a good thing.....
system
You mean like drilling in ANWR, the gulf, the Atlantic Shelf, California, and of course building the Keystone XL. Oh, and coal, and nuke, and...
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