March 28, 2001
Dear Everyone:
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is much in the news these days. Just yesterday, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC – also known as “Pathetically Unclear on the Concept”) approved changing a “temporary” 10% hike in electricity rates to a “permanent” hike of 40%. What this means, if I understand the interpretation of goat entrails at yesterday’s meeting, is that, for now, the utility company can only charge you for up to 10% of the electricity that you use “over baseline”.
The “baseline” is determined by a complex formula, which varies by “season, climate zone and heat source”, not to mention how many family members are related to Someone High Up in Sacramento. This sets the rate that PG&E can charge per kilowatt hour. If you go “over baseline”, they can charge you extra, up to 10% more per kilowatt hour. After that, they have to eat the extra costs, which is what they’ve been choking on since last summer.
With the new rate increase, they’ll be able to charge you up to 40% extra. So you can see the catch here: All you have to do is stay below “baseline”.
I checked my last three bills. In December/January, I was about 21% over baseline. In January/February, about the time I started taking conservation seriously, it dropped to 5.5%. The latest, February/March bill came in at 0% over baseline.
I proudly showed this last bill to Mother, when she was visiting earlier this month. “See,” I crowed. “I saved $23.21 compared to last month!” Mother gently pointed out that I had spent over $75 on candles and other supplies in the past couple of months, not including the official candle-snuffer that I got for $12.95 (plus tax) in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Oh, sure. Focus on the negative.
A few weeks ago, the Governor called on all Californians to cut their power usage back by 20%. I seriously wondered how I was going to do that, since my usage didn’t seem to be that high. But I now see that, as long as I only watch TV by candle-light, it’ll be a snap.
Until summer hits and I turn on the air-conditioner full time. Then we’ll see.
The other loophole is: If you stay below 30% “over baseline”, you may not get charged any extra at all. In order to encourage conservation, the plan is to sock it to the guzzlers who use between 30% and 100% “over baseline”, and to really sock it to anyone with the audacity to go over 100% extra kilowatts. You know. Like a small business owner who has to keep his store lighted and heated in winter and cooled in summer.
By the way, you don’t have to go all the way to Carmel-by-the-Sea to find a good candle-snuffer. You can probably get one at any candle shop at the mall. If you don’t know what a candle-snuffer is, you obviously didn’t attend a Catholic school. It’s that cone-shaped metal thingamabob at the end of a long stick that the altar-boy used to snuff out the really tall candles in the church after Mass was over.
The cone goes down over the candle flame, cutting out the supply of oxygen, thus snuffing out the flame. The advantage to it is that you don’t risk blowing hot, melted wax all over whatever is behind or under the candle. The one I have is also good for votive candles, since the cone hangs from the handle and can be lowered directly into the candle holder.
And it really saves you from burning your fingers. Unless, of course, you ask yourself, “Gee, I wonder if this thing gets hot?” and decide to test it.
Love, as always,
Pete
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