PUC finds state's utilities reporting hefty increase in overdue bills (Maine)

[jpak]

http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=163784&zoneid=500

AUGUSTA, Maine - Over the last few years, past due balances owed to Maine utilities have grown dramatically.

Bangor Hydro-Electric Co., for example, went from $5.8 million in overdue bills in March 2006 to $8.4 million in March of this year.

"This winter over last winter we have seen a significant increase," said Maine Public Utilities Commission Chairman Kurt Adams. "All the utilities we regulate have seen increases."

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The state’s largest utility, Central Maine Power Co., went from $8.4 million in March 2004 to $33.9 million in March of this year.

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[Dead_Parrot]

1. $4,000 in home heating oil bills!?

OK, I don't quite share your bioenergy-can-power-everything viewpoint, but you'd think in a state with 90% forest cover people would be smart enough to buy a frikkin' axe and a book of matches.

(Bangs head, puts log on fire)

[jpak]

2. Try $4000 to $10,000 a year at current fuel oil prices ($4 a gallon)

IIRC - the average age of Maine homes is 60 years. Most use oil or kerosene for heat but at least half have some wood burning device to supplement oil.

Pellet stoves are flying out the door right now and 4 pellet fuel mills will be operational in the state this year - each with an output of 100,000+ tons per year.

Maine is rapidly shifting to wood and away from oil heat...

[Dead_Parrot]

3. How does the pellet cost pan out?

A quick search on the 'tubes suggests firewood going at $200+/cord at the start of last winter (Yikes!) - what would the heat equivalent of pellets go for?

Edit: I see from my calculator that $10k would still buy 50-odd cords of wood. Shit, a cord a week? You could toast camels as a hobby.

Further edit: http://maine.gov/ag/firewood.html is a woodpile calculator. Cool. :)

[jpak]

9. Pellets run $230-299 a ton or $4-6 per 40 pound bag (you don't have to buy a ton at a time)

Pellet stoves are much more efficient than wood stoves and can run for a day (or more) without filling the hopper.

My fuel oil consumption dropped to zero with the pellet stove - and I used $160 of pellets in March (as opposed to $600 for fuel oil in February).

The savings are huge and more importantly, I didn't have to live at 50-55 degrees F (which gets old fast).

[eShirl]

4. my parents have an oil furnace, woodstove in cellar and wood cookstove in the kitchen

They prepared way ahead of time, cutting wood from the back lot ahead of time so it could dry sufficiently, etc. They had the woodshed full and part of the cellar, but with the prolonged stretches of extra-cold weather they were running out of wood before the end of February. My brother was able to bring them busted-up old wooden pallets from work that were no good anymore, but I know even with that they still had to use more oil than they had planned.

[fight4my3sons]

5. we went through 4 cord of wood this winter

kept the heat in the 50s because we could not afford oil. Wood is hard to come by because it is in high demand. Pellet stoves are sold out and we cannot afford to buy one, also we rent.

[Dead_Parrot]

6. I must be missing something here...

...are there laws against gathering your own firewood in MA? I don't mean heading into a park with a chainsaw & logging truck, but how about windfall and deadwood?

[fight4my3sons]

7. That I don't know.

I guess you have to make sure that you were not on someone's private property or something like that. I have seen people giving wood away on freecycle in the past, but not so much recently.

[Dead_Parrot]

8. Well, if it's fetching $200/cord...

...you can understand why it ain't free anymore... It would be worth looking into, though - I get a fair chunk of my wood from beach-combing and wandering around the forest with a large bag - see if you can do the same. You'd need to do it every day to maybe keep yourself warm over winter, but you could certainly whack a chunk off the bills.

Check the laws, see what you can do. :)

[jpak]

10. People are stealing firewood right now

There is very little federal land in Maine where you can cut your own firewood. Either you own your own woodlot or buy it from someone.

And heaven help the asshole that steals wood off yer back 40...