Despite a proposed 5.8% hike that would see $695 million in rate increases next year on top of several service disruptions last summer, come holiday time, Con Ed just won’t accept its rightful place on your “naughty list.” And to make matters worse, if you’re one of the millions who use holiday lights to decorate, you’re giving them a year-end bonus from the added electric use. All of this gets thrown into the Con Ed kitty that totals a reported $12 billion in revenues already. What did they get you?
Even if your decorations are limited to a simple medium-sized Christmas tree, chances are, you’re forking over extra cash to the gas and electric monopoly this holiday season.
So, what does that end up costing you? Golden Valley Electric Association published a mathematical formula to help determine how much it will cost to run a single strand of lights.
(# of watts/1000) X (# of hours) X (# of days) X o.21 per kilowatt hour
The average Christmas Tree is lit by three 100-ct strands of incandescent mini bulbs, is up roughly 40 days, and is powered for about 10 hours per day. Con Ed currently charges 21 cents per kilowatt hour. Using GVEA’s formula, that tree is costing about $6.50. That’s independent of taxes, fees, customer charges, utility charges, and all those other fun hidden line items on your utility bill. Now think about how much it costs those homes that go for the full Clark Griswold décor treatment from the Vacation movie franchise. That’s a big holiday bonus for a utility company.
So, how can you save on electricity costs without going full-on “bah humbug” this holiday season? Our lighting and common-sense experts have come up with a short list of three cost-saving changes that will help keep those unwanted yuletide expenses at bay.