JEA Bill

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Second, most of the old houses in Springfield and Riverside are "balloon framed" rather than platform framed like post WWII houses.  This means that the wall cavities are OPEN TO THE OUTSIDE AT THE BOTTOM AND IN THE ATTIC.  Cold air, especially when the wind is blowing under and open foundation can come up the walls and out of every electric outlet and around every baseboard.  There are no "fire stops", cross boards, in the wall cavities to limit how far up the cold air will come.

And this was done on purpose.  The large attic spaces and crawlspaces, along with large windows throughout allows the air to pass through the home unobstructed, relieving you of the misery of temps in the high 90's through the summer months.  Most homes had, some still do, a large fan in the center of the home, that the homeowner could turn on which would pull the air in from the outside and blow it out through the attic for use on the days when the wind wasn't blowing.  Unfortunately, these homes don't work well with modern HVAC without extreme renovations.  Air Conditioning is just that, it conditions the air - dust control, temp control and humidity control.  Good luck with that in your pre 50's house that was built to draft.

[cityimrov]

Geez...do I have to do all the work

http://www.jea.com/about/budget/index.asp

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/fc2aa9f8

oh yeah...and it is on Page 22

much obliged.

And you do realize that a good portion of the supposed 'contribution' is in the form of providing the City with energy and then forgiving the payments for every public location.  80 million dollars worth.  Not bad for a budget of 2 billion.  or about 4 to 5%.  

Give me a break.  That is what the electric authority was created to do.  It isnt a 'gift' to the City.  It was a stipulation and cause of its formation in the first place.

You will notice in the pages after 55 of that same report that no account is made in all those numbers of the Investments strategy that is being pursued by the JEA, including ownership in a syndicate of investors into a Georgian power company, or the TEA investments.

Any idea where that money is going to?

Or any explanation why the JEA would have a billion dollars lying around to invest in them?

According to a source fairly intimate with the situation, the investment schemes are then funneled back into the hands of the private bondholders, bypassing the public altogether, which otherwise should recieve them back in the form of lower bills.  Which is how it used to work.

Instead, the profit isnt funnelled back into the public, which is being forced to pay the franchise fee originally intended to be paid by the bondholders from their profits.

In reality the profit isnt going back into the public, and the bondholders arent paying the fee for the franchise rights, even despite being created as minority partners in the JEA at its founding.

Its astounding really.

Not paying back the bondholders is usually a bad idea.  Especially for a capital intensive industry.  I don't see anything wrong with paying down debt.  

With that being said, are they good at picking good bondholders?  Are they picking the 25% bonds with ridiculous repayment terms?  Is JEA taking way too many bonds?  Who owns these bonds?  What is JEA's bond rating and how does it compare to the rest of the utilities out there?  Should JEA be disallowed to issue bonds and get all it's money from the city?  What's the solution here? 

[uptowngirl]

Dogwalker is correct, these old houses were built to keep cool in the summer. If it is 80 outside it is 70 inside, which is nice in the long hot months. We have to be careful in our insulation of these homes. I also do not advocate replaing windows, use the weatherstripping instead. I would do ust about anything to keep my original wavy glass! MsFixit said it....JEA can charge whatever they want. How is it even legal to charge based on a pipe or an average? When I go to Publix once a week I pay for what I put on the belt, not an average on what I spent over the last month, or based on my cart size. Even when everyone is gone for the summer, family in CA, I am in CLT and no one is even in the house for months the bill is still at least 200 dollars!  I have never complained about my electric company or bill before moving here, but JEA is ust full of crooks.

[jaxpaxpastor]

Christ/Gator:  Thanks yet once again!  If you can find Barry Gordon's contact info and send it to me, we'd be very appreciative.  I doubt if our windows need to be "rebuilt," just adjusted so there's not so much air flowing through them when closed ...

Miss Fixit:  I agree totally about the outrageous water and sewer bill charges from JEA.  Everywhere else we've lived, we were billed just for the water we used ... and then that determined how much we'd be billed for the sewer charge.  Here, regardless of how little water one uses, JEA charges a "minimum" fee which, when combined with the sewer fee, is just about $75/month on our bill.  That's highway robbery, IMHO!!!!!  Our water and sewer bill typically was no more than $25/month everywhere else we've lived.

Dog Walker:  Thanks for some excellent suggestions.  We will follow-up.

ALL: With so many, many valuable ideas for being more energy-efficient and resourceful, we've printed out all of the comments here and are in the process of compiling a "check list" of things to inspect, evaluate, and consider.  Once that list is organized, I will post it here for all to consult and use.

Thanks for being such great neighbors!

[jaxpaxpastor]

HOW TO SAVE $$$$$$ ON YOUR JEA ELECTRIC BILLS

Apart from agreeing that JEA tends to be a rip-off and that it’s up to us to minimize JEA’s thievery, the general consensus seems to be that 80% of energy savings come from proper and adequate insulation in the attic.  The remaining 20% is split between the windows and doors … walls … and floors.  Apart from â€" or in addition to â€" replacing your HVAC units and appliances with more energy-efficient ones, here’s a checklist to help reduce your electric bills:

Insulation

❏ Insulate attics to R30, blown-in most likely.

❏ Make sure insulation in the attic hasn’t settled.  If it has, add more.

❏ Check all A/C and heat junction boxes under your house to ensure good seals.  Caulk any gaps.

❏ Make sure that animals haven’t ripped into your ducts or insulation under the house.

❏ Add batting or insulation under the house to improve drafty off-grade homes with cold floors.   Be sure to allow for adequate insulation.

❏ Or, staple house wrap under the floor, taping it carefully around all pipes and ducts under the house.

❏ Insulate your water heater.  Consider the practicality of putting it on a timer.

❏ Install insulating pads behind all light switches and receptacle plates on exterior walls.

❏ Insulate all pipe openings under the sink.


Windows/Doors

❏ Check the bottoms of all windowsills for drafts.

❏ Reseal doors/windows with stick-on weather stripping.


Additional Suggestions

❏ Unplug everything you’re not using â€" especially extra TVs, clocks, appliances â€" since they’re pulling electricity all of the time.

❏ Close vents, doors, and fireplace flues when not being used.

❏ Invest in power strips.

❏ Close downstairs air return duct(s) in the winter … and upstairs return duct(s) in the summer.

❏ Put appropriate appliances on timers and consider programming your thermostat for maximum efficiency and minimal discomfort.

❏ Change filters at least every two monthsâ€"monthly during dusty summers.

❏ Run the dishwasher, washing machine, etc., at night before you go to bed â€" instead of after dinner or before leaving for work in the morning â€" when electric charges are lower since less is being pulled off the grid overnight.


Water/Sewer Savings

❏ Determine if your line is a ¾” or 1” feed.  The cheapest is said to be 5/8”.


Words to the Wise

❏ Make certain that JEA is, indeed, reading your meters … not just charging you an “average,”

❏ When all else fails, consider seeking a survey from an ASHRAE-certified indoor environmental engineer.

[Dog Walker]

Good check list!  Now for one more to lower your a/c bills in the summer.

Go into your attic and staple reflective, kraft backed mylar on the bottom of each of your roof rafters.  It's available at Home Depot and is not expensive.   It doesn't have to be installed air tight either.  It reflects the heat coming from the bottom of your roof deck into the attic back out through the roof and drops the temperature inside your attic by about thirty degrees.  Even with R-30 blown onto the floor of the attic, the insulation becomes saturated with heat and releases it into your house at night.  Keep it out of the attic and it doesn't heat up your duct work either.

[stjr]

Good check list!  Now for one more to lower your a/c bills in the summer.

Go into your attic and staple reflective, kraft backed mylar on the bottom of each of your roof rafters.  It's available at Home Depot and is not expensive.   It doesn't have to be installed air tight either.  It reflects the heat coming from the bottom of your roof deck into the attic back out through the roof and drops the temperature inside your attic by about thirty degrees. 

Dog, I have been told by roofers that the number one cause for asphalt roof shingle premature failure is too much heat from the attic below, not the sun above.  If this is true, it would appear your suggestion with the mylar may cause premature roof failure as it reflects the radiant heat back to the underside of the roof.  I have chosen to keep attic heat down with improved ventilation such as additional ridge vents.  Most builders, cutting corners, fail to put in a goodly number.  Older homes may not have enough either.  I have usually doubled the number on re-roofs I have done.

[uptowngirl]

This has been a hot topic on our FB family too, I see people posting $800 and $900 bills for Jan 2011. That increase is not some Christmas lights and a cold snap!

[Kiva]

Christmas lights are not the problem. The cold snap and higher JEA rates are.

[Dog Walker]

Dog, I have been told by roofers that the number one cause for asphalt roof shingle premature failure is too much heat from the attic below, not the sun above.  If this is true, it would appear your suggestion with the mylar may cause premature roof failure as it reflects the radiant heat back to the underside of the roof.  I have chosen to keep attic heat down with improved ventilation such as additional ridge vents.  Most builders, cutting corners, fail to put in a goodly number.  Older homes may not have enough either.  I have usually doubled the number on re-roofs I have done.

This has been extensively tested by the University of Florida and found not to be true.  Reflecting the heat back out through the roof raised the temperature of the shingles by about 1.5 degrees, not enough to accelerate their deterioration.  The heat simply radiates away.  That's just an "old roofers" tale.

Cheap, dark shingles are the major cause of premature failure of a shingle roof.  There are several grades of shingles available.  Make sure what is installed is what you have paid for.  Even the best asphalt shingle roof is only going to last about fifteen years in Florida.  That's why all the houses in south Florida have those concrete shingles.

If you can afford it, re-roof in metal.  It comes in all kinds of looks, even shingle, but is expensive.  There are houses in Riverside and Springfield that still have their original 100 year old metal roofs. In any case, light colored shingles will extend the life of your roof.

[tufsu1]

here's the deal folks...stop blaming the rates and look at how much energy you used instead...in December 2009 I used about 350kwh....this year it was closer to 950kwh.......not surprisingly, my bill more than doubled.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

here's the deal folks...stop blaming the rates and look at how much energy you used instead...in December 2009 I used about 350kwh....this year it was closer to 950kwh.......not surprisingly, my bill more than doubled.

But according to most, you used 950kw because a.)  JEA was too lazy to check your meter so they guessed; b.)  a lucky bondholder won the 'who-are-we-going-to-exploit-now lottery; or c.) rather than increase our rates, we'll just double your usage via 'faulty' equipment and only refund you the money if you call our customer service and complain like hell.

I just don't happen to agree with 'most'.

[ChriswUfGator]

here's the deal folks...stop blaming the rates and look at how much energy you used instead...in December 2009 I used about 350kwh....this year it was closer to 950kwh.......not surprisingly, my bill more than doubled.

So your implied premise is that we are all wasting more power, not that JEA is charging more money.

So let me ask you this; Has JEA recently raised rates (both their published and de facto rates) or haven't they?

Simple question, deserves a simple answer.

[BridgeTroll]

http://www.publicpower.com/electricrates.shtml

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

So your implied premise is that we are all wasting more power, not that JEA is charging more money.

So let me ask you this; Has JEA recently raised rates (both their published and de facto rates) or haven't they?

Simple question, deserves a simple answer.

So you fall into NRW's group c.  Again, I ask you this, "What is a fair rate to pay for electricity?"