Energy surcharge to go into effect Nov. 1
Hurricanes in the Atlantic and the ENRON scandal from 2000 may be putting the heat on your wallet this winter when you turn on that furnace.
To compensate for rising energy costs due to the shutdown of energy production in the South, the Logan City Council approved a temporary energy surcharge which will be based on kilowatt usage and go into effect Nov. 1.
“Energy costs have spiked sharply within the last couple of months,” Councilwoman Laraine Swenson, said. “We need to sell power for what it costs us. We would be running in a deficit within the next couple of months if we didn’t do this surcharge.”
This is because Logan Light and Power currently has a reserve budget of only $400,000, Councilwoman Tami Pyfer said, which is an amount that is not enough to stretch to cover the higher cost of energy. Pyfer said he reserve is still in recovery from the energy crisis in 2000, so people who use more power are going to have to pay more.
“When they had the big power ENRON scandal about five years ago, we had about $10 million in our power reserve,” Pyfer said. “We tried to wait it out and we lost it all. In a matter of months, that whole reserve was gone.”
Pyfer said the council could not afford to “wait it out” again and approved the surcharge. She said the surcharge should be minimal for most people, costing the average family of four about an additional $5 per month. She added that it is temporary and will be reviewed if prices go down again.
The increase, Pyfer said, is necessary because the hurricanes in the Gulf Coast have “doubled and tripled natural gas prices” and many of the places Logan Light and Power buys energy from use natural gas.
“This time we’re being really cautious,” she said. “We still haven’t recovered from that last crisis. We’re not the only ones; a lot of small communities got hosed.”
Mayor Doug Thompson said an extensive campaign to notify people will get underway soon, including notices on the radio, in the newspaper and in people’s bills.
“We don’t want them to be caught by surprise,” Thompson said. “The thing is, if they will earnestly try to start conserving energy, they can do it without changing their lifestyle.”
Thompson recommends taking measures such as lowering the thermostat and putting on a sweater instead. He said for every degree a household lowers the thermostat, 2 percent can be saved on the natural gas bill.
Thompson said the surcharge may be a 5-10 percent increase for some customers, but with a little initiative, people can easily make up the cost.
“Most people can reduce their energy consumption by 5-10 percent and not even notice it,” Thompson said. “You don’t have to change your lifestyle. You don’t have to suffer and freeze. You can save by doing very simple things.”
Some of those things, Thompson said, include closing your drapes at night to insulate the house and then opening them in the day to allow the sun to contribute warmth, or buy energy-efficient light bulbs.
“That’ll save you money forever,” Thompson said.
He also recommended checking for air leaks in the house.
“Peel apart a two-ply Kleenex so you have a real light piece of paper,” Thompson suggested. “You take that around your doors and windows and it’ll show you where there are drafts.”
He said simple repairs, such as caulking strips for doors and even rubber stoppers for electrical outlets, will keep the cold air out and the warm air in.
Wayne Dodd, the owner of Advanced Heating and Air Conditioning in Logan, said rising energy costs already have people thinking conservation.
“I’ve noticed it,” Dodd said. “More people are concerned with the efficiency of a furnace now than they were in times past.”
Dodd said that a furnace that is 20 years old is only 50-60 percent efficient on average. He said there is little to be done to improve the efficiency of an old furnace.
“As long as you keep your filter clean, it makes a pretty big difference,” Dodd said. “But in terms of making an older furnace more efficient, that’s about all you can do.”
-jenbeasley@cc.usu.edu