Cheaper Electric Cheaper Electricity Bills

Hi! Doing a survey for my class and think itd be good to ask you lot!

Is it a good thing to have new technology that provides cheaper electricity for the consumer?

I need business related answers aswell as society based answers.. all answers will go in a table to develop a strong debate.

Thankyou

Good and Bad.

Good because consumer disposable income will go up as price of electricity fall. This means that they have more money to spend on other things they like.

Bad because this will lead to over use of the resources. If electricity is cheap, people will less likely to mind leaving their computer/tv on when they are not using it. I.e LESS incentive to save electricity. Therefore, it will be bad for the environment (global warming).

Hope this helps.

Here in California it’s a well-known fact that in places where electricity is provided by the city (Los Angeles, Anaheim, Vernon, etc.) the cost per kilowatt-hour is significantly less than in places where it’s provided by a private company (most of Orange County, Riverside, and so on).

I thought people were always saying that government is inefficient, and private companies can do things better and cheaper.

"I thought people were always saying that government is inefficient, and private companies can do things better and cheaper."

They lie. Do some research. Electricity is not the only example of this phenomenon. Countries with universal health care also spend less than the US for better quality.

when the snow melts into hydroelectric dams? Or does it melt into bigger profits for the generating boards? I’m watching Making Scotland’s Landscapes, the remote controlled hydroelectric stations. They only work when the electricity can be sold for the highest price. Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales and France swap electricity around a common grid market.

no.
energy companies budget over an entire year — sometimes several years.
hydroelectric generation is the easiest to start and stop.
you don’t have to worry about warm-up and cool-down time.
for that reason, often hydro generation is used primarily for peak demand.
not because of price, but because of how easy it is to start and stop.

Edit: <<Water, electricity should all be handled by the public authorities on a non-profit basis. >>
Unfortunately, in the US, power is already private.
The government would have to buy it.
Considering that the people are already unwilling to pay for that which they consume, the idea of paying more is not about to happen.

Having it as a regulated utility is not all that bad.
If the government were to run it, it would get messed up.
you’d have unqualified folks making decisions that would lose money.
allowing private companies to do that, but regulating them is probably better.
However, when you don’t regulate them, then you get the likes of Enron.

<<When the need is greatest, the penstocks can be opened and the highest price can be got.>>
That doesn’t work.
Power is an inelastic demand.
When power is cheaper on Tuesday, you don’t use more.
In fact, power companies can afford to use their more expensive means of generation when prices are high, and reserve some of the lower cost resources for times when energy prices are lower.
That way they’re profitable all the time.

Apartments are cheaper because not all of your walls are exposed to the outside so cooling and heating remain in longer. An all electric apartment will run you from 40 to 100 a month, with the lower figure for the months when you do not need much a/c or heat, the higher figures when you are running the a/c or heat. Many utility companies will give you the exact information for how much the utilities were from that unit in the last year.

I live in Essex, near East London (Greater London). What is cheaper, heating one room with a gas central heating or with an electric fan heater?

it would deffernetly be the gas as the cheaper option, i know 40% of power stations in britain use gas as a fuel to produce electricity. per unit, gas is a lot cheaper than electric.

So…if just for the argument solar cells turn to be a cheaper solution for your housing electricity needs – would you buy it? Basically, i think this would be a great business idea – to a point where it’s almost idiotic to even ask such a question . But am I right? Perhaps people don’t want "ugly" solar cells and prefer to pay higher electricity bills instead?

10x

100% I would. I have a friend who installs that and he is looking to start his own company doing that. I would jump all over it, but the costs are huge. I know that in 10 to 15 years it would pay itself off, but I dont have the cash plus, I am not sure if I will be in my house that long.

The avg person use to move every 5 years. I know that has probably changed, but I think that most still think that they might move in the near future, so making an investment like that might not make the most sense.

How can i make a cheap electricity producing windmill?

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Is gas still cheaper to use for heating and the water heater? In the winter, the weather is like Portland, OR or Memphis, TN, not bitterly cold but a little chilly at times.

due to the continuing high rising costs of electricity, gas still seems to be the cheaper fuel alternative for heating hot water – i dont forsee electricity being cheaper yet…… so in other words, gas is cheaper-

Not really, they charge as per the meter readings and multiply that with the common rate as applicable

A lot cheaper Unless its a heat pump then they are about the same. In instances of an all electric home I always recommend a Heat pump to my customers