Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Natural gas-guzzling Canadians

Wow.

The Toronto Star has a story today about "outrageous" gas bills brought on by one gas company's maladjusted "equal billing plan" (EBP) that tries to spread payments for gas out across the year, rather than concentrating them during the months when gas is most used (in winter, for heating).

The thing that surprised me, though, was not the EBP glitch -- I don't really care about that -- but the size of these peoples' gas bills!

One man received a bill for $847.18 after paying monthly installments of $80 since last September, meaning the total consumption was worth over $1600. One woman received a bill for over $1200 after also presumably making installment payments along the way. The article's author looks to have used over $1400 worth of gas.

Me? I live in a detached house with a lot of windows that does not appear to be particularly modern in its insulation. My monthly installments multiplied by 12 comes to an amount under $600 and I will be getting a credit when the EBP resets in August.

Are these people creating tropical conditions in their houses during the winter? I assume some do -- I have had someone say to me before that "we set the thermostat high in the winter because he (husband) likes to wear t-shirts inside".

Are they indifferent as to how much it costs to the extent that they don't look at their bill each month? That should be the real story!

But, of course, with the Star everyone is a victim.

No comments: