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My utility is now owned by a hedge fund
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this post was submitted on 22 Feb 2024
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A Boring Dystopia
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Natural gas is far and away some of the most cost efficient methods of providing heat for temperature control and cooking.
The electricity you're using to run the pump and the HVAC will more than likely exceed the cost of the gas. My Houston electricity bills can get into the $600/mo range during heat waves, while my gas bill never gets above $50.
This is going to fuck people sideways, without a doubt. But hedge funds are already dick-deep in the electricity market. You're not escaping capitalism by plugging your gas line.
... during heat waves? Yes, heating is generally cheap during those.
During freezes, too. Heating your home with electricity - particularly at Texas's ERCOT exploding rates - is far more expensive than using natural gas.
Many of us are not under ERCOT. Utilities in Louisiana are heavily regulated. I doubt that they can do much without running into trouble.
That's an ERCOT problem. And I guarantee you, if you average the cost on a long term scale it's better. Just because heat pumps work poorly in super cold weather doesn't mean they're not the better choice.
Perhaps. But its hard to ignore when you're in Texas.
I've heard this claim with roof solar panels as well. As soon as I actually crunch the numbers, you're talking about a 5-10 year window before you see any kind of payoff.
If we're talking about Multi-Family Units that have an industrial scale system? Sure. Would be great if these were mandatory, both to keep down energy utilization and overall costs. But for detached dwellings, you're talking about a huge upfront cost with a lot of potential risks of improper installation and some very marginal changes in cost over a few months a year that aren't notably better than a well-maintained higher end HVAC or... just insulating your home better.