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= The Ene rgy Crisis =

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High Prices
Electric bills have skyrocketed in the last five years, a sharp reversal from a quarter-century when Americans enjoyed stable power bills even as they used more electricity. File photo by Jim Cole, AP > More electricity use at homes and higher prices are driving up power bills.

Households paid a record $1,419 on average for electricity in 2010, the fifth consecutive yearly increase above the inflation rate, a USA TODAY analysis of government data found. The jump has added about $300 a year to what households pay for electricity. That's the largest sustained increase since a run-up in electricity prices during the 1970s. Electricty is consuming a greater share of Americans' after-tax income than at any time since 1996 — about $1.50 of every $100 in income at a time when income growth has stagnated, a USA TODAY analysis of [|Bureau of Economic Analysis] data found. Greater electricity use at home and higher prices per kilowatt hour are both driving the higher costs, in roughly equal measure: •Residential demand for power dropped briefly in 2009 but rebounded strongly last year to a record high. Air-conditioners and household appliances use less power than ever. A new refrigerator consumes half the electricity as a similar one bought in 1990. But consumers have bigger houses, more air-conditioning and more electronics than before, outpacing gains in efficiency and conservation. "People have made a lot of money selling weight loss programs. It's the same for energy. Behavior is hard to change," says Penni Conner, vice president of customer care at [|NSTAR], a Boston-based utility. •Prices are climbing, too, hitting a record 11.8 cents per residential kilowatt hour so far this year, reports the [|Energy Information Administration]. The increase reflects higher fuel prices and the expense of replacing old power plants, including heavily polluting — but cheap to operate — coal plants that don't meet federal clean air requirements. "Higher bills are a huge problem for low income families," says Chris Estes, executive director of the [|North Carolina] Housing Coalition, which opposes a proposed rate hike in its state by [|Duke Energy]. "Utilities are what people's budgets start with." Duke Energy says the rate increase is needed to pay for replacing old power plants and making the transmission system more reliable. The Charlotte-based utility has reached a tentative agreement with North Carolina to raise rates 7.2% in February, lower than its original 17% request. "The industry as a whole is facing higher costs because we're retiring our aging fleet" of power plants, says Duke Energy spokeswoman Betsy Conway. Electricity cost varies widely depending on where you live. Cheapest: Northwest communities near hydropower dams — as low as 2 cents per kilowatt hour. Most expensive major utility: [|Consolidated Edison], supplier of New York City — 26 cents per kilowatt hour, according to EIA. High taxes, limits on air-polluting fuels and the expense of maintaining an underground transmission system keep consumer costs high, says ConEd spokesman Chris Olert. A potential bright spot: Electric bills appear roughly the same so far this year as last when adjusted for inflation, based on preliminary reports. However, the future of energy prices and the upcoming closure of more polluting coal plants makes the long-term outlook cloudy for consumers. Duke Energy plans to ask for another rate hike next year to cover the costs of new natural gas-fired plants.

Who Controls Energy Prices?
====Economic reality: maximum price controls cause shortages, and shortages cause social strife, even violence. This brings us back to June 1979 and a plea to recognize the real virtue of the free market, our buffer for civility.====

= How does effect people? =

Depending on where people live is how it effects them. If they live close to everything then they wouldn't have to buy so much gas. Kerosene is alot of money, durring the winter people buy alot of it. most people have carosine heaters because they don't want to use their fernus for central heating. central heating runs their electric bill up sky high. Kerosene prices these days run from $3.50-$4.00 per gallon depending on where you live and where you get it from.

= Conserving Energy =

// Energy Eye-Opener: Wasting water needlessly uses electricity. In large cities, the biggest draw on electricity is supplying water to residents and cleaning up the water after it has been used. // // Energy Eye-Opener: Refrigerators and freezers consume about a sixth of all electricity in a typical American home, using more electricity than any other single household appliance. // // Energy Eye-Opener: A six-inch pan on an eight-inch burner will waste more than 40 percent of the stove’s energy ////. // // Energy Eye-Opener: Some water heater thermostats come preset to 140 degrees, which can cost you more money. // // Energy Eye-Opener: About 90 percent of the electricity used by everyday incandescent bulbs is lost as heat. // // Energy Eye-Opener: As much as half the energy used in your home goes to heating and cooling. // // Energy Eye-Opener: An open fireplace damper can let up to eight percent of heat from your furnace go up the chimney. // // Energy Eye-Opener: Devices such as modems and other networking boxes draw power anytime they are plugged in. // // Energy Eye-Opener: Laptop computers draw 15 to 25 Watts of electricity during regular use, compared to 150 Watts for a conventional desktop computer and monitor. //
 * Take a good look at your water bill every month. Unusually high use could mean you have an undetected leak.
 * If possible, move your refrigerator away from the wall, stove, dishwasher and heat vents to help it perform more efficiently.
 * Use pots the same size as your burners. Use lids when possible so you can cook at a lower temperature.
 * Make sure your water heater is set to 120 degrees. 4 This is also recommended to help prevent accidental scalding and burns from water that is too hot – especially important with little ones around.
 * Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). They provide just as much light with one-fourth the energy.
 * Use duct or foil tape to seal the seams and connections of your heating and cooling ducts, especially the ones running through the attic, crawlspace, unheated basement or garage. Wrap them in insulation while you’re at it; you could improve your system’s energy efficiency by as much as 20 percent.
 * Close the damper in summer and when you don’t have a fire burning in winter.
 * Plug your computer, modem and other electronic devices into a power strip so you can turn them all off when you’re not using them. 8 This also goes for small appliances in the kitchen that are constantly drawing energy while plugged in. Make sure all power strips are UL Listed.
 * If you’ve got both, use your laptop first. When you upgrade, go with a laptop, and take your old computer to an e-waste recycling station. Many electronics retailers now offer take back programs.

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