WPS wants to increase Electric connection charge to $68

[rmay635703]

http://www.renewwisconsin.org/pdf/WP...AQ%20final.pdf

It seems that WPS after getting most of what it wanted (not so slowly increasing the connection fee from $8 to $21+) they apparently have a roadmap to get it up to $68 so they are protected from "price fluctuations"

They also seem to allude that the cost to supply electricity to each individual in a 20 unit apartment is the same as a car factory, which is stinkin thinkin.

More and more everyday it appears going partially off grid with natural gas backup is the way to go, as it would protect me from "price fluctuations"

So now the question becomes what small continuous use natural gas generators exist?

Having looked before it appears that I would need to locate something very very old or a continuous use diesel genset with a natural gas
kit. I really only need about 3-4kw and have almost everything to go partially solar.
Sad reality is it appears most modern natural gas gensets are now just backup units, the units designed for years of heavy use have gotten larger and larger leaving a void.

On an off topic
Response Rewards (Wisconsin Public Service)

the response rate used to be $0.011 per KW and has now gone up over 6 cents.

Odd how politics work around here.

[oil pan 4]

Cummins builds all the continuous duty natural gas generators and they are expensive.

The way I plan to do it is take a Kubota or yanmar liquid cooled diesel engine, turbo intercool it to increase fuel economy by 10% and run natural gas intake fumigation.
Use the prime mover to direct drive a 4 pole Kohler split phase 120/240v generator.

Then run the exhaust through a large EGR cooler to heat the house along with the engine coolant during the winter.

[freebeard]

Turbocharge this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldab20lhx3E

Apparently if you order one new from India you have to particularly specify the bearing's material.

[redneck]

.

Check out Crazy Jerry's rig.

The 650 RPM Lister Generator






>

[ME_Andy]

The utilities are scared cause the cost of solar is dropping like a rock. I have a site that tracks such things: PVcharts.com In China, the cost of PV modules is down over 10% this year already

[jamesqf]

$68? My last month's bill was $37.88. $36.65 the month before, $34.40 back in April...

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

$68? My last month's bill was $37.88. $36.65 the month before, $34.40 back in April...

Yes, $68 is a desired endpoint per WPSs roadmap to future pricing,
as has been the case with the increase from $8 to $21...
$68 is several years off, so just wait, as long as Wisconsins' regulatory boards are pro business, the increases will slowly rack up every 6 months to a year.

Sort of following the boil the frog slowly process so he doesn't notice.


These increases are occurring, even while WPS is still non-compliant with zero pollution controls on Weston 4, who exports all power produced while using the cost of building this coal belching system only on the locals around the plant. As WPS has shut down (but not removed) hydropower and been building unnecessary coal production, they have discovered a way to justify increases in costs to support these unnecessary efforts.


As is WPS has the highest fees and profits of any profit controlled producer in the Midwest.


My electric bills hover just above the cost of the fees and taxes, which is currently in the twenty something dollar range this time of year.
(aka I almost always use less than $3 of electricity a month, excluding 3 months a year where I use closer to $40 a month)

But as the $5-$10 fee increases start occurring (which also increase the amount of other taxes I pay) I will become increasingly wary of paying for dirty coal power, when I can make my own,

more cleanly for less money at home.

[freebeard]

If the big box retailers sold an artificial Christmas tree with pescovite cells for leaves, a 6-8ft tree would produce, what, maybe 750 watts continuous? Put a row of those down your property line.

What you'll find out eventually is whether you can have a mailing address and decline the utilities' 'services'.

[Frank Lee]

Same thing happened at my co-op except I haven't heard about more increases. I used to pay a $7 monthly connection fee; now it's $30. The fee plus a "MN renewable energy fee" plus taxes dwarf my average 100 kwH/month usage. Using more electricity only incrementally increases the bill thus discouraging any conservation efforts by consumers who are only motivated by bill costs. This is in direct opposition to the propaganda the co-op sends out every month in their government-mandated newsletter, which preaches conservation.

[oil pan 4]

Bait and switch.
They get to generate and transmit less power and make the same amount of revenue. Perfect.