Inflation

[NastyWoman]

Mar 6, 2022 8:55:02 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Mar 5, 2022 22:56:17 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

At the risk of sounding stupid, what is a Polar Vortex surcharge? Is that a charge on top of the increased usage many people will have had due to the extreme cold?

This is paying for what happened in Texas last year.  It is based on my usage, but I was not hurt by the Polar Vortex in Texas last year but I am paying for it.

The line item on the bill is Polar Vortex surcharge. 

 not only were you not hurt by what happened in Texas, this is a money grab pure and simple. Part of the reason Texas got hurt so badly was that they are intentionally NOT hooked up to the national power grid. So considering that I see zero reason for you to have to pay a surcharge for that

[TheOtherMe]

I think everyone in this state who is paying that surcharge feels the same way.  

[obelisk]

5.38 per gallon today in southernn ca

[pulmonarymd]

Don’t feel too bad about the $4.05 I paid yesterday

[wvugurl26]

Pennsylvania's taxes must be higher than the surrounding states. I never buy gas there if it can be avoided. It is always higher. My dad is driving a semi again. Based on his route he usually fills up in Pennsylvania. Friday night diesel was $5.51/gallon. He was very happy he wasn't paying that bill!

We filled up Saturday. The station attendant said they raised prices twice that day and it wasn't even noon yet. I thought that was bs. They didn't get two deliveries in that time frame.

[trimatty471]

" Early in my career they used to make sure annual raises were commensurate with inflation but I think employers in the private sector got stingier and also made more of the compensation "variable" based on how well the company did, so your total compensation could decrease if you got a 3% salary increase but your bonus went down a lot."

So many people were leaving last year that our company increased out profit sharing to the highest ever.  They claim that we haven't made much money last year so I suspect that our raises which barely kept up with the COLA is going to be minimal.

[Deleted]

Mar 6, 2022 20:48:00 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

We filled up Saturday. The station attendant said they raised prices twice that day and it wasn't even noon yet. I thought that was bs. They didn't get two deliveries in that time frame.

I once asked a station attendant why they were out there changing the price when they hadn't had a delivery.  They said they get a call from someone On High when prices need to be changed and they do what they're told.  I agree- BS.  I'm sure that the new prices are HIGHER than the average cost of what's in the tanks than LOWER.

[Lizard Queen]

When I worked at a gas station, we checked the competitor down the road, and called that into the office. They always had us match it. My husband works in wholesale distribution now, so he lets me know if wholesale prices are spiking. There were several diesel shortages last week, btw.

[Opti]

Mar 7, 2022 8:39:51 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

When I worked at a gas station, we checked the competitor down the road, and called that into the office. They always had us match it. My husband works in wholesale distribution now, so he lets me know if wholesale prices are spiking. There were several diesel shortages last week, btw.

Diesel prices at a well-located gas station went way up. Usually, they are less than premium gas. I have a feeling that might change in the short term locally.

[Opti]

Mar 6, 2022 20:41:34 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

Don’t feel too bad about the $4.05 I paid yesterday

I don't like the prices here, but they are lower than LA and much of California. 

[Tiny]

Mar 5, 2022 15:12:53 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Tiny, Do you read or listen to news ? Major democratic platform is to transition away from fossil fuels to wind solar . From the first day in office there has been a push to shut down production of gas and oil in the US

www.bostonglobe.com/2022/02/22/nation/biden-halts-oil-gas-leases-amid-legal-fight-climate-cost/?outputType=amp

Also applications for LNG liquified natural ga terminals have not been signed for about a year. So US limited in shipping LNG to Europe .

The decreased production of US oil and gas is planned as a featured objective by this administration and their voters. Part of the transition to solar wind etc
The production of electric vehicles is also part of the Build Back Better bill.
What do you disagree with that the shortages or decrease in oil and gas production is planned? When decreases in oil and gas occur the costs will increase
Probably electricity costs will also increase since at present solar and wind are less efficient in producing electricity
Do you disagree that these changes are planned.

I do read the news and have for a very long time.  For me my 'reading of energy news' start along time ago -- I am not fond of nuclear energy - haven't been since the 80's but THAT's where my electric power comes from. Learning about how my house/life is "powered" was a rabbit hole I went down decades ago.  It made me realize it's not just ABOUT my house, or my neighborhood, or my state, or my country - it's whole freaking WORLD.   

And it's not just nuclear energy that powers my life - it's natural gas (makes my furnace work and provides some of my electricity), and gas for my car, and diesel for the train I ride to work, and then all the energy that powers the factories and trucks that deliver the food and consumer goods I use. Heck, I've been solar cooking (as a hobby) for over almost 20 years. I've tried to make my home and life as energy efficient as made financial sense. I've been thru lots of PLANNED changes in energy consumption - more fuel efficient cars, energy star appliances, lower water usage for appliances and toilets, sinks, and showers, building codes for new homes to be more efficient followed by updating older homes to be more efficient (during remodels or before being sold).

This thing with oil and gas - -  has been going on for DECADES.   If you didn't see this happening - I have to ask you - do you read the news
(I'm guessing that even some Republicans have seen the writing on the wall - the Saudi Arabian government has a plan to move their economy away from being ONLY supported by their ability to produce and sell oil - because their oil resources are projected to run out in the future. Doesn't this imply that even American oil resources will someday run out       What's going to power the BILLIONS of people's lives in China and India   jLittle ole' America is only 330million people...    What happens when America is the only country in the distant future still using oil? and it's running out   but that's the distant future 30 to 50 years from now... )


So, to your points:
I DISAGREE that the production of US oil and gas is a planned feature objective by this administration and their voters. Your sentence phrasing makes it sound like this is a new "plan" or something the current ADMINISTRATION and recent voters just pulled out of their asses a year or two ago -- or maybe even last month. The current administration is working a plan that has been in place for a LONG time.   Even trump's republican administration worked it... it's not a switch you can flip on and off.  

The changes have been planned - and that plan has been in the process of being "worked" for a very long time... why do you think you have energy efficient appliances and that TESLA you are driving??  Do you think those things were created just for fun?  or because they were "cool"??   Do you think Republican administrations tried to stop ALLL the energy efficient things they could when they held office?  (sounds like bad business decision.... and arent' Republican's all about business and making money?) 

ADDED:  we live in a country with ever INCREASING energy needs.   think about the implications of that...   I'm guessing even the Republican party has to acknowledge this...  and that if America keeps growing - our energy needs will also grow.     why tie it to a resource that may run out in 20 or 30 or 50 years.    Seems kind of short sighted to me. 

And as for higher prices on gas/oil - We live in a Capitalist country  with GROWING DEMAND.    What would you have us do - produce oil cheaply - so we can encourage even more use of it?   How is that capitalistic??   

Besides Prices for fuel and energy routinely go up and down.  It's not a happy thing...  but shouldn't people be prepared for that?   Oh, wait, we don't tell people about that (via the news) because it's an unpleasant thing to talk about... 

Change takes time. It doesn't happen overnight.

What are you going to power your life with - in 20 or 30 years when gas/oil are running out or so expense you can't afford it?

[Value Buy]

Mar 5, 2022 15:17:06 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Mar 5, 2022 14:46:52 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Back in the late 60's I was doing a paper for school on the future of the oil industry in the U.S. 
They calculated America would be out of oil  in the oil fields by the year 2000.

Probably was a good thing the push for more gas efficient cars happened in the 70's...      

And our oil production is well over what it was back then. We did not run out as predicted.

[Value Buy]

Mar 6, 2022 20:14:03 GMT -5 obelisk said:

5.38 per gallon today in southernn ca

They showed a station charging $7.19 per gallon this morning. Not sure where.

[Tiny]

Mar 7, 2022 10:44:04 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Mar 5, 2022 15:17:06 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Probably was a good thing the push for more gas efficient cars happened in the 70's...      

And our oil production is well over what it was back then. We did not run out as predicted.

Doesn't change it from a limited resource to an unlimited one... 

[Tiny]

As an aside:
I watched the movie Giant last week (Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean). There's some not particularly pleasant commentary on our Government and American oil in it - and this movie is from the 50's.

So, I'm guessing American oil has been a hot topic for a very very long time.

[Opti]

Mid-grade prices are up by me. Gas buddy has them ranging from $4.19 to $4.60/gallon. It takes minutes to raise the price and usually days for the prices to drop. I wonder how long this will last?

[Lizard Queen]

I paid $3.89 this morning.

[Tiny]

On the plus side - Meijer's had their 11 for $10 sale - on ALL the same stuff that was part of this kind of sale pre-pandemic at the same time.

Picked up lots of 'staple items', for me at least, at .90 each... woo hoo! First time in 2 years they've had as many items in that 11 for $10 grouping. Bought some other groceries at reasonable prices as well... I'm managing to avoid quite a bit of "inflationary" grocery prices...

Which is good. I have to drive quite a ways to get to Meijer's so it doesn't make sense to go there unless I'm buying a lot of stuff on sale. The price of gas plays into it, but I'm still driving on less than $4.00 a gallon gas. And now I shouldn't need to go back for atleast 6 to 8 weeks.

I have one day this week where I will be driving 50 miles round trip - and then I'm back to a couple of 8 mile round trip trips 2 times week. My "cheap gas" should hold me for awhile.

I did see that gas was in the $4.29.9 and up range at all the gas stations I passed on my long trip to Meijer's.

Guess I'll have to wait and see where gas prices are in two weeks or so when I need to fill up again.

[bean29]

I bought a RAV4 Prime PHEV last fall.  I qualify for a $7500 tax rebate, but I have not done our taxes yet.  I am on a RAV4 Prime group on Reddit.  People are paying quite a high premium to get a RAV4 PRIME.  According to Reddit right now, they are paying approximately $5,000 over invoice.  It is not unheard of to go up to $10,000 over invoice or more for a fully tripped out XSE.  Toyota has stopped taking orders for the Prime this year, so If you don't have a confirmed order you won't see the $7500 rebate, and may not get the 3750 one either.  They think toyota will hit their initial allocation limit of 200,000 in about April.  The phase out of the credit will then start in Quarter 4 (October 2022) and go to 50%.  I have seen though that used EV's can be a good deal?  Idk I wanted a RAV4 Prime, never shopped for anything else.  DH (and our neighbor that also has a RAV4 Prime) weree on the list for the Ford Lightning EV.  He said he (and K)  was notified last week that their allocations are done for 2022.  He is also on a list for a Chevy Silverado EV, but that is a few years out yet.  

As far as paying a reduced amount for gas taxes, true that, but Wisconsin and something like 25 other states charge an extra registration fee on top of the regular fees for EV's and PHEV's.

Like DD posted on IG last week, it doesn't matter what the gas prices are, we need to get to work, so we are still going to buy gas.  It is also not really easy right now to go out and just buy a more fuel efficient car, so if you don't have the option to work from home (we don't), we just suck it up and pay the piper.  My DD needs to return the SUV and pick up her Subaru though as she is driving the less efficient car right now.  There is not a lot we can do to save $$ on energy stuff.  I imagine prices will be high for years to come on appliances, building materials and autos.  The already would have been far off in the future to have prices come down, and now we have a whole country in Europe that has been willfully destroyed by another country.  All that housing and transportation will need to be replaced.  People fled with very little, so if they are refugees, they will need housing and clothing, transportation and employment.  
I hope we see increased income (raises) in our future, but I kind of have always been conservative in my expenditures.  We should be fine even if our expenses go up and income down.

[jerseygirl]

Was going to buy some tuna steaks today -$35/lb. NOPE

[TheOtherMe]

I'm quite fine with paying higher gas prices when I think of what is happening in Ukraine.  I am not worrying every second if my house will be bombed today.

NIL realized yesterday not only will she likely never see her childhood home again, Odesa will have bombed out buildings and not look at all like where she grew up.  

Her mother fled with only one suitcase.  That was all that was allowed on the bus she took to Moldova.  Her father is being sent to Moldova by his work because he is ill.  NIL has not been told what his illness is but said they will have to figure out whatever treatment he needs without him going to Ukraine.  He is over 65 but it isn't safe for him to go there and his regular doctors may have fled or no longer have a building.  

[teen persuasion]

Gas station in the village raised the price ANOTHER $.30 today between my drive in and drive home. That's $.70 in 5 days.

You know who's burning lots of fuel? All the utility trucks sitting around idling for hours.

High wind gusts yesterday knocked down one of our trees onto the power lines (the exact tree we told the electric company trimmers to just remove but they just trimmed it a little). The lines propped it up for a while, sparking and buzzing, until the electric lines snapped, but it stayed up on the phone and cable lines, hanging over the road.

So first the fire company came out to babysit the live wires in our yard, bunch of trucks parked. Then they left, must have had a more exciting call. Then the tree trimmers came to cut it off the line. After they were done, the bounced lines started flaring again, so they stuck around for a while taking pictures of the fires. Then the electric company sent a guy to babysit the live wires until a crew could come out. He was in his idling truck from 4 until sometime after I went to bed. When I woke, the power had finally been disconnected fully (we'd had intermittent low power), maybe that's why he could leave. At 8:30am the repair crew arrived, and I tried to skeddale to work early so my car wasn't trapped by all the trucks. There were at least 4 before I left. And more at the nearest corner working at the pole. And more at the next corner. And more a quarter mile around the corner.

They repaired the electric line, but the phone and cable lines were stretched out, hanging low - DH had to contact both of them. When I got home from work, I had trouble getting in my driveway due to all the cable trucks - ten minutes before me, DH and DS4 were completely blocked out of the driveway. That's another half dozen trucks, or so, for a few hours. Phone company told DH they'd be out between 1 and 5. They showed up at 7, another half dozen or so trucks. I think the last ones just left about 9:30pm, but the majority left a while ago, and one or 2 kept moving here and there out front, no idea what they were doing after they'd come down from the lifts.

That's just for one tree down in a windstorm. Multiply that by all the other trees or poles that came down in yesterday's high winds. I checked FireWire in our county, and nearly every call was tree on power line, tree on house, tree on garage, pole down. The electric company outage map was polkadotted with dozens of small breaks around me.

This is the third outage for us this winter, even after a round of proactive pole replacement in the summer, and lots of broken poles replaced after another windstorm 5 years ago (almost to the day).

Why do we keep using wires strung on poles, instead of burying the wires?

[CCL]

Around here they do bury the lines for new installations. Down the way, they are connected on the poles. The main line coming into my neighborhood is at the corner and gets hit by vehicles taking the turn too fast (of course if they stopped for the stop sign they wouldn't be going too fast), so our power goes out even though ours are buried. They usually get it fixed pretty quickly, at least.

[TheOtherMe]

My subdivision and another one in this small town are the only ones with underground power lines.  They attack to the main lines at the highway and those are above ground.

That said, our power does not go out very often.

[Lizard Queen]

My neighborhood has buried power lines. We still get inexplicable outtages. It's ridiculous.

[teen persuasion]

I realize there'd still be some outages, but the number of poles, and lines attached to the poles around here is ridiculous. They snake back and forth across the road. Every windstorm lately brings down dozens. In the past it was more likely to be ice storms, or a random tree.

We had 2 outages just before Xmas. The first was wind cracked a pole off, left across the road. So they had to chop it up to clear the road initially. Took a few days to replace the pole and reconnect things, because it was at a point that snaked to the other side of the road. A few days later, power was out again. Apparently when they reconnected things, they draped the line crossing the road too low. A tractor trailer snagged it going full speed and kept going, cracking off the pole opposite the new one. That pole is just put back together, with boards along the sides to strengthen it.

Now that it's daylight, I can see one of our lines is still drooping low. No idea if it's phone or cable, both were working last night, but too dark to watch.

I guess my thinking is - if you have to repair storm damage, wouldn't you begin replacing things in such a way to prevent the next storm's damage? Especially with climate change increasing the frequency and severity of storms?

[bean29]

Mar 7, 2022 18:32:16 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I'm quite fine with paying higher gas prices when I think of what is happening in Ukraine.  I am not worrying every second if my house will be bombed today.

NIL realized yesterday not only will she likely never see her childhood home again, Odesa will have bombed out buildings and not look at all like where she grew up.  

Her mother fled with only one suitcase.  That was all that was allowed on the bus she took to Moldova.  Her father is being sent to Moldova by his work because he is ill.  NIL has not been told what his illness is but said they will have to figure out whatever treatment he needs without him going to Ukraine.  He is over 65 but it isn't safe for him to go there and his regular doctors may have fled or no longer have a building.  

My daughter's co-worker that I thought was from Ukraine, is actually from Moldova.  She is there right now because (her father) has heart problems.  DD said she will be there until sometime in April.  I am thinking Moldova must be getting quite crowded.  All the TV coverage seems to be about the refugees in Poland.  Did NIL's mother make it to Moldova?  Do they expect to stay there, or might they get to the US or Canada?  I am sure your NIL would feel better if her parents were close by. 

[Deleted]

Residents around here keep asking why our utility company doesn’t start burying the lines. The utility company said it will be very expensive. After the latest fiasco last month when about 1/3 of the area lost power for days, it came up again. Now the utility company is saying that individual homeowners can pay to bury the lines coming to their house, but they’ll still have outages because it has to come out to attach to the closest pole. IIRC, it will cost at least $5k for an individual homeowner to bury their power lines.

Ours are underground in this neighborhood. We’ve lost power twice since we’ve been here. Once for about 5 minutes, and once for about 30 minutes. It wasn’t storming either time. At my other house, it seemed like the power went out every time the wind blew even a little.

[tractor]

Diesel is getting very high, not only will the price of shipping good increase, it now costs my $25/day to commute to work (up from $12/day two years ago). The price seems to go up @0.10 gal/per day.

It's just going to get worse after todays announcement. Might go back to working from home.

[giramomma]

Mar 8, 2022 11:48:04 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Residents around here keep asking why our utility company doesn’t start burying the lines. The utility company said it will be very expensive.

And therein lies the problem.

No one wants to spend money on public infrastructure. It's not profitable. And I think we're past the point of persuading those in charge to spend the money for something that would lead to the greater good.