The Long Hot Summer of High Electrical Bills

The first week of September has ended, and we've finally had a break in the weather. After a couple of weeks of 100+ degree weather, it's nice to be able to get outside and do a little yardwork. This summer, however, has been particularly rough on home owners' electrical bills. Areas outside of the City of Riverside (where costs have gone up even though it has its own public utilities) have been hit hardest, and Edison customers have seen their bills triple. For owners of newer homes with already high property taxes due to Mello-Roos, the increase could be a dangerous one, especially when combined with higher interest rates on variable rate mortgages.

The higher cost of electricity has several causes: our naturally hot weather in the first place, more hot days (global warming, anyone?), and houses that are 2-4 times bigger than they used to be with ceilings that are several feet higher. Let's face it, the look of opulence is ... expensive to keep cool. (Hmm, when will Americans finally wake up and decide to shrink their cars, houses, and waistlines?)

Here's a Press Enterprise article from early August on the increased cost of cooling Inland Enmpire homes, but it doesn't go into the size issue:

High Electrical Bills