The SCC granted permission today to Dominion Virginia Power to increase its rates by 18% in Virginia.

I understood from my heating guy that it would still be cheaper than heating with gas. In my neck of the woods the gas option is bottled gas. I understand that it's totally insane in price to heat with oil.

My house is heated and cooled by two heat pumps. I live in a 2-story house.

they approved a 11% increase here for Terasen gas here!

Well, I am not sure where you live, but I am truly sorry to hear about your increase in gas.

I got Mom sweat pants for this past winter and she didn't like wearing them. They keep the nursing home nice and warm. I am probably going to take over the sweat pants and wear them at home either as pj bottoms or as sweat pants with my own sweat tops. I feel the cold terribly because I take a beta blocker for my blood pressure. My legs get terribly cold, but the sweat pants make a big difference. A few new sweat shirts for me won't break my budget like an increased electric bill will.

In WV utilities are still regulated so we are not going to (hopefully!) see the huge price spikes. They are of course allowed to pass on their increased fuel costs. We have natural gas for heat, stove, and hot water. The A/C is electric.

We have relatives in MD and they just deregulated the electric companies last year. Some people were looking at increases of 75%. Yow!

I feel for people who heat their homes with heating oil - they are going to get hit hard this winter.

My mom heats her house and uses her stove with gas (we're in VA), so this is a concern for her.  However, she is also going to be buying a new HVAC unit for the house very soon as her current one is 18 years old and the guy who fixes it told her he's nursed it along as long as he could but it just won't go any further.  I told her to keep an eye out for the tax free weekend for major appliances (which last year included HVAC), usually in October, so she can at least save some money on getting it replaced.  With as much as the old one didn't work, a new one will be so much more efficient she might not notice a huge change in her bill.  At least, that's what I hope.

If it's just you, why not plan on moving to a smaller home?

I can't sell the house even if I wanted to. If I rented it, I would not get enough money to pay the rent on another place. Both of the homes that I take care of as Power of Attorney are completely paid for. Mom was transfering everything to me the week that she had her heart attack and stroke.

This house was adapted to me after I became handicapped. Mom put in a chair elevator for me. There are grab rails in all 3 complete bathrooms. We put in ramps for Mom in 2006 so that she could be in a wheelchair.

Both Shattered Dreams and Shattered Dreams 2 are gorgeous houses. I love my kitchen. I actually prefer eating at home rather than going out to eat because Mom outfitted the kitchen beautifully. I have always loved to cook. In 2006 Mom converted the back porch into a tiny pantry for me and then she bought a 9 cubic foot chest freezer.

Believe it or not, I have actually gotten the electric bill to come down a lot since Mom went into the nursing home. I'm quite frugal.

And, yes, I do realize that I am extremely fortunate. I watched Mom be frugal while I grew up. I know how to cook and how to plan meals. I'm good at using leftovers up. I'm also good at grocery shopping and using my coupons.

I live in Canada in British Columbia near Vancouver. Virginianeedlewoman.

I guess my failure too clear out my closet of all those heavy sweaters that I brought with me from NY will finally come in handy this winter!

I haven't used most of them since moving here cause the winters are much milder but with the weather going crazy who know's what this coming winter will be & I sure don't want any higher then necessary fuel bills. 

I heard on TV the other night that people heating by oil could be looking at $800 or  more per month too heat their homes!   We heated with oil in NY & I just couldn't imagine paying even just $800 a month too heat the house & I'm sure glad not too have too worry about those prices.

 

     I am a Dominion Virginia Power customer also and I knew they were going to raise their  rates, but I didn't know it would be that much.

     We retired to southside Virginia nearly four years ago and the old, largely uninsulted wood-siding house we live in cost about $250 to $300 oil to keep nice and warm the first year.

     Now it would cost $500 and we don't have it.  Last two winters we kept the thermostat at 50, just to keep the pipes from freezing and lived mainly in one small bed-sitting room upstairs.  Not fun.  I am wondering if the price of electricity will climb so high that it will rival oil for heating.

     I did splurge and get gas logs installed in the room downstairs we use as a living/TV room,w hen not upstairs, but the propane gas in tank is very expensive, too.

     Some friends of ours, who inherited half a farm in Northern Virginia and have not had to work since they ewre 50 bought land on the side of a mountain near Roanoke and just moved into a log house there.  They bought the shell/kit and he finished everything inside, including electric, which he had always wanted to do.  They put in a wood-burning furnace only, but have their own wood from this mountainside.  They started this house five years ago and finally moved into it last year.  I thought it was odd to put that wood-burning heating plant in, but I don't think so now.

     We would like to get a heat pump, but don't have money for that either.  Our federeal retirement income, quite small, goes up maybe a $100 a month a year, ilf that, but they Medicare and the federal health insurance premiums go up by at least that much, so we have not had any increase in income and look at how everything has gone up.