The topic of gas stoves ignited a heated debate last year when a Biden appointee suggested they could be banned because they posed a risk to human health.
But a ban isn’t in the works — and this week the administration will finalize a scaled-back plan to make new stoves less energy-intensive.
A few years ago, my electric bill jumped from about $100/month to over $350. I called the local utilities commission and they told me that they could come out and do a “survey” of my appliances but if their guy determined that the bill was my fault, I’d have to pay $100 as a “service call.”
The guy essentially walked into my house and just pointed at every appliance and said what it was, told me that my refrigerator was the culprit, then handed me a bill for $100.
This utilities commission is still adding $20 a month to people’s electric bill for a “solar research” charge and they’ve not made a single investment into solar in the 20 years that they started adding that fee. They still burn diesel to generate power.
Edit: My point is, electricity could certainly be less of an expense, but because it’s treated as a commodity instead of a necessity, power companies know they can price gauge.