Dallas Morning News, 09:01 AM CDT on Thursday, August 31, 2006
Devetta Miller had already heard that electricity rates had increased, so when it became obvious that summer 2006 would
be particularly hot, the 40-year-old travel agent tried to conserve. She set the thermostat in her 2,100-square-foot DeSoto
home at 78 degrees. She put solar screens on the windows, wore shorts and used appliances sparingly. But when she saw
her electric bill, she was anything but cool. Her most recent statement, which included several weeks of August, came to
$551. It's a chilling reality for most electricity customers this summer. "I heard that electricity was going to be a little more
expensive, but I guess I wasn't expecting this," Ms. Miller said. "Needless to say, this came as kind of a shock. I was taken
aback." When a carryover balance was included, she owed $863 to TXU. To put that in painful perspective: A 30-year fixed
mortgage on a $150,000 house in Dallas would cost $10 less a month, and a five-year loan on a BMW 325i would be $678 a
month. Ms. Miller is not pleased by the comparison. "It gets to the point where you have to compromise between paying
your electricity or paying your mortgage," she said. "That's what it will come down to for some people." It cost Betty
Biggins, a 59-year-old retiree, $558 last month to cool her 1,600-square-foot Oak Cliff home – about twice the bill for this
time last year. "I complained about it last year," she said. "But if it was that way again, I'd be happy." She copes by keeping
the thermostat at 80 degrees and using ceiling fans. Still, she said, she has had to cut back in other ways, such as using the
clothes dryer at night and serving cold cuts at dinner – in part to save on her food bill and in part to keep the stove from
warming up the house. TXU spokeswoman Sophia Stoller said the higher bills stemmed from a combination of a 24
percent rate increase and an unusually hot summer. Ms. Stoller hears a lot of complaints about the higher bills – and not
just from electricity customers. "I get it from friends and even people here in the office," she said. " 'What can I do to lower
energy bills?' "
Users have a choice
She noted that TXU, like most utility companies, has programs to aid low-income people. For the rest, she said, she counsels
energy conservation – installing dimmers on lights, timers on water heaters and thermostats, better insulation and more
efficient air conditioners. "I think what needs to happen is for people to change their habits. They have a choice, and they
have control over it," she said. Often, however, it costs money to save money. Poor people often can't afford such investments,
said Kathy Martin, a volunteer at St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Community in McKinney. Her church's St.
Vincent DePaul Society has a program to help low-income households pay utility bills. Requests for assistance this year are
running about three to four times the normal level, she said. "So many have houses with poor insulation, and their
[air-conditioning] units are old," she said. "In some cases, their electric bills are higher than their rent. It's just impossible for
some people." For those who can afford it, however, there are savings to be had. Dan Miller, owner of Dan Miller Air
Conditioning in Lake Highlands, said he has heard from owners of 3,600-square-foot houses with $700-a-month utility bills.
In some cases, he said, the bills can be lowered by replacing refrigerant or by cleaning dirty condensers. But not in other
cases. "We have to come back to some people and say we couldn't find a mechanical problem," he said. "It's just a case of
when they have a big house and they like to keep it cool, their bills are going to be high."
Going to great lengths
TFor some people, it depends how far they want to carry conservation. Ann Gaut of Allen is prepared to go pretty far. When
she moved from Florida into her 1,300-square-foot home in February, she prepared for the hot Texas summers. She put
heavy-duty fiberglass insulation in her rafters. She keeps the thermostat at 77 degrees. She turns it off in the morning, then
opens her doors and allows industrial fans to stir up a breeze. She turns on her water heater in the morning, does dishes,
then turns it off. To keep sunlight out, she installed glass tinting (with the backing still on) on some windows. She put a
layer of greenhouse screening on her sliding glass door, covered it with two layers of silver insulation and then covered
that with a blue quilt. It worked. Her August electric bill: $182. "I can't see outside," she said. "But my house is cool."
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