DTE charges!

[FlyByDon]

Current charges
Power Supply Energy 330 KWH@ 0.06486 = $21.40
Renewable Energy Plan Surcharge =$ 3.00
Other Power Supply Surcharge =-$2.31

Delivery charges
Service charge =$ 6.00
Distribution 330 KWH@ 0.03547 =$11.70
Energy Optimization 330 KWH @ 0.001081 =$ .36
Other Delivery surcharges =$ 6.17
Residential MI Sales Tax =$ 1.85

Total Current charges $48.17

I’m in the wrong business.
Charging better than 50% to deliver a product than what they sell it for.

[EastSider]

Current charges
Power Supply Energy 330 KWH@ 0.06486 = $21.40
Renewable Energy Plan Surcharge =$ 3.00
Other Power Supply Surcharge =-$2.31

Delivery charges
Service charge =$ 6.00
Distribution 330 KWH@ 0.03547 =$11.70
Energy Optimization 330 KWH @ 0.001081 =$ .36
Other Delivery surcharges =$ 6.17
Residential MI Sales Tax =$ 1.85

Total Current charges $48.17

I’m in the wrong business.
Charging better than 50% to deliver a product than what they sell it for.

I don't know about you, but when I look at the second grouping, I see "Distribution" is $11.70, which is about 50% LESS than the energy itself. The service charge is probably for some fixed cost improvement. Off the top of my head, I'd guess Fermi costs.

The rest of those charges, especially the "other surcharges" are taxes.

[Strathcona]

They have to pay for all that new fancy infrastructure somehow right?...

[Fury13]

Infrastructure maintenance and repair are always a built-in portion of utility costs. I can't understand why people don't expect to pay to help keep the system running.

[MikeM]

EastSider is correct, the basic delivery charge is $11.70. The delivery charge has been shown separately since the unbundling of electric service in this state. If you were to purchase those 330 kWh from another supplier, DTE would still charge you the $11.70 to deliver them to your home.

[jj84]

Dte doesn't deliver the power anymore only the last few miles or so. That is what ITC does now, part of that whole power deregulation, DTE was requires to divest itself of that. 40k and under can be DTE lines but the distribution lines are itc. Hey someone has to pay for that new huge building at 12mile and m-5

[Meddle]

Many consumer products cost more to deliver then they do to make.

A bottle of ketchup that sells for $1.50 only costs about .25 for the actual ketchup. The rest is packaging, marketing, delivery, etc.


One difference I see in the current DTE bills from the Detroit Edison bills I used to get is that they break the two costs out. Mine were just cost per KwH plus taxes.

[detroitbob]

And the public service commission approves or rubber stamps almost every request for increases...

[MikeM]

Dte doesn't deliver the power anymore only the last few miles or so. That is what ITC does now, part of that whole power deregulation, DTE was requires to divest itself of that. 40k and under can be DTE lines but the distribution lines are itc.

If DTE is delivering the power the last few miles, then I'd say DTE is delivering the power. And you have this backwards but I know what you meant: the distribution lines are DTE; the transmission is ITC. I think DTE owns the low side of ITC's 120 kV transformers, but I could be wrong. DTE still generates power, and distributes it; in-between ITC transmits it.

[Novine]

You could add a solar system and get DTE to help foot the bill.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/...-solar-systems

http://www.dteenergy.com/residential...rCurrents.html

[MikeM]

And the public service commission approves or rubber stamps almost every request for increases...

What part of the cost of this business has decreased? Natural gas? Coal? Wages? Pensions? Insurance? Taxes? Debt?

[MikeM]

BTW, the commission staff this week advised against approving construction permits for two new power plants in the state:

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090...384/1409/METRO

I guess they arent't that business friendly. Of course, this could result in higher future costs which the commission will probably "rubber stamp" years down the road.

And while we're at it, the commission will be holding public meetings around the state this fall to hear your complaints. Mark your calendar:

http://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/0,1607,...1111--,00.html

[Gistok]

I'm sure that DTE will be raising their rates this year because of the low power usage due to a cool summer...

[Strathcona]

DTE also likes to sponsor ice arenas and amphitheaters...

[Novine]

"Of course, this could result in higher future costs which the commission will probably "rubber stamp" years down the road.'

Why? A portion of the current power bill is going to pay off costs related to the Fermi nuke plants. A new nuke or coal power plant will be paid for the same way, even if the power load isn't needed, which is what studies have shown.

[jt1]

What I would like to know is if the distribution charges are the same [[as a % of usage) regardless where you live. It would seem to me that people in ore dense areas should pay less per unit of energy than those in less populated areas.

I doubt this is the case but it seem it would be unfair to charge the same distribution costs to people in an area that is 500 homessq ft than those that live in an area that has 5 homes per sq/ft

[Det_ard]

What part of the cost of this business has decreased? Natural gas? Coal? Wages? Pensions? Insurance? Taxes? Debt?

Actually the cost of natural gas is way, way down. Most bills don't reflect it yet because the utilities lock in stable prices in their supply contracts but when those supply contracts are bid again we'll see a reduction in that aspect of our bills, to the extent that our utility uses natural gas as fuel.

Natural gas was trading at ~$25/ million BTU's, now it's around $3. There's even speculation that prices could fall to zero or go negative because US storage caverns are almost full.

[Meddle]

What I would like to know is if the distribution charges are the same [[as a % of usage) regardless where you live. It would seem to me that people in ore dense areas should pay less per unit of energy than those in less populated areas.

I doubt this is the case but it seem it would be unfair to charge the same distribution costs to people in an area that is 500 homessq ft than those that live in an area that has 5 homes per sq/ft

Why? More density means more poles, more transformers, more meters, heavier distribution capacity, and so on.

[Kevgoblue]

Huh? Did you ever have a paper route? Which was easier and more cost efficient to deliver to....the apartment complex or the street with 3 customers on it?

[MikeM]

What I would like to know is if the distribution charges are the same [[as a % of usage) regardless where you live. It would seem to me that people in ore dense areas should pay less per unit of energy than those in less populated areas.

I doubt this is the case but it seem it would be unfair to charge the same distribution costs to people in an area that is 500 homessq ft than those that live in an area that has 5 homes per sq/ft

Yes, they are the same for residential service regardless of location but they vary based on the class of service: residential, farm, industrial, etc. I don't know how they arrive at that cost but I refer you to Meddle's reply for the most probable reason that servicing a densely populated community could be more expensive than a rural area.

Part of the power supply charge is the cost of transmission to bring the power from a generating plant to the general vicinity of your community. Would you support higher supply charges for residents in densely populated areas such as Detroit, who are located farther from the generating plants than the residents of northern Macomb County or Brownstown Township?

[jj84]

Huh? Did you ever have a paper route? Which was easier and more cost efficient to deliver to....the apartment complex or the street with 3 customers on it?

You grossly simplified Power Distribution. It would be like a paper route in which everyone in the apartment complex wants 1000 papers one day 50 the next 200 the following and if something happened and you didn’t deliver a paper as soon as you did everyone in the complex wants 5000 papers at the exact same time. So on the street with 3 houses you have 1 paper carrier as they can handle that load, where in the apartment complex you might have 10 carriers to handle those special days but the other 330 days a year 8 of them just do nothing, and even that explanation is a major simplification.