The holidays may be over, but Hollister residents and businesses
may be getting a seasonal surprise leftover from the weeks of
elaborate lit decorations and late-night parties.
PG
&
amp;E bills have soared this season, leaving many raiding the
closets for extra blankets and fuzzy sweaters instead of turning
the thermostat dial.
Hollister – The holidays may be over, but Hollister residents and businesses may be getting a seasonal surprise leftover from the weeks of elaborate lit decorations and late-night parties.
PG&E bills have soared this season, leaving many raiding the closets for extra blankets and fuzzy sweaters instead of turning the thermostat dial.
“Someone had told me that the bills would increase by 7 percent,” said Hollister resident Kelley Adams. “But it was a good $100 more than it usually is. It’s ridiculous.”
And while Adams may realize the importance of conserving energy for the sake of the environment as well as her pocketbook, she says it’s easier said than done.
“I try to (conserve), but it’s really cold, and you can’t not do laundry,” she said. “They’ve kind of got you there.”
Many of PG&E’s 4.1 million natural gas customers in California will notice a spike in their gas bills this month.
“The primary reason for the increase that customers are seeing on their bills is a result of the hurricanes that hit last year,” said Jeff Smith, a PG&E spokesperson. “When all the natural gas production went off-line in the Gulf Coast, it created competition and has driven up the market prices… The bills are expected to be 40 to 50 percent higher than last year.”
The total average January gas bill is $156.42, however, the rate peak occurred in October with rates about 70 percent more than in the same time in 2004. According to Smith, consumers didn’t notice the October increase as much because they aren’t usually turning on the heat until later in the winter season.
To lower bills, PG&E officials recommend turning the thermostat down to 68 degrees during the day, and to 56 degrees at night or while outside the house.
“If you can lower the thermostat to those temperatures, it will do wonders,” Smith said.
For many local businesses, however, it isn’t merely heating that contributes to high bills.
“Our energy bill usually runs between $3,000 and $4,000 a month,” said Matt Heart, General Manager of Jerry’s Restaurant, a late-night diner on San Felipe Road. “We’re open later and longer than anyone else in town. We conserve as much energy as is possible, but it can seem impossible sometimes.”
And it’s not just Hollister residents feeling the PG&E price pinch.
“When we heard about the fact that it was going to jump so high it was sweaters and the fireplace,” said Gilroy resident Traci Gorman. The thermostat is programmed to switch on once the house goes below 60 degrees and the family uses gas for almost everything they own – the dryer, the oven, the stove – “because gas was cheapest at the time,” Gorman said.
Nevertheless, their heating bill increased about 50 percent and their electric bill was even higher. Their bill went up from $115 in November to more than $200 in December.
Ted Uchida, owner of Zen Flower Garden in Gilroy, is one individual who has taken conservation advice to heart.
Though he leases out most of his greenhouses, the one on Monterey Street isn’t the balmy atmosphere one would expect. Uchida’s gas bill nearly doubled compared to last year.
“We’re not even heating this greenhouse this month. It’s just not worth it,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re just trying to make sure that our plants don’t freeze – that’s all we can do.”
Small heaters have been placed in the 10,000-square-foot greenhouse to prevent temperatures from dropping below 40 degrees.
“As far as growers are concerned, it is not worth putting (the heat) on in greenhouses,” Uchida said.
But even the rising energy costs couldn’t stop Gilroy resident Larry Pierotti from decking out his home for the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce’s holiday home decorating contest. He even added a few this year.
“It’s for fun, it’s for the kids, I didn’t want to be the Grinch. You just bite the bullet and pay it,” he said.
Pierotti paid $450 to $550 in December last year. This year, he anticipates the cost to rise.
“We’re expecting it, we just don’t know what the damage will be yet,” he said.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected].
