electricity costs

My question, however, is what charges, or how much of your WAPA electric bill is for the general 'provider fees' - stuff that WAPA charges before your usage if even taken into consideration.

I think you'll find the information you're looking for right here:

http://www.viwapa.vi/Home.aspx

one of our electric bills was 204.30, the breakdown

customer charge 6.22
base rate 35.58
line loss surcharge .84
pilot surcharge .26
fuel charge ( used to be called LEAC ) 158.82

i am no expert on what LEAC is, others are and can expand on that.

our last bill which had christmas baking in it was over 300.00

My question, however, is what charges, or how much of your WAPA electric bill is for the general 'provider fees' - stuff that WAPA charges before your usage if even taken into consideration.

I think you're asking what the fixed monthly fee is, without counting KWHr usage. That's the "Customer Charge", or $6.22 as shown in this example http://www.viwapa.vi/Customers/How_to_Read_your_Bill.aspx (How to read your bill). In Jan 2014, that charge is $4.86 as shown on the current Rates page: http://www.viwapa.vi/Customers/RatesFees/ScheduleofFees.aspx . For most users, the Customer Charge is a tiny, insignificant fraction of the bill.

My question, however, is what charges, or how much of your WAPA electric bill is for the general 'provider fees' - stuff that WAPA charges before your usage if even taken into consideration.

I think you're asking what the fixed monthly fee is, without counting KWHr usage. That's the "Customer Charge", or $6.22 as shown in this example http://www.viwapa.vi/Customers/How_to_Read_your_Bill.aspx (How to read your bill). In Jan 2014, that charge is $4.86 as shown on the current Rates page: http://www.viwapa.vi/Customers/RatesFees/ScheduleofFees.aspx . For most users, the Customer Charge is a tiny, insignificant fraction of the bill.

The LEAC charges are what is crippling!

My father's house had a solar hot water heater, I'm sure it helped.

My father's house had a solar hot water heater, I'm sure it helped.

Water heaters (depending on size) cost around 80-120$ a month (if plugged in all the time) a solar water heater is a great idea, and the ones produced here locally are semi subsidized by the local government.

Water heaters (depending on size) cost around 80-120$ a month (if plugged in all the time) a solar water heater is a great idea, and the ones produced here locally are semi subsidized by the local government.

That dollar number would be really high in my experience -- in my house [3bdrm.1bath] the water heater is on 24/7 -- it is at least 20 years old, so nothing modern and energy efficient - the biggest WAPA bill here has been $137 - and I have an electric stove and cook everyday. One thing I did was turn it down - temperature - so that when I take a shower I only use hot water and it is only as hot as I can stand, never adding cold. It is plenty hot to wash dishes and cut grease. I do use CFL wherever possible but do not turn off anything extraordinary - rarely consume more than 8 kw a day on average.

 

Water heaters (depending on size) cost around 80-120$ a month (if plugged in all the time) a solar water heater is a great idea, and the ones produced here locally are semi subsidized by the local government.

That dollar number would be really high in my experience -- in my house [3bdrm.1bath] the water heater is on 24/7 -- it is at least 20 years old, so nothing modern and energy efficient - the biggest WAPA bill here has been $137 - and I have an electric stove and cook everyday. One thing I did was turn it down - temperature - so that when I take a shower I only use hot water and it is only as hot as I can stand, never adding cold. It is plenty hot to wash dishes and cut grease. I do use CFL wherever possible but do not turn off anything extraordinary - rarely consume more than 8 kw a day on average.

I have a 4bed 4bath with a pool and spend 550-650 a month in electric (No AC, CFL or FL for lighting, Gas stove), I forgot I do have 2 water heaters so I'd guess half that number (40-60) is what mine break down to be.

I have a 4bed 4bath with a pool and spend 550-650 a month in electric (No AC, CFL or FL for lighting, Gas stove), I forgot I do have 2 water heaters so I'd guess half that number (40-60) is what mine break down to be.

Something must be wrong with us. We also have a 4/4 with a pool, almost never use AC, and pay $1,600 a month. Solar hot water. It makes me absolutely ill.

It will never get better because by the time the new technology is ready the pricesw I'll be so high that the new cheaper rate will be the rate we are paying now or even next year. Warpath will always figure out. Way to stick it to you

I just wanted to thank you all for the comments and links to WAPA.
I'm not lazy, but hadn't thought to look there because I don't have much faith in utility companies - plus you guys describe them so...colorfully.
Also, I appreciate that people specified details about their homes -i.e. bed/bath. That's helpful for comparison.
It does seem like some are paying wildly more than others, so hopefully those people might consider an energy audit or consultation to see what's going on.