Consumerist
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electricity bills
Energy Star Program Relies On Honor System For Some Products
Your new washer, dryer, fridge, monitor, or TV set may have an Energy Star label on it, but it turns out that nobody is making sure that means anything, reports the New York Times. Our parent organization Consumer Reports pointed out that this was a problem a year ago. More » -
regulation
California May Pass Nation's First Energy Consumption Regulation On Big Screen TVs
As soon as next month, California may become the first state to implement energy consumption rule for big screen TV sets similar to the ones for refrigerators and air conditioners. A trade group has been adamantly opposing it, reports the Los Angeles Times, but hasn't found much sympathy from the California Energy Commission, which may be able to avoid building a $600 million natural gas power plant if they can cut back on energy guzzling sets. More » -
electricity
Lower Energy Prices Could Mean Lower Electric Bills For Consumers, Or Maybe Not
Having trouble paying your high power bill? The law of supply and demand may be your friend. Americans' electricity use is decreasing for the first time since 1949. (Maybe it's all those compact fluorescent bulbs.) This means that your electric bill could be slightly lower in the coming months...or at least not increase as much as usual. More » -
energy bills
Save On Cooling Costs By Installing A White Roof
The New York Times says a white roof on your house "can cost as little as 15 percent more than its dark counterpart" yet "reduce air-conditioning costs by 20 percent or more in hot, sunny weather." This is because, scientifically speaking, the color white hates the stupid sun and won't have anything to do with it. More » -
xcel energy
Got Solar Panels? Utility Wants To Charge You For Not Using Their Energy
Midwest utility Xcel Energy wants to charge anyone using solar panels a monthly fee for sustainably generating their own energy. According to company spokesman Tom Henley, "We just don't think it's fair that customers that don't have solar panels on their homes should subsidize these solar panel customers any further." Huh? More » -
money-saving advice
How To Stop The Electric Devil From Stealing Your Money
Here's one of those lists that makes you feel guilty because you're too lazy to do anything on it. It's 20 ways to trim your energy costs. More » -
rate hikes
ConEd Hikes Rates, But Consumers Could Still See Lower Bills
ConEd has just what you need in the middle of recession: a rate hike! Monthly bills are set to rise between $6-$8 as the energy monster tries to recoup a half a billion dollars to cover the cost of higher property taxes and the usual infrastructure maintenance that utilities never budget for in advance. The perennial optimists at the New York Post still somehow think you'll still end up with a lower bill... More » -
idt energy
IDT Employees Stalking The Streets Of Queens Today
Lock your doors, Queens residents! IDT zombies are on the prowl in your borough, and if they catch you they'll try to eat your ConEd account and replace it with their more expensive offer. Jeff says there's one outside his building right now, trying to buzz its way in. More » -
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idt energy
IDT Accused Of Stealing Reader's Dog
Reader Niklas says IDT Energy stole his dog from his house. Niklas says that an IDT Energy rep knocked on his door around 1pm on Friday, March 6, and when he opened it, his 5-year old Yorkshire terrier Milo ran out into the hall. Niklas sent the IDT Energy person on their way, but couldn't find his dog. Other neighbors later reported... More » -
energy
Do Electricity Monitors Like The "Kill A Watt" Really Work?
If you're concerned about your electricity use you may have considered getting one of those energy monitoring devices like the "Kill a Watt" or the "Watts Up." But do they really work? More » -
fuel
Gas Price Watch
Consumerist brings you a sampling of gas prices from cities around the nation. Red means that gas prices went up, green means they went down. More » -
errors
Energy Company Debits $1.28 Million From Your Bank Account
Guess what happens when you don't look closely at your bill? Your energy company debits $1.28 million dollars from your bank account — leaving you a million dollars overdrawn. More » -
fuel economy
Obama Auto Task Force Team's Cars Fail CAFE Standards
After it was pointed out that most of the cars owned by members of President Obama's Task Force on the Auto Industry were imports, our friend Mark made another interesting discovery: nearly all of the cars fail current CAFE standards. More » -
idt energy
Warn Others About Energy Company Scams With This Flyer
Sick of their neighborhood getting overrun by ESCO Slammers, salesmen who pretend to be from your energy provider and trick people into signing over to their energy resale service, some Brooklyn citizens put together this flyer. The Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Heights posted it in their 'hood and put it online for other people to use too. The flyer talks about IDT Energy and Con Ed, but you could edit it to be for your locality if you wanted to, too. Cool to see people banding together to fight the ESCO-slamming scourge.
More »
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energy star
Save On Taxes And Energy With Efficient Home Improvements
Save money on heating and cooling bills and save on your 2009 taxes by making energy efficient improvements to your house. EnergyStar.gov has got the lowdown on how you can get tax credits by installing new windows, doors, roofs, insulation, HVAC, and non-solar water heaters. Unfortunately, upgrades made during 2008 are not eligible, but with this info you can get going for this year. For a breakdown of all the tax credits, Consumer Reports Home & Garden blog has a good post.
Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency [Energy Star] (Photo: heymarchetti)
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natural gas
In Which My Father Ejects Door-To-Door Gas Salesmen From His Property, Has Lunch
Apparently, Chicagoland is under siege by door-to-door salespeople from "the gas company" who want to "see your gas bill." My father, Edgar, demonstrates his technique for tossing them out of the house. More » -
scams
IDT Back In Brooklyn, Working Their Door To Door Scamming Magic
Just a quick heads up to everyone that IDT has nothing of value to offer you, so if someone claiming to be from IDT (or any other energy company that's not the one you already buy energy from) comes to your door and asks to see your bill, give them a good how do you do and send them on their way. I've had IDT scammers hit my building twice in the past two weeks, and just now returned from throwing them out of the building a few minutes ago. More » -
recession watch
Toyota Will Lose Money For The First Time In 70 Years, Unplugs Electric Hand Dryers
Last fiscal year, Toyota made $28 billion dollars in profit. This year? Yeah. Not so much. More »
energy
New York, 4:59 AM
Sun Nov 8
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