As I continue to declutter this year I came across some old water bills from the city and I was a bit shocked at what I found.
| Category | 2018 | 2026 | % Change | 2036? |
| Residential Base Water Charge | $5.24 | $8.09 | 54.39% | $13.92 |
| Residential Consumer Water Charge | $18.75 | $42.35 | 125.87% | $117.27 |
| Residential Base Sewer Charge | $11.14 | $16.05 | 44.08% | $25.33 |
| Residential Consumption Sewer Charge | $16.32 | $50.41 | 208.88% | $206.43 |
| Drainage Charge | $5.65 | $5.65 | 0.00% | $5.65 |
| Solid Waste Cart Fee | $1.29 | 1.29 | ||
| Total | $57.10 | $122.55 | 114.62% | $369.89 |
My water bill has grown 115% over 8 years for the exact same amount of water although the “sewer” charge has grown and we have less people living in our house now. We are using less sewer than 8 years ago. I calculated the projected cost for 2036 assuming similar growth and it shows my water bill could be potentially $370/month in 2036!
I also found my old natural gas bill and compared those as well.
| Category | 2018 (72 CCF) | 2026 (33 CCF) | % Change | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Charge | $15.75 | $22.36 | 41.97% | $48.79 |
| Storage Inventory Charge | $0.31 | $0.11 | -64.52% | |
| Base Amount | $5.35 | $5.33 | -0.37% | |
| Gas Cost Adjustment | $40.86 | $27.41 | -32.92% | |
| DKT 10587 Rate case surcharge / Tax Act 2022 | $0.13 | $0.89 | 584.62% | |
| Case No 16343 Surcharge | $0.15 | |||
| Reimubursement of local franchise fee / Case surcharge | $3.35 | $2.22 | -33.73% | |
| Reimubursement of State GRT | $1.34 | $1.11 | -17.16% | |
| Sales Tax | $0.67 | $0.56 | -16.42% | |
| Total | $67.76 | $60.14 | -11.25% | $86.57 |
At first glance, the gas bill looks great but it must have been a bad winter in 2018 because we used 72 CCF of natural gas that year and this past December we only used 33 CCF so if I adjust for the quantity of gas, the gas charge would have been $48.79. I don’t know how to adjust all the surcharges, fees and taxes on the bill but if I kept them the same, the total bill would be $86.47 or 27.76% higher than in 2018 but that’s probably lower than what it really would be.
The real enemy here is the debasement of the currency through money printing which devalues each dollar day by day. I’ve recently written a couple of posts about inflation here and here and why it should concern you greatly. There is no change on the horizon about how our current government is going to change any of its bad spending ways so it’s up to each individual to take action.
I worry about inflation because I will always remember how my grandparents then my own parents when they became elderly, how inflation had ravaged their spending potential and they did nothing wrong but were wronged by an outrageous government.
We have our own plan for dealing with inflation and this government but that’s a post for another day.
Share The Wealth
What are you doing about inflation?