Electricity Price Increases

[rontaki]

DOE Releases New Report Evaluating Increase in Electricity Demand from Data Centers

Domestic Energy Usage from Data Centers Expected to Double or Triple by 2028, DOE Continues to Accelerate Development and Deployment of Solutions to Meet Growing Demand

www.energy.gov

https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/ai-to-drive-165-increase-in-data-center-power-demand-by-2030

And rural locations are becoming hot spots to build data centers on because land/energy are cheaper there. If you noticed a law that was proposed in North Carolina, data centers would take energy priority in times of potential black outs and the public was going to be responsible for the increase in energy costs.

It's all for our own good, whether we like it or not.
Just don't ask me to define "good" in this case.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I live by myself so not being a cook by any stretch all I have is a small countertop stove and a good size induction hotplate. I wouldn't use anything but, fast, convenient and takes up no space. Gas of anytype in a house makes me nervous other than outside for a bbq.

My wife and I have a modern kitchen with space saver microwave and double oven range. Our most used appliance is a crock pot. We make a lot of soups. They are a cheap way to a balanced diet. Safeway sells a 12 oz. screw top plastic freezer container that is a perfect size for one bowl of soup. This week we made two batches, beef and mushroom and beef and root vegetables. We thawed one package of very lean tenderized round steak, snagged a couple pounds of chanterelles out of the woods, and peeled parsnips, turnips, potatoes, carrots and onions for the root vegetable soup. 14 meals for under $10.

We don't have to be frugal, it just tickles us to cook gourmet meals for next to nothing. We have a whole freezer full of grass fed beef. The crock pot doesn't spin the meter either.

The weather has been mild, so I set the heat pump thermostat to 68 degrees. It ran this morning, but hasn't turned on since. When things get cooler, I have 8 cords of very dry firewood in the wood shed, probably enough for two years of heat. Up until this last year, energy conservation has kept our electric bill constant for 30 years. The last round of rate increases finally bumped us up about $20.

 

[California]

... The crock pot doesn't spin the meter either. ... We don't have to be frugal, it just tickles us to cook gourmet meals for next to nothing.

You're doing great!

I got an Instant Pot when I found one priced cheap like a crock pot at Goodwill. I think with no steam escaping, this is as efficient as slow cooking in a crock pot. It does require as much keepwarm time as crockpot cooking, to blend flavors. Similar to your example, I make beef stew in batches that serve three or more dinners for the two of us.

 

[California]

And a similar attempt at frugal better cooking: I found an Oster breadmaker (from 1990's but looked new) for $6.99 at Goodwill. I paid more than that to replace its missing paddle but still in the range of 'why not try a new hobby', my weakness when I drop off something at Goodwill then go in and I find a new toy.

Then subsequently found another. So there's one out at the ranch, and one at home in town.

New toys! I'm having fun trying various bread recipes. 50% whole wheat flour is what I've standardized on now. Way frugal and notably tastier than store bread.

 

[ultrarunner]

My wife and I have a modern kitchen with space saver microwave and double oven range. Our most used appliance is a crock pot. We make a lot of soups. They are a cheap way to a balanced diet. Safeway sells a 12 oz. screw top plastic freezer container that is a perfect size for one bowl of soup. This week we made two batches, beef and mushroom and beef and root vegetables. We thawed one package of very lean tenderized round steak, snagged a couple pounds of chanterelles out of the woods, and peeled parsnips, turnips, potatoes, carrots and onions for the root vegetable soup. 14 meals for under $10.

We don't have to be frugal, it just tickles us to cook gourmet meals for next to nothing. We have a whole freezer full of grass fed beef. The crock pot doesn't spin the meter either.

The weather has been mild, so I set the heat pump thermostat to 68 degrees. It ran this morning, but hasn't turned on since. When things get cooler, I have 8 cords of very dry firewood in the wood shed, probably enough for two years of heat. Up until this last year, energy conservation has kept our electric bill constant for 30 years. The last round of rate increases finally bumped us up about $20.

I should have paid more attention… growing up grandmother and mom made the best soups with much sourced from their gardens… large kettle on the stove and then portioned out for future meals… economical too… not counting large pots simmering for hour after hour spinning the electric meter…

 

[ponytug]

I should have paid more attention… growing up grandmother and mom made the best soups with much sourced from their gardens… large kettle on the stove and then portioned out for future meals… economical too!

Some folks have a real knack for good soup making. I keep trying to learn, but I feel as if I should have paid more attention when I was younger to the cooks who made good soup.

All the best, Peter

 

[Jstpssng]

It's been a while since I shot a deer, but always tossed the bones in a big stew pot and cooked them down. It made some of the best soup stock you can get.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

And a similar attempt at frugal better cooking: I found an Oster breadmaker (from 1990's but looked new) for $6.99 at Goodwill. I paid more than that to replace its missing paddle but still in the range of 'why not try a new hobby', my weakness when I drop off something at Goodwill then go in and I find a new toy.

Then subsequently found another. So there's one out at the ranch, and one at home in town.

New toys! I'm having fun trying various bread recipes. 50% whole wheat flour is what I've standardized on now. Way frugal and notably tastier than store bread.

Add some potato flakes to the recipe and the bread will stay fresh a day longer.

 

[MossRoad]

The first time I made chicken soup I just threw a bunch of stuff in there, writing it all down as I went, simmered it all day, and when dinner time came, everyone kinda looked at me while tasting the soup... no flavor. Wife asked me if I put any chicken stock or bouillon in it? I asked if that was necessary. She said not if you're trying to make chicken water soup.

So I changed the recipe title to Chicken Water Soup in our cookbook. It remains there today.

The next time I added stock and/or bouillon, and it was pretty good. That one is titled Improved Chicken Water Soup.

 

[WinterDeere]

Was thinking maybe the pool on solar, but that's about $30/month, but that's for only 6 months and we hardly ever run the propane to heat it.

Just to be clear, what do you mean by "pool on solar"?

We have a heat pump heater and a solar cover, but no indirect solar water heating. The solar cover is a PITA if you have leaves, the bottom of the pool always gets dirty when the solar cover is on, because it interrupts the surface flow required to let the skimmers do their thing. But saving hundreds of dollars per month on running a heat pump, thousands of dollars per season, makes them worth the effort in the shoulder seasons. The expected rise in energy prices only makes that even more true.

... and chicken soup? Thought this thread was about electricity prices.