The strange cost structure of electric power in Taney County Missouri!

Where I live in southwest Missouri (Taney County), there are two electric companies that serve the area; Empire Electric and the White River Valley Electric Coop.  I happen to use Empire Electric while others I know have White River. Both are relatively competitive although each has its own scheme of charging customers.

Empire Electric has a variable tier approach where by they charge differing rates based on the month of the year; winter rates include the months of November through June and summer rates include the four months July through October.

In the summer months, there is basically a single tier charge of 0.1070 cents per kilowatt hour with a $12.52 ‘access fee’. During the other eight months that comprise the ‘winter season’, the system changes to a two tier approach with the first 600 kWh charged at a rate of 0.0170 cents per kWh and then a change to a rate of 0.0871 for any use above the first 600. Oh, and there's also something called a ‘fuel charge’ which I think is an extra amount they kind of throw in whenever the mood hits them.

White River, on the other hand has a much more simplistic approach. They charge $25 for the first 20 kWh (think of this as an access fee) used and then apply a rate of 0.089552 cents for every kWh above that. A person using 1000 watts of power in the month of September would have to cough up $112.76 if they use White River whereas and Empire customer would pay $119.52, (that is assuming Empire doesn’t decide to throw in an addition ‘fuel charge’).  So, while Empire comes off as looking gimmicky, White River is not only is easier to understand, but their rates are also cheaper in the long run!

My question then is, ‘why do they even mess with such complex fee structures’? Why not come up with a single rate that would be the same for every month? Perhaps the answer lies in the way Congress passes bills like ‘ObamaCare’ or in the way the IRS access taxes. Apparently, the more complex the approach, the easier it is to befuddle the people who are paying the tab.

Update: Another increase of approx 13% has been granted and will take effect in 2014!

Residential & Commercial Window Cleaning Service

Yes, this guy does do windows! His name is Dennis and he’s pretty darn good at getting your grimy windows back to pristine clarity in no time at all!

For one time or periodic window care, give Dennis a call at 417-546-0124. Also, for residential customers, Dennis also offers professional screen cleanings. He uses professional grade equipment for professional results and would be happy to offer competitive estimates at no charge. Make sure you tell him that DanO sent ya!

Empire Electric and their intermittent outages!

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 For more than a couple of months now, I've been experiencing an annoying and potentially harmful series of power events courtesy of the Empire Electric Company out of Joplin Missouri. And, as it turns out I'm not alone. At least two other dwellings on my street have experienced the same problem which is a second or so of lost power that generally occurs in the early mornings. This has been going on for at least a couple of months and maybe longer. The problem had been to actually chronicle something that has been so intermittent and widely spaced.

Enter TED, the Total Energy Detective. A device that monitors the electricity usage in a home 24/7. The graph above is of an actual event that lasted perhaps a second, yet was long enough to force me to reset all my clocks and reboot my desktop computer. An annoying task and a potentially harmful electrical event as electronic equipment, like computers, can be damaged by such abrupt power fluctuations. TED will help track this problem and I intend to use Empire's outage report form to help keep them up to date.

If anyone who reads this has experienced a similar problem with Empire's service, please leave a comment.

Update: Shortly after I posted this, I noticed an Empire Electric crew that were working with a transformer just down the street. Interestingly, the problems seem to have ceased since that time.

Update 2: Problem resurfaced on November 15th at 8:12 AM - and was reported to an Empire Electric representative at 800-206-2300. Here is the graph of that event. You can just make out the drop off to zero power right above the 'ea' in Real-Time.

Update 3: After numerous assurances that this matter would be looked into and 'people contacted', I experienced another outage on the morning of December 7, 2012. This outage followed the same pattern as all the others and apparently is beyond the power or maybe the expertise of Empire's people to handle. It seems sad for me to say that even as this company is looking for yet another rate increase to take effect this coming summer, their ability to maintain even basic infra-structure seems to be in question. One has to wonder just how much money it will take?

River Run Campsites now being repaired!

Sites that were without power for 2012 are now being restored!

Water damage to junction boxes rendered them useless.

 After a number of months of delay, additional funds from the Federal Flood Recovery effort became available to allow repairs to electrical junction boxes that were knocked out after extensive flooding inundated the River Run Park area over a period of four years. Included in the ongoing repairs will be new awnings over some of the RV sites along with new electrical junction boxes for as many as sixteen sites that had been without power since last season.

Owner Don Freeland working on site!

I had a chance to talk briefly with the owner of the company that was doing electrical portion of the repair. His name was Don Freeland and his company 'Freeland Electric' operates out of Mountain Home Arkansas. Mr. Freeland informed me that the work was moving along quickly as he and his working staff were putting in long ten hour days in order to restore the campsites to full operational status as soon as possible.

Well, it looks like River Run Park will be back up 100% before the end of the season and just in time for the fall RV crowd to come down and take advantage of the great fishing found in this part of the Bull Shoals waterway near Forsyth Missouri!

Update: As of early September, it now looks as though electrical power has been restored to all the campsites (call them to make sure). There are also a few awning that are being replaced at this time. Other than that, the Park looks good to go!

Senior Friendship Center Swap Meet

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Seems like more and more of us are becoming seniors every year! One great gathering place down where I live is the Forsyth Senior Center. A great place to find 'homemade' food served each week day at 11:30 AM along with good people who like to get together and have fun.

This event helps keep the Center going and growing. Please come and give your support at the Swap Meet to be held on Saturday, October the 13th at Shadowrock Park just to the east of Forsyth, Missouri off Highway 160! Click on the picture above for additional information.

Charlie's Ribs Steak and Ale revisited!

After a tough month in July when this popular venue failed a couple of Health Department inspections, I happy to say that they have cleaned up their act in fine style.

When I visited for lunch recently, I found the tables to be immaculate and the service prompt. From the time I sat down to when I was served wasn't much over five minutes or so. For me this was fast! In addition, the food (a hamburger and fries) looked and tasted great. Kudos to Chaz, the owner for knuckling down and getting his venue ship shape!

Update: As of mid September 2012, Charlie's has continued to improve and is a regular eating destination for myself.

Should malware companies be subject to terrorist penalties?

After having to spend an entire morning rebuilding my laptop due to a malware infestation named Security Live Platinum aka Reveton delivered by the Citadel platform, I had pause to think about these evil people and the manner in which they prey on the novice internet user as well as the older population that is not computer savvy. These vultures infect a system with software that makes it appear as though the system was infected, when it’s actually the software they snuck onto your system that was to blame. They then offer to ‘cure’ your problems for a certain amount of money. Now mind you, their spyware is still active and tracking your every move, they just make it appear that all is well. But wait! There’s more. Then, they sell the credit card information to other crooks who can then take a swipe at your money as often as they can before the card is shut down! So, not only did your system not get fixed, but you also got taken…numerous times!

To me, this is nothing short of domestic cyber terrorism and I would like to see Americans everywhere write their congress person to encourage them to enact laws that would bring these people to justice under a military tribunal; a court that has the power, by the way, to impose the death penalty. I would also like to see ‘bounty hunters’ granted border immunity in going after these idiots. Let no country be a safe haven!  Only when this happens will we ever have a chance of ridding ourselves of the lice that is costing so much in the way of grief and expense.

If anyone has any information concerning the identity of the people who are spreading this malware and spyware crap over the internet, please feel free to post that information in the comments section.