Don't overlook the $19.5 million and $11 million Maine electric customers will pay for system benefit charges and carbon taxation in 2016.

It would also be nice if they would include the decline in property values for those that live near industrial wind sites. And the cost of wildlife disruption, and erosion control, and loss of quality of life, and what it will cost us to tear them down when they become irrelevant.  Some of these things may be hard to measure, but would make the amount BDN's estimate look like PENNIES. 

What gripes me is how they're always saying average of 550 kw per month for a household. We're just two old people and we average about 1000 kw a month. No propane or gas appliances, all electric. The commenter who says his bill is $45 a month for a 3 bedroom home and his mother-in-law does her laundry there too, it just doesn't add up unless there's a lot of non-electrical energy somewhere. I did a electric usage analysis. When you add in a submersible well pump, an electric hot water heater, the circulating pump on the propane boiler, etc. etc. you come up with more than 550 for sure. Not to mention electric instead of propane stove, electric clothes dryer. Sure that's a choice we make but aren't we supposed to choose clean electricity instead of oil furnaces, etc? We had an electric furnace in Oregon in the '70's when the cost was about 3 cents per kwh and the temp rarely went below freezing. Not trying to justify my 1000 kw per month, just wanting acknowledgement that you have to get energy from somewhere and so why not talk about energy consumption overall. Some sources are better for different reasons and we all make choices and we should be free to do so and keep our eyes open when we do.

My cousin called me to get my advice when she got one of those competitive offers and I advised her to stick with the standard offer. Glad she did. She had very limited income and it made no sense to gamble.

@Anyone concerned

The average across the nation (last researched) is about 938 Kwh per month. Which I guess includes electric heating as homes that I know of in Maine with other sources of heat (we poorer folk) are around the 4-500 Kwh per month. 

If you believe your electric consumption is excessively higher than it should be for what you are using, it may be time for a review of your electric panels balance of the load.  Sometimes circuits need to be rewired to balance the load. Also another potential increase is loose wiring at breakers or electrical outlets. Not only can they cause fires in the home but also before such a tragic happening they can cause an increase in current draw, (loading). Remember, the meter spins for the amount of current, and for the higher of the two sides not accounting at all for the lower side of the load. (have a qualified person do this inspection or tasks required) 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jZABtABx7wQm_wlm8SxzIyT0aRN...

Even a Balanced load such as a Dryer (240v) appliance can have an imbalance if there is a loose wire. In industry, we checked for loose wires annually on equipment, and from experience I suggest 5 years for homes, especially on high consumption items.

I have found trailers, to have wires so loose that just touching them, they fell from the breakers. Close Call with the wire partially burnt !

This is another method of wasted energy, other than more efficiency in our homes. Hidden and forgotten, as with remote control devices or appliances. 

That 938 sounds more reasonable than the 550 they use to calculate how many homes a wind turbine will furnish electricity. Even if it's more like 800 kw, that would be about 45% fewer homes than they claim. Unfortunately when I used a program analysis and plugged in the data on our own sources of electric use it does add up to about 1000 for our usage. Keep two freezers full or make more trips to the store? High electric use, low gas use. It's all choices we make. Live in town, live rural? Higher taxes or lower taxes? But I want to make the choices, not have someone else make them for me. 

And Eric, you've given me another worry for our 1860's home, loose connections. Most of it has been updated in the last 20 years and we never had that bad kind of wiring. But it would be quite a lot of wiring if you strung it all out and measured it and figured in all the outlets. And I won't mention to hubby any checking the electric panels, he spent a couple hours yesterday wiring in a new box to directly run the furnace off the emergency generator. Neither of us can move after trying to feed the wood stove for a day. Choices we make.