How you spent your summer High electric, water bills bring financial discomfort to season

09/12/2000

By Kendall Anderson / The Dallas Morning News

Just when milder days are in the forecast and rain has started to reappear, here's something new to sweat: paying for that green lawn and cool house.

Clay McLain had his fish to think about, too.

The 46-year-old homeowner in the White Rock area of Dallas is one of thousands of North Texans who are getting a glimpse of what the parched, scorching summer is costing them in higher electric and water bills.

Mr. McLain said he's neither happy nor surprised by higher utility bills. "It's Texas," he said matter-of-factly. "If you want your yard to look green and nice, you gotta pay the price."

West of the Dallas area, residents got a look Monday night at something they haven't seen for more than two months: rain. Showers hit west and northwest of the city  with some sprinkles at Alliance Airport and in Fort Worth  before moving into southern Tarrant County.

But there was no measurable rain at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, said Steve Fano, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. That officially made it 73 days without rain, adding to the record-breaking dry spell. Mr. Fano said there's a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms Tuesday, but little chance for relief the rest of the week.

Residents also have had little relief with their utility bills. The average monthly electric bill for North Texans during June, July and August jumped 7 percent over the same period last summer, said TXU Electric & Gas spokesman Ray Granado.

Daily water use this summer has been up from previous years as well, said Terrace Stewart, director of Dallas Water Utilities.

One indicator was the year's peak day  Sept. 4  for water use. On that day, customers used 789.6 million gallons of water, an 11 percent increase over the highest days for water consumption in 1999 and 1998.

High utility bills weren't the only things that had North Texans sweating. Monday's high of 102 degrees was a record for the date, breaking the previous mark of 100 set in 1945. It also broke a record, set in 1951, for most days in September 100 degrees or above.

Monday was the seventh day of 100-degree temperatures recorded this month at D/FW Airport.

The high Tuesday is expected to be 93, and the overnight lows this week will be in the 60s, forecasters say. Temperatures are expected to drop Wednesday through Friday, with highs in the upper 80s, officials said.

Homeowners' quest to keep their lawns green  and their swimming pools filled  contributed heavily to Dallas' high water consumption, Dallas Water Utilities officials said.

New customers  about 2,500 annually in recent years  also accounted for the surge in water use, officials said.

Alex Meraz said higher utility bills have caused him to delay paying some credit-card bills. The 23-year-old clerk at Eatzi's said his latest electrical bill was $200, compared with about $60 the equivalent month a year ago.

"It's just ridiculous," Mr. Meraz said. "I usually always keep the AC on 70, but now I have to just turn it off  I can't afford it."

The average monthly electricity bill for a TXU customer was $142.51 between June and August, compared with $132.67 for the same period last year and $161.10 in 1998, officials said.

There were no rate increases June through August, said Mr. Granado. But a natural-gas charge of about $5 will be added to bills beginning this month, he said.

Company officials said the fee is necessary because half of TXU's electricity comes from natural gas, which has increased in price 100 percent since January.

Many factors determine a customer's bill, such as the size of a residence and the thermostat setting. TXU recommends setting thermostats at 78 degrees during the day.

One way to avoid shocking summer electricity bills is to average them out over the year so each bill is the same. Jo Ann Mercer had TXU average her bills when she retired a few years ago.

"It has been excellent for me. I am on a fixed income, and you just have so much you need to buy. I didn't want to have that horrible, awful surprise each month," she said, sitting in her cool Lower Greenville home.

One landscaper was disturbed when she learned about Dallas' high water usage this summer.

Molly Hollar, a volunteer at Veterans Park in Arlington, said people who water their lawns every day and don't have native plants are wasting water.

Native plants and landscapes  often called xeriscapes or wildscapes  fare better in North Texas heat and drought conditions.

"I see all these green lawns being watered, and I think someday it's going to get to a point where we have to decide whether to water the lawn or take a shower," she said, noting water restrictions imposed in other cities.

http://www.dallasnews.com/metro/168123_bills_12met.AR.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 12, 2000