New Proposed SMECO Connection Fees

[Scaratica]

After reviewing my property requirements for construction dated 1999, land use requirements enacted by Saint Marys County dated that same year, set back for construction regulations, the PUE for my area, and the new SMECO fees associated with providing new electrical service, I would like to offer the following comments to SMECO and the Saint Marys County Commissioners.

1. Smeco now requires fee for alll electrical utility connection,lines over 220 feet after and over inclusive of all length over, Saint Marys County has a front line construction easment limit of two hundreed and forty feet from roadway.The PUE. ( 40 FT set back plus 200 Ft from local road ways) Smeco claims that most front end easements never exceed twenty feet from the point of service connection(PUE). How in great gods name is this possable when Saint MArys County will not allow permament residence be erected less than two(200) feet from common roadways ?? The forty foot set back is a pre-existing condition for construction.?? SMECO is floating a boat load here!!
SMECO claims that the connection fees will never exceed twenty feet. Where I live, almost all homes erected are five to eighthundreed feet from common roadways.

 

[Josimmon]

1. Smeco now requires fee for alll electrical utility connection,lines over 220 feet after and over inclusive of all length over, Saint Marys County has a front line construction easment limit of two hundreed and forty feet from roadway.The PUE. ( 40 FT set back plus 200 Ft from local road ways) Smeco claims that most front end easements never exceed twenty feet from the point of service connection(PUE). How in great gods name is this possable when Saint MArys County will not allow permament residence be erected less than two(200) feet from common roadways ?? The forty foot set back is a pre-existing condition for construction.?? SMECO is floating a boat load here!!
SMECO claims that the connection fees will never exceed twenty feet. Where I live, almost all homes erected are five to eighthundreed feet from common roadways.

From what I understand if you get your paperwork to SMECO before July 1, you will be charged the old rate. SMECO has not raised the price of installations for about 10 years and the new charges are what SMECO pays for the installations, no profit for them...I believe they are doing this to keep the rates down for everyone else....if you need a new service, you pay for it, not everyone else...have you heard about how high the other companies rates are? I have worked for an electric company before and think SMECO has tried what they can to be fair....their rates are much lower then the company I worked for.

 

[Katt]

Here is an example,... we heard about this coming down the pipeline, and had been putting off getting electric run to our workshop. But when this came about, we forged ahead and to run electric (for new service, not connected to our house), the total length was 593'. It was surveyed and the bill to us was just about $1400, which included over 500 dollars for the PVC pipes they lay for crossing roads/driveways. I was glad it wasn't more. I did the calculations of what it would be after the rate change, which was slated for Jan. 1, '06, and it would have cost us almost $8200. ! So, suggestions to anyone seeking to get electric run.... hurry up and apply for the new service, even if you weren't going to do it this soon. Unless you are right on the roads and close to existing service lines, which most aren't... it would benefit you to forge ahead.


But then again.......with this summer's electric rates increases, do we really want that bill? Forget the A/C and pool filters. I'm scared to open up the pool (only an above ground one), because the filter runs the electric up so much.

They keep saying that we were spoiled because we were spending so much less than other areas for our electric, but I'm not buying that theory.

 

[Oz]

I don't know what document titles you are actually referring to, but current land use laws were adopted after 1999. Current Zoning Ordinance was dated May 2002 and has been revised 2-4 times per year since then.

As for SMECO, I have one word for you... Deregulation!! It did wonders for the phone companies, and can now serve to screw up your local electric utility well into the future!

 

[FromTexas]

I still can't believe you all whine about the rates SMECO charges for electricity at no more than $.077 per kwh at the high end (summer) - especially since a majority of the capacity they buy is natural gas powered which has climbed astronomically in the past years.

Before I moved here I never saw under $.0875 per kwh.

Here is a chart of regional, state, and U.S. averages. The only places lower on average in the region than what you pay are West Virginia (coal) and Virginia (which picks up some of that coal power). Heck, look at how your rates compare to many other places. If you are in a region that is supplied by mostly eco-friendly nat gas than your costs are going to be harder to control. Baltimore has cheaper power than us because they have the nuke which has a huge chunk of its costs (waste) underwritten by the federal government and they have a larger customer base for fixed costs.

 

[CMC122]

Thanks for the link FT! Very informative

 

[FromTexas]

Oh, change that. Baltimore is about to suffer a 72% rate hike. Guess you will be back to paying one of the cheapest rates in the state down here.