Electricity remains a good value
Article was added on Tuesday, September 30, 2014
In today's world, you won't find many items that cost less than
$5. You can purchase a gallon of milk, a gallon of gas or a Big Mac
meal from McDonald's. But did you know that an average day's worth
of electricity costs less than $5?
Even in our country's shifting energy climate, electricity
remains a good value. In fact, electricity has the lowest cost per
day of any of the items listed above. And not all of those items
are necessary for daily life!
As President and Chief Executive Officer of Santee Electric
Cooperative, I urge you to think about your daily necessities
(electricity and gasoline, to name a couple), and then think about
the cost of the special treats we allow ourselves to purchase on a
weekly basis (maybe even on a daily basis for some items!). We
don't often question the cost of a Big Mac meal-it costs over $1
more to buy a Big Mac meal than it does to purchase a day's worth
of power. And yet, we frequently become upset if our electricity
rates rise.
It makes sense; we have become increasingly reliant upon
electricity. Electricity has, for many of us, gone from a luxury
commodity to a necessity and an expectation. We expect the lights
to come on when we flip the switch, and we expect our power to stay
on during the bestandworst conditions. How else would we keep our
food fresh, our homes cool in the summer or warm in the winter? It
is easy to cut a Big Mac out of your spending routine here and
there to save a few dollars. But we cannot simply cut electricity
out of our budgets if times get tough or we decide that we want to
scale back our spending in order to save.
Perhaps that is why it is so upsetting to us when our rates
increase, even if only in small increments. It is nearly impossible
for us to think about what our lives would be like if we did not
have electricity. If at times it doesn't seem that electricity is
affordable, remember-even as the demand for electricity
grows-annual cost increases still remain low, especially when
compared to other consumer goods such as medical care, education,
gasoline and, yes, even Big Macs. Electricity is still a great
bargain. And also remember this: as President and Chief Executive
Officer of Santee Electric, your local electric cooperative, I am
committed to making sure that you and your family always have safe,
reliable and affordable electric service in your home.
So the next time you crave a Big Mac, remember your electric
bill, and think about what a great deal you're getting for your
dollar!
Floyd L. Keels
President and Chief Executive Officer
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