Monday, January 11, 2010
Something for Everyone and Watch Out For That Clunker!
A woman needed a new refrigerator. National Grid had been advertising that they would pay you for your refrigerator and everyone is a buzz about the Appliance Clunker Rebate Program. She went out and bought a new refrigerator. She paid an exorbitant amount to have it delivered by a big box store. She called National Grid to have the old refrigerator removed.
When they arrived, they removed the refrigerator. Then they charged her for removing the old refrigerator instead of paying her. Why? The new fridge wasn't Energy Star Efficient. And she won't get the rebate either.
Some people might say it is her fault. She was trying to cash in on both ends and didn't have the right information. The large corporations involved knew what she wanted. They advertise loud and clear that they will pay you for your fridge and that rebates will be coming soon. They quietly add the stuff about Energy Star and rebates subject to blah, blah, blah. They know you hear what you want to hear and that's what they tell you.
We want everyone to know the right information, so they can make informed decisions. Lets start at the top.
1. You don't have to pay the big box store delivery and installation fees. You can find a small business delivery service that will charge you considerably less and do it right the first time.
2. National Grid is no longer paying you to pick up your refrigerator. When they were, it had to be working, it had to be replaced by an Energy Star Refrigerator and yours was sent to an out of state business that won't tell us what they have done with them.
3. The Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program has not started in Rhode Island. Different forms of it have existed in Massachusetts and Connecticut and we are constantly working to provide more information on our site.
4. You do not have to pay someone to remove your old Appliances. Working or not, we will remove them for Free. We recycle them by repairing them or disassembling them whenever possible so that less fortunate people can have decent appliances for free or at a discounted price through an Appliance Dealer.
We do what we do because we want to help people make informed decisions. We want people to do the right thing. We want people to share and preserve the environment. Many people are already working with us and more people here about us every day.
Thank you for your time. It will be rewarded with a funny story tomorrow. I promise.
Oh, Christmas Tree, Share the Sharing
Going against conventional wisdom and anyone's advice. We/I, mostly I, decided to give away some Christmas Trees this year. It would not have been possible without the assistance of our friend Danny Calise. Thank you Danny! We want to share one of the recipients with you! As with most things for us, it started with an email:My cousin who collects disability due to many different reasons does not have a Christmas tree this year because she can not afford one. She feels horrible because she has children and grandchildren who will be visiting and not see a tree... Due to her illness, she gets depressed about things like this. I wish I could help her but I am laid off myself and barely making it. Please help her to make her Christmas better. Thank you and God Bless!
The first people who responded to our advertisment never returned our emails or calls. We still haven't figured out why, as they still haven't contacted us. We are still thinking that people believe we are too good to be true.
We are currently located in Foster, RI. Mapquest won't help and your GPS cuts out about a mile from the house. On the second attempt to find us, the woman who wanted to help her cousin was successful! Yay!
She was nice enough to take some pictures for us because we couldn't be there for the delivery. She sent us this email:
You have truly blessed my cousin and her family by donating a Christmas tree to her today! I apologize for the late response with pictures, but I was at my family's annual Christmas function. My cousin was going to send me pictures when she completed the tree, but she didnt get finished until about 11pm. She took time to pray before hanging each ornament for everyone to be blessed this holiday season as she has been throughout the year and especially with your gift of the tree. (I told you she would be very appreciative of this gift).
We receive tons of emails and phone calls from people who need help. We did this because we wanted to help people make the holidays more enjoyable for someone else. To share the sharing, so to speak.Attached are a couple of pictures... she even took a couple of branches off the bottom to make a wreath for her front door... Thank you for your kindness and generosity.
We wish we had this blog from the very beginning. It would have helped us get the word out about what we were doing and the people that benefit from our services.
My cousin along with her children/grandchildren.. had a WONDERFUL Christmas to you. I can not thank you enough for allowing me to give her a tree... Their faces (grandchildren) were so happy that she had one.. (prior to me finding you... she had mentioned to them that as long as they were all together.. the fact that we are celebrating Jesus' birth is the most important thing.....THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
We think everyday should be Christmas! Everyday more people find out about us and what we do. We want to help more people help more people. That is what will get our country and region out of the economic slump it is in. People helping people. It started in New England hundreds of years ago. Maybe everyone is just waiting for it to warm up to lend a helping hand. We ask that you don't wait, START NOW. Tomorrow, we will tell you a story about how a woman got taken advantage of by the Appliance Rebate Program that was supposed to help her.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
It Pays to Do the Right Thing
The property owner was not happy with our response. He filed a complaint forcing us to temporarily suspend operations in December. What a Christmas present! We even had to stop posting on the blog as technically it was considered part of our commercial operations.
We filed several complaints and criminal charges. We had our day in court on Wednesday and needless to say, we are back up and running! We received a settlement for several thousand dollars and retained the right to press criminal charges as well as other civil actions.
We love the property managers, landlords, homeowners and tenants we work with. We get to see the best part of the human condition. Occasionally, we come across someone who for whatever reason, refuses to do the right thing. We aren't Robin Hood. We won't force someone to do the right thing, but we won't help them do something that is illegal or doesn't represent common courtesy. Treat others as you wish to be treated.
In the mean time, we have found new ways to recycle (buying and selling used textbooks), save money, live greener and healthier. We even found Jewelry that is made from recycled materials. That's cool and it looks good too. Check it out at in our Buy Recycled section.
Tomorrow, we will share one of our Free Christmas Tree recipients with you. Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
National Grid to Buy Power for 24.4 cents. Who is going to pay for it?
On December 10th, 2009 Alex Kuffner, a Staff Writer for the Providence Journal, wrote:
National Grid will pay Deepwater 24.4 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity starting in 2013 when the eight-turbine wind farm three miles from Block Island is expected to go on line. The price will then rise by 3.5 percent annually over the 20-year agreement.
National Grid estimates that the typical Rhode Island household’s annual electric bill — which currently stands at about $957 — will see an increase of $16.20 in the first year of the contract. That includes a 2.75-percent markup on electricity generated from renewable sources that National Grid is allowed by state law. It also includes the cost of a power cable from Block Island to the mainland that would be required for the project. The wind farm would supply power to Block Island, but any excess would be fed to the rest of the state.
National Grid’s estimate of the additional cost for its customers differs significantly from Deepwater’s calculation, which is about $7. The discrepancy can be explained, in part, because Deepwater’s number does not account for the cost of the cable. Deepwater did not factor in that cost because it’s still unclear who would install it.
Companies like National Grid get away with stuff because they don't tell you the whole story. We will help you by looking at our electric bill.
National Grid Charges us:
For Delivery Services
$0.03376 per kwh a Distribution Energy Charge (Fair Enough)
$0.0035 per kwh for a Dem Side Mgmt Chg (Is that Politics or Environment?)
$0.015 per kwh for a Transmission Charge (What are they transmitting that hasn't been distributed?)
$0.00235 per kwh a Transition Charge (Transition from what?)
Total Distribution Cost Per Kwh is $0.0561
For Supply Services
$0.092 per Kwh Energy Charge (Didn't you already charge us for distributing energy to us? We liked that price better)
$0.00093 Kwh Renewable Energy Charge (Is this where the wind turbine expense will end up?
Total Supply Cost Per Kwh is $0.09293
Sub Total is $0.14754 per Kwh
And then they charge us a Gross Earnings Tax. Your welcome for your bonus CEO.
Wait a minute. They say the average bill will only go up $16.20 in the first year based on the 9.2 cent charge. It really costs us 14.754 cents. That is 160% of what they say they currently charge us. It doesn't seem like much until you realize that it's multiplied by thousands of kwh.
$16.20 multiplied by 160% is $25.92. They are going to pay 24.4 cents per kwh. That is 165% of what we actually pay. Now that we have determined what we actually pay, let's figure out what they are actually going to charge us. $25.92 multiplied by 165% is $42.768 more, THE FIRST YEAR. Before they figure out they and the wind turbine folks have underestimated some other expense they need to pass along to us.
They base their figures on 500 Kwh for the average user. That doesn't add up with their numbers either. $957 divided by 500 Kwh is $1.91 per Kwh. $957 divided by $0.14754 is 6486 Kwh per average customer. Makes a little more sense.
He goes on to say:
A calculation that uses the 12.9-cent number as a baseline would close the difference with the 24.4-cent price of wind power. Doing that results in Deepwater's $7 figure for the additional cost to the typical customer, defined as someone who uses 500 kilowatt hours of electricity a year. To put that number into context, a ratepayer who uses that amount of power currently pays about $957 a year.
However, Grid offers a different approach. For one, the utility did not use a projection in its own calculation. It compared the 24.4-cent cost of wind power to the current 9.2-cent cost of wholesale power.
Moreover, Grid says, Deepwater's figure is incomplete. The utility says that the cost of the cable, estimated at $35-$50 million, must be considered because it is a necessity. It makes no sense to build the Block Island wind farm without it.
Block Island currently gets its electricity from diesel-powered generators on the island. The price of power from those generators is notoriously high, with rates within the past two years climbing to three to four times what is paid on the mainland. The goal of Deepwater's wind farm is to take those generators offline and provide clean power at a cheaper price to Block Island.
But the wind farm has the capacity to provide more than enough power for the island, so any excess would be fed underwater to the rest of the state. Conversely, on some days, the wind will not blow, so Block Island would need a backup source of power. The cable would supply that electricity from the distribution system that serves the rest of Rhode Island.
National Grid estimates that the cost of the cable in the first year of the contract with Deepwater would be about $8 million and would then decrease in subsequent years. By passing that cost on to the consumer and not adjusting for a possible rise in the cost of fossil fuels, Grid calculated a figure of $16.20 in total additional costs to the customer.
At least they are honest when they say they will pass the cost along to the customer. The only way to know what the real cost to the customer is going to be is to tell us what percentage of the power, blah, blah blah. It's a lot of number crunching that would of course be boring here. If we find the answer to that question, we will post it on our website cleanhandsrecycling.com
In the mean time. Don't get us wrong. We love wind power! We love alternative energy. Unfortunately, we need to keep using our current, take advantage of us while you can, system until we get there!
Have a great day!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
We are committed or should be committed
First we want to cover the people not responding. We are confused by this. Do people think that it's a scam? We would love to hear what your answers are to that question. The first month we advertised that we were giving away Appliances, we contacted a Non-Profit to give them three Refrigerators. We called them to tell them that we could deliver them within the next three days. They sounded so excited when we called. They never called back. Never gave us an address. We called and left several messages, nothing.
Now we want to tell you what we wanted to tell you about on December 9th. The main reason we do this. It is to help people. Through another venue, a woman asked us for help, not knowing about our website http://cleanhandsrecyling.com or what we do. She sent us this email on December 2nd.
I am looking for a knitting machine with manual. I am 64 years old and a shut in. Bored to death! Years ago I used to knit for my family and would love to get back into it. I don't mind waiting for this item. I don't have much money as I am on fixed income. But am willing to spend a small amount of money if in good condition. Also looking for baby girl clothes , blankets ect as my youngest daughter just had a baby six weeks ago. The dad took off on her and left her to fend for herself. She is beside herself on how to manage and raise her daughter all alone. Any help will be welcomed. My oldest son wife died not long ago and left him with a five year old. Looking for some nice toys for her so her Christamas is special. She misses her mommy.
Thanks so much for listening to all my sorrows. If you cannot help I will understand but I felt it wont hurt to ask. I know there are still good people out there that have things and have no idea what to do with things they no longer need.
Also the daughter who just had the baby would welcome clothes for herself. she wears medium size sometimes large like for shirts like the girls wear to day.She is tall and needs tall jeans I think she wears 6,7,8 depending on who makes them and prefers strech ones.
Long list I know. But Christmas is right around the corner and I want them all to be happy. Hope you understand. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
On December 8th, Our Anniversary, we delivered 15 bags of items for her grandchildren. We are trying to get the Knitting Machine Before Christmas.
This is the email she sent us afterwards.
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the effort you put in to getting thoses things for me. I t will help greatly come Christams morning for my grandchildren. I have most things wrapped now and can't wait to especially see my older grandchilds face. I had her last night for a little while and I gave her that little kittie that head moves around and meows and you would have thought I gave her a million dollars. Her face lit up. We played together pretending feeding it and wrapping it in a blanket and she was in her glory. Its so nice when there young they are so easy to please.
I know your very busy but just had to drop you line to let you know that what you did was very appreciated.
I feel so bad that I did not offer you a cup of coffee or tea but my mind was on over load. I was torn in just sitting in just talking and realising your little one needed to be home in her warm bed. She looked kinda sleepy.Poor thing.
I hope your day is a good one and that this email finds you in good health.
Have a very happy holiday
Toys for Tots wouldn't have given her 15 bags and we like Toys for Tots. She wasn't able to get help through other avenues. We provide our services for free so that people can recycle what would otherwise be wasted or put in a landfill. We give away Appliances and other items so that people who don't qualify for help because of some policy, can still get help.
In the very near future, we are going to stop advertising our Free Appliances on Craigslist. The best way for people to hear about us is from you. Be sure to sign up to follow the blog so that we can see your responses to our questions and hear how you think we are doing! Tell someone about our website http://cleanhandsrecycling.com and what we do so we can keep helping people. Happy Tuesday before Christmas!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Short and Sweet
More on how we met later. One day she said, you know, it makes more sense for us to work together and only make $100 a day combined than for us to work apart and make $500.
I agreed. She is right most of the time. We aren't sure why it took us so much longer than just doing it the next day. We had a lot more then than we did when we started this.
We didn't have a vehicle, let alone a truck. Maybe it was all of those days we made so much working apart. Now, sometimes we don't even make $100 in a day.
But we have fun. We do the right thing and we are together. Tonight is our Anniversary. Gonna wrap up so we can watch a movie. We just got back from a donation that came up by chance. But that's what we did for our Anniversary, gave something back. It's what we wanted to do.
Do what you enjoy doing and the rest will just happen. Can't wait for the rest of our life.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Appliance Clunkers Rebate Program EEARP
Secretary Chu Announces Nearly $300 Million Rebate Program to Encourage Purchases of Energy Efficient Appliances
Then in Italics: Program Benefits Every U.S. State and Territory
The Appliance Clunkers Rebate program will not help consumers or the U.S. Economy. It benefits Utility Companies, Appliance Dealers and Manufacturers far more than it will help American Consumers. First, there is the 10-25% administration fee that goes to the individual State Governement leaving us with AT MOST $270,000,000. With their population figures at 308,000,000 Americans, that works out to less than $0.88 each.
Thanks to the Appliance Clunker Program! With gas prices still so high, our family can drive an extra 20 miles for the Winter Vacation! Although the people in American Samoa and the Northern Marianas are doing pretty well to get $1.75 and $1.18 each respectively because there is a $100,000 minimum grant. Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands only get their fair share. I wonder why there isn't any money for the Marshall Islands, I'm guessing it's because they don't have Appliance Dealers or Manufacturers.
The Energy Star Program which will be the launching pad for the Appliance Clunkers Program serves 600 Utilities, 74 million households, 2,000 retail partners representing more than 27,000 storefronts, and 2,645 manufacturers.
Rest assured, if the Utility companies only benefit dollar for dollar from the Appliance Clunkers Program, that means each Utility Company gets a benefit of at least $500,000 each. Yes. Do you think they only get their $0.88 cents worth? Check your Utility Bill again for the last time you felt you got a fair shake.
The 2,000 retail partners. They stand to make at least a buck for their participation in the Appliance Clunkers Program, right? That would be $150,000 each if they all got their fair share.
And the 2,645 manufacturers? Roughly $114,000 each from the Appliance Clunkers Program. If they manufacture and sell their own brand, that's $264,000. That's if they only benefit dollar for dollar like the rest of the country. When was the last time you saw an appliance marked up or down by $1? It's more like $100, so add two zeros to the ends of the numbers for Utility Companies, Retailers and Manufacturers and it's probably much closer to their actual benefit amount.
They will never tell though. And the money will hardly trickle down from the top. Nice job CEO, here's your bonus for Inventing the Appliance Clunkers Program, have a seat next to Al Gore, inventor of the internet. Have you seen any ads on Job Boards where Utilities have to hire extra people to handle the expected surge due to the Appliance Clunker Rebate Program? How about Best Buy? Have you seen an ad where they have to hire people just to cover the overwhelming demand? At least manufacturers can delay those layoffs a little while to give them more time to offshore their operations.
Start Spending Recovery Dollars where they will be most effective SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS. The only segment that will pass the activity and savings on to the American Consumer is the Small Business Owner. Small Business Owners are responsible for 50% of the Gross Domestic Product. Non-Profits contribute 7%, they literally help people, while Utilities only contribute 2.3% The Appliance Clunkers Rebate Program was a great idea, with great merit.
There will be numerous benefits from the Appliance Clunkers Program, too many to list today. Too bad the benefits will take too long to get where they are needed and that's before it get's caught up in all of the Government Red Tape. Here is a site that compiles all of the Appliance Clunkers Details for Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island
