Wash Post writer: ‘I made my home fossil-fuel-free. Why did my utility bills nearly double? – Paper admits surprise expenses, reams of red tape, higher bills

After spending $41K to go all-electric, a California writer finds her utility bills doubled—proof that green dreams can come with a hefty, and ironic, price tag.

The cost of succumbing to radical climate change rhetoric was on full display in a recent Washington Post essay by California-based freelance writer, Katherine Ellison.The title of her piece, “I made my home fossil-fuel-free. Why did my utility bills nearly double?” might lead readers to conclude that an eye-opening real-world experience had illuminated the writer to the folly of modern “green” doctrine.

But despite setback after setback, Ellison maintains her unshakeable belief that someday, somehow, the climate orthodoxy to which she and others stubbornly adhere will be proven worthy of their blind faith. For now, there’s disillusionment and sticker shock.

In her frank essay, Ellison explains that last December, she and her husband converted their Northern California home from gas to electric.

“We expected a bunch of benefits,” she writes. “Healthier indoor temperatures and air quality. A reduced carbon footprint. Lower energy bills.” The verdict? “The results have been more complicated.”

“More complicated” could be translated into “complete disaster.” Consider these facts from Ellison’s own telling:

• Even after taking advantage of about $13,400 in local and federal rebates and figuring in $3,200 in federal tax credits until 2032, “we still needed a (subsidized) loan,” she confessed—all courtesy of taxpayers.
• Determined to replace an evil gas furnace that was only two years old, “we forged ahead, dropping $21,187 for the purchase and installation of a ducted appliance, which like all HVAC heat pumps has units for inside and outside the house. Another line item: $1,787 for duct-system modifications and insulation.”
• To go fully gas-free required ditching an existing gas range and fireplace, sacrificing them for a $6,750 induction stove (but with a $2,000 tax credit!) and a $500 portable electric fireplace.

“I was thrilled when our utility, PG&E, finally shut off our gas,” Ellison writes. “But then came the chase for promised savings, involving reams of red tape. We had fortunately been able to front more than $41,000, but we really depended on the potentially $17,000 in savings from rebates and credits.”

But the upfront costs and red tape were soon offset by lower energy bills, right? Wrong.

“I couldn’t wait to see our next utility bill,” she writes. “But to my dismay, the now all-electric bill was nearly double the total of what we’d paid a year earlier for both gas and electricity. This is, I’m sorry, a dirty little secret of switching your home to electric.”

While Ellison’s harrowing adventure would likely be a wake-up call to others with similar experiences, her faith is unshaken. She remains convinced that, at the very least, her home is “comfortable, healthier, and even safer.” And those in the know assure her that things will eventually get better.