The Green Journey Starts at Home ™

Xcel Energy has asked the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) for permission to increase its electricity rates by $156.065 million.  Residential kilowatt hour rates are anticipated to rise.  The rate increase asked for will be in the summer (June-September) from 6.755¢ to 7.628¢ per kilowatt hour, an increase of 12%.  In the winter the rate increase asked for will be from 5.807¢ to 6.628¢ per kilowatt hour, an increase of 14%.

The proposed rate increase is outlined in this document from Xcel.

On a more positive note, some interesting rebates are available from Xcel for doing energy conservation work in the home.  You can see up to a $350 rebate for improving the insulation in your attic.  See this link for more details.  These rebates are in addition to Federal tax credits of up to $1500 available to you.

Between the expected rise in energy cost and the rebates and incentives available, the time has never been better for improving your homes energy performance with more insulation and air tightening.

For an interesting article on Energy Conservation please see the March edition of National Geographic.

The New York Times provides an interesting video on thermography and energy loss detection —  see this link.  NYTimes editor Tom Zeller has written  an article on having an energy audit performed, the recommended improvements and the results of the improvements.

Hello Blog.   I feel as if you are a new friend.  Where do we begin?   How do we start?  What do we have in common?

Well, actually not much.  You, my blog friend, are a blank slate.  A canvas waiting for some colors, some inspiration, some life.

And I am approaching you blog with some trepidation, some uncertainty.   This is the beginning of an experiment, the beginning of a new journey, a Green Journey…. and hopefully the seed that can bring together people that share  similar commitment and passion towards our communities, ourselves and how we live our lives.

I am looking forward to getting to know you better blog in the months that follow.

-Matt