Chicago experiencing its second coldest July in history
July 18, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Near Record Cold July Means Shrinking Bills
Usually Hot Summer Month One Of Coldest On Record In Chicago
CBS | Jul 17, 2009
Chicago is experiencing one of its coldest July months ever. Photo Emily Nunn
CHICAGO (CBS) Summer has been elusive in Chicago–and July is so far the second coldest in history.
The average temperature so far this month has been 77.8 degrees–far off the average of mid-80s for this time of year. The coldest July ever was in 1967 when the average temperature was 76.5 degrees.
Another rarity for July in Chicago: We have failed to reach 90 degrees at any time. Two days have had highs only in the mid-60s.
The good news: Homeowners are seeing a break on their electric bills. Call it Mother Nature’s economic recovery plan. Air conditioning usage, according to ComEd, is way down from last year and has saved residents an average of $50 since June–compared with last year.
Combine the drop in temperature with a big drop in the price of energy and you get big savings on utility bills.
“My utility bill is definitely smaller. I have the air on, for the last… maybe twice this year only. I leave the windows open and sleep tight at night,” said Chicagoan Paul Oberski.
In addition to the mild weather, Com Ed’s cost of power is also down 9 percent, a savings passed on to you. Your natural gas price is down even more, 27 percent. Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas estimate a typical home customer will pay $500 less this year than last year.
“The typical consumer, if this keeps goin’, could save as much as $100 over the course of the summer on their electric bill,” said David Kolata, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board. “That is real money. That’s money you can use to fill your gas tank, put toward a much-needed family vacation. Anything we can do to save money is certainly good news for consumers”
Everyone CBS 2 talked to welcomed the lower utility bills. Burr Ridge resident Colin Foy said he’d put the $50 electric bill savings toward a few cases of beer.
Breweries would welcome the business. Vendors said the mild weather is cutting into sales of everything cold, from beer to ice cream.
Cool weather, genrated by a cold Canadian air flow, is expected to continue through the weekend, with a high of only 69 on Saturday and the low 70s on Sunday. Temps may creep back into the mid-80s by Wednesday of next week.
But, let’s count those savings again: $500 this year on natural gas and $50 to $100 on electric bills. Who says there’s no good news? |
