[pjkundert]

Real utility bills of real citizens have doubled. All the associated taxes, delivery fees, etc. are clearly not included, or they’ve used substitution to alter the baseline basket they’re using to compute the metric (a common tactic).

Ask 10 citizens who own/rent the same property what their utility bill was a decade ago.

You’re being gaslighted.

[JumpCrisscross]

> the associated taxes, delivery fees, etc. are clearly not included, or they’ve used substitution to alter the baseline basket they’re using to compute the metric

I’m not familiar with Canadian methods. But in America, both CPI and PCE look at the bottom line, i.e. tax inclusive to taxes, delivery fees, et cetera.

> Ask 10 citizens who own/rent the same property what their utility bill was a decade ago

I can look at my own bills and say from five years ago the rates and bottom lines are identical. But I’m in Wyoming, where energy is cheap. (There is a new surcharge this year, but that’s less than 5% for me. Which for 5 years is fine.) Gas prices, too, are about flat across America from ten years ago, give or take—petrol is cheaper in real terms than it was ten years ago.

[s1artibartfast]

In the US, does it take into account elasticity of demand?

If price per kwh doubles, but energy budgets are stuck, how does this appear in the CPI.

[JumpCrisscross]

> If price per kwh doubles, but energy budgets are stuck, how does this appear in the CPI

It doubles. “BLS calculates and publishes average price series for price per kWh of electricity, per therm of utility (piped) gas service, and per gallon of fuel oil” [1]. (Not sure about PCE.)

[1] https://www.bls.gov/cpi/factsheets/household-energy.htm

[s1artibartfast]

Thanks! I wonder if or how they handle things like grid connection fees or California income based pricing.