Three Ways To Cut Your Electric Bill At Deer Ridge Mountain Resort
The cost of electricity has been going though the roof. Yeah, I know, you heard it here first.
But, have you wondered why your electric bill at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort is so high? Well, we’ve identified three possible reasons.
#1: Apparent Theft Of Services
One of the claims that Joe Thomas, Luther Parker and the rest of the Gang of Six made in their $1 Million lawsuit against me was that I “falsely” accused them of “Theft of Services.”
Well, as the following photos show, it appears that we have “smoking gun” proof of their Theft of Services that we will probably use in court against them.
It seems to me that Joe Thomas et al have no problem with the phrase, “Mi casa es su casa.” Rather in Joey’s case, “Su casa es mi casa” – which means, “Your house is MY house.”
Apparently, Joey has NO compunction about entering YOUR condo to use YOUR electricity whenever it is convenient to him. No wonder he wants a key to every unit.
It looks to me like Unit A-201 next to ours was vacant at the time and was opened so that a very long extension cord could be run to allow some of the workmen to use this Owner’s electricity. (Plus, I can only imagine the amount of gnats and other bugs that got into their unit during the many hours the door was left open…let alone the security risks of unauthorized entry and theft of contents by any one who happened to be on property, but I digress…)
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Maybe the A-201 Owner was contacted before the fact – but we have seen this same thing done several times before here at Deer Ridge during the past few weeks and my guess is that this is done on a very frequent basis – without even thinking and considering that owners do NOT want their electricity STOLEN without their consent. As a matter of fact, we have seen workmen here do this same thing for EVERY walkway railing replacement done so far – using the electricity from at least 8 different owners to feed their extension cords.
You really think Joey got prior permission from all 8 owners?
I am not an attorney nor a police officer – but it seems to me, in my personal opinion, that this might, just maybe, qualify as a criminal act of theft of services, according to the following Tennessee state law:
The Tennessee Code Annotated defines “services” for the purposes of theft of services in T.C.A. section 39-11-106(35). The term “services”:
“includes labor, skill, professional service, transportation, telephone, mail, gas, electricity, steam, water, cable television or other public services, accommodations in hotels, restaurants or elsewhere, admissions to exhibitions, use of vehicles or other movable property, and any other activity or product considered in the ordinary course of business to be a service, regardless of whether it is listed in this subdivision (35) or a specific statute exists covering the same or similar conduct”
Maybe, Joey has written permission from the owner of A-201 – AND the other 8 plus owners but my very strong intuition is that he did not – this time, nor for all the other times we have seen this same thing done here. Granted, it probably doesn’t cost any particular owner more than $10 or $20 each time they do this – but, for me, it is the principle that is my concern – along with the disgusting, unethical entitlement attitude that Joe Thomas seems to evidence in so many ways.
And, evidence is exactly how these photos will be used during the trial. We’ll see if the jury agrees with us about this being a theft of services.
(We have other photos of this kind of activity somewhere – but I can’t find them right now in time for this blog post. If we find them, we will post them too. And, use them in court against the Gang of Six.)
To me, in my opinion, this is just more proof that Joe Thomas considers all of Deer Ridge as his personal fiefdom and domain – with private property to be used at his whim with no regard for the Owner’s rights – or their bank account.
In my opinion, the way to cut this kind of electric use is to fire Joe Thomas. I personally doubt any other approach will work.
#2: If You Are Using RML – You Are Being Charged Sales Tax And Commercial Rates For Your Electricity
We just had an electric audit run on our own unit with the goal of replacing our old energy hog A/C unit.
When their representative Lucas was here, he reviewed our bill and pointed out that we were being charged both sales tax and commercial rates as a result of having signed up for RML when we first bought here.
Lucas said that all we had to do was call Michelle (865-774-6246) at their office and she would take care of it for us. She was GREAT – not only saving us about $250 a year with the change to our bill – but also getting us a credit of $735.85 for these charges for the past three years! (See the electric bill we got this week showing the credit.)
Between the refund and the cost savings over the next 12 months, this adds up to almost $1,000.
I have to say, everyone we have dealt with at Sevier County Electric is terrific to work with – friendly and willing to help in every way. Amazing in general – and for a public utility, even more amazing. Kudos!
Considering how little you are actually netting from RML, does it make sense to pass up these kinds of savings?
#3: Special Energy Efficient Financing and Tax Credit To Replace Your A/C
Right now, TVA and Sevier County Electric have a GREAT program to motivate folks to upgrade their HVAC to a more energy-efficient system. If you get a new unit with a SEER of 14 or more, they will finance 100% of the cost of the new system – and fully amortize the cost over 10 years at only 6% simple interest. If you get a unit with a SEER of 15 or more, you can also qualify for a $1,500 tax credit if done this year.
We highly recommend Mark Watson of Watson Electric in Gatlinburg for all your A/C work. He gave us a great price and provided us with very professional and reliable service and installation. His number is 865-430-7534.
For us, the TVA financing package equaled a a monthly cost of $42. I am not a big fan of debt – but the beauty of this is that the cost savings from the improved energy efficiency will cut our average monthly bill by almost this full amount each month – making it a self-liquidating debt. This means that the cost savings virtually pays for the new system – and we get a band new Trane system with a 10 year parts and labor warranty. Add the nearly $20 a month savings that Lucas found from the old RML commercial rate and sales tax – and this upgrade and financing deal was a no-brainer.
Besides, financing the $3,800 cost for replacing our system gives us that much more cash to invest in legal fees in our $3 million lawsuit against Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Tom Reise, David Barone and Margie Duncan.
Thank you guys very much for recommending us (Watson Electric & AC)! It’s greatly appreciated, I will be working on some SEO for the company and will definitely link to your page. Thanks again!
P.s. New Wifi/Remote Access thermostat from Trane/Schlage.
Control the AC/Locks/Lights from your office.
http://elitepublishings.hubpages.com/hub/ComfortLink
Great Info. Are the Non-Commercial Rates good if you still rent the unit or is it just if you use as a Residence?
Great info Nonetheless…
I am not in favor of someone using my electricity either.
Doesn’t Each Walk Way have it’s own Common Area Outlet?
Did anyone ever put bolts in the E-walkway railing on the right side at the beginning of the walkway? I looked each day for 6 Days the last visit up there, I believe it was the very first one, the Test Railing….
Thanks again for the update, Neil C-208