The landlord laid off its risk by signing a contract with an electric billing service in which the landlord paid a fixed sum in advance to cover its electric bills for the winter.

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The Edison Electric Institute reports that U.S. electric power output hit a new winter record of 89, 483 gigawatt hours last week.

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Among the energy-saving options, two promising technology switches are the electrification of transportation (electric vehicles can be about four times as energy-efficient as standard fossil-fuel vehicles) and the use of electric-powered heat pumps to deliver winter heating and hot water (heat pumps can be four times as energy-efficient as standard heaters).

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In Q4, gas prices rose by around 10% due to winter demand and rising demand from electric utility companies, which have been transitioning capacity away from coal towards natural gas.

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And Okamura predicts more power may needed this winter in Japan, where many heaters are electric.

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Although heaters are minimized to conserve battery range, Consumer Reports rated a Volt test car at a paltry average 25 miles of electric-only running before the gasoline engine kicked in under cold Connecticut winter conditions.

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The landlord laid off its risk by signing a contract with an electric billing service in which the landlord paid a fixed sum in advance to cover its bills for the winter.

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