From Nation's Capital to Nation's Capital: The Azza Street Spy

Winter in J-m Passed
Yesterday was the first official heatwave, offering final proof for those who needed that winter is really over. I didn't need the heatwave to convince me; I have two other episodes that offer more personal, compelling evidence. (While this was not my first J-m winter since my aliyah, it was my first living independently in free-market housing. Last winter I was still in government housing: I was protected from the large, scary utility agencies and had unfettered access to a laundry room equipped with dryers.)

Electricity Consumption in an Under-Heated Apartment

Our bi-monthly electricity bill arrived yesterday, and was unusually cheap. Three residents in a single apartment were recorded as having zero KiloWatt usage for a 64-day period. We were recorded as only owing the flat fee and associated VAT tax yielding a total of 31.50 NIS (~$7.80), which was in fact a credit. Recognizing this as impossible, I called the electrical company to inquire.

Me: I am calling regarding my electricity bill that I just received in the mail...

[pauses as she checks address and account info...]

Lady: Your last bills were extremely high, [me: no kidding] and you did not read the last page. The last page said that the charges were only estimates and the meter was not read.  Once we went back and read the meter, we calculated your excessive overpayments as credit. You see, regular Israelis refuse to pay these high electricity bills. They call us angry and screaming for overestimating the payment. They refuse the pay the bill until the meter is read. You guys actually paid the bill without checking with us.

Me: Wow. No kidding. Those last bills were high, but we got angry at each other for consuming too much electricity. We didn't think that the error was yours. Can you tell me how much of a remaining credit we have?

Conclusion: Not only did our overpayment completely cover this 64-day period, including the flat charge, we have a remaining credit of 880 NIS (~$218)! Based on our bills from last summer, this credit should last us for the next 6 months. How wild. Who ever heard of being overcharged by >1,000 NIS? Why would it ever occur to me that their estimate would be so off?

Then I remembered, when totally shocked at the bill, I checked the previous tenants' bill for this same winter period last year. While our bill was slightly higher, it was ballpark the same. From that I inferred that living in this cold, underheated apartment in the winter, i.e., running the water boiler for hot showers and using personal heaters, costs this much in electricity. The correct conclusion, as I now know, is that those tenants used way too much electricity and our estimate was based on their usage! Lesson learned as part of my first J-m winter: Don't trust the utility companies, esp the electricity guys.

Free Lanudry Access

My free laundry access is the second indication that winter is over. We have no dryer and the washer sits in an enclosure on one of our three porches. We hang-dry the laundry. While dryers are not common in Israel, especially among those without young children, most people have enclosed porches. They line-dry their laundry exposed to the sun but protected from the weather (i.e., rain). Without an enclosed space during the winter, and not wanting to hang the laundry in the living room, I would plan my lanudry around the weather report. I would wait for a report that indicated there would be no rain for three consecutive days, do laundry, and hope they would be right. No guarantees and barely a fail-proof system.

However, the rain is all over. I can do laundry whenever I want. I am not at the mercy of possible rain. And, the weather is so dry, hot, and sunny in the summer, it always dries in under a day. Feeling free...

Living in Israel, even in a city, puts me in much closer touch with the weather and seasons. Beyond switching my wardrobe over, I really felt the winter and feel that it ended. Having inadequate heat contributes to experiencing winter so personally and closely.

**************************
Get updates of my blog entries! Subscribe to efratti-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Advertisement