CAS-8: Cost of Utilities

• What counts as a utility (§§4.9, 5.1)
• The cost of bought power, less rebates, without fines (§§5.2, 5.8, 5.11)
• The cost of power you make yourself (§§5.3.1, 5.4, 5.9)
• Sharing the cost by meter (§§6, 7)

Chapters

1. What runs the machines · Power, water, steam, compressed air: used up, but never inside the uniform (§§4.9, 5.1)
2. The electricity bill · What a unit of power from the board really costs (§§5.2, 5.8, 5.11)
3. The generator in the corner · What a unit of your own power costs, and why power cuts hurt (§§5.3.1, 5.4, 5.9)
4. Who used the power? · Share the power bill by the sub-meters (§§6.1–6.3, 7)
5. Spot the mistakes in the power cost · Use everything from this lesson (§§5.4, 5.11, 6.3)

Key terms

• Utilities (§§4.9, 5.1): Inputs like power, steam, water and compressed air, used in production but not part of the product. Each kind is costed separately, so you know what one unit really costs.
• Power you make yourself (§§5.3.1, 5.4, 5.9): Its cost is the material (fuel), the people who run it, its direct expenses and its share of overheads. Interest stays out. A stand-by generator also carries the cost of keeping it ready, even in months it is hardly used.
• Sharing utility cost (§§6.1–6.3, 7): Put the cost straight on whoever used it where you can; otherwise share it on the best measure of use, such as meter readings. Show each important utility as its own line.