The Ottawa Citizen’s Glen McGregor digs through the hydro and natural gas bills for 24 Sussex Drive — the official residence of the Prime Minister — and reports that it costs one heckuva lot to keep the place lit and warm:
In spite of an unusually warm winter, the costs of heat and electricity for 24 Sussex Drive hit a chilling $57,000 for the year ending in January, records obtained by the Citizen show.
…
For the December 2006 billing period, with the Harpers in residence, the National Capital Commission was billed for 4,799 cubic metres of natural gas, even though the average mean temperature that month was a relatively toasty -1.7 C.
In the same billing period the previous year, under Mr. Martin, with an average mean temperature of -6.6 C, only 4,472 cubic metres were used. The average Canadian home uses about 3,000 cubic metres annually.
The electric bills, however, were virtually identical under both prime ministers. Mr. Harper averaged 1,304 kilowatt hours per day compared to Mr. Martin's 1,297.
Neither the Harpers nor Martins used as much energy as their predecessor, Jean Chretien and his family, who burned off 20-per-cent more gas during his last year in the historic home. Temperatures were lower in 2003, accounting for the higher gas consumption . ..
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