A look into the utility bills of the Lynchburg Humane Society
Not an exciting topic, but very timely because we all have been feeling costs rising lately. I have heard many people are especially concerned with their electricity bills increasing. Probably just like you at your home, our utilities are among one of the highest expenses for us. We are an efficient organization, but it takes a lot to care for hundreds of pets everyday. Each year we spend around $100,000 on our utilities.
The highest of the utilities is our electricity, then gas, and then water. Electricity usage includes our lights, computers and everything else that we use in the shelter that is plugged into a wall, and part of our HVAC system is electric (part is gas). Our electricity bill averages about $5,600 per month.
The main things we use gas for are a portion of our HVAC system, hot water heating, and our crematory (yes, we have an onsite crematory and we offer low-cost pet end-of-life and cremation services – but that is another “Did You Know” Blog for another day). Our gas bill is usually around $1,700 per month.
Of course, as you might have imagined, we use a lot of water, making sure each pet has drinking water, doing dozens of loads of laundry each day, cleaning and sanitizing our kennels, cages, and rooms. Our water bill typically runs about $1,000 per month.
So yeah, this isn’t a pull at your heart strings, pet story kind of blog, but we think it is important for our supporters and the public to understand the impact of the costs of operating a lifesaving facility like ours even if it isn’t often considered part of lifesaving, but without the water, gas, and electricity – we could not operate and save the thousands of lives we save each year.