\input tex
\twelvepointroman

{\noindent\parskip=0pt\obeylines

3 June 91
\vbox to 0pt {		% TO address, etc
Steven Michelson Productions
}

\leftskip3in\vbox{	% FROM
Fido Software
Tom Jennings
666 Illinois
San Francisco CA 94107
(415)-552-8156
}}
\medskip

re: phone call this AM regarding our utility usage

We have in fact paid utilities for every month that we've been here. I�
have copies of the bills back to June 90 (I am missing Jul-Aug, 
Sep-Oct, Oct-Nov 90 PG\&E bills); all were paid.

Regarding the most recently-received copies of PG\&E bills from you,�
the Feb-Mar 91 bill was for \$162.21, and was paid March 27th, in a�
check for \$288.78, which covered Jan-Feb and Feb-Mar 91. 

As far as bills being paid late --

I have to take time out of my business to calculate the bills. I was�
told that SMP ``couldn't be bothered'' to calculate or determine�
actual usage. We have been wrongly accused of using more power than we�
are paying for, because ``the bill increased when we moved in''. We�
are not a creditor, but co-tenants, and expect a little more slack,�
especially since I must do all the work of calculations. It's not like�
we're going anywhere. 

I think SMP will find that it's bill has been increasing all along;�
after all, SMP was forced to relocated to a larger building due to�
increased business, and its work is so heavily reliant on electronics.

An informal accounting of our has prompted us to document our actual�
power consumption, by actual current measurement at our fusebox. (I�
believe we have only two 2-bulb 40W fluorescent lights not powered out�
of our fusebox.) It will take a month or so to determine the actual�
numbers. We will then calculate our share from this, and spot-check it�
monthly. Our equipment and usage is pretty constant.

\vskip\parskip
\centerline{* * * * *}
\vskip\parskip

Regarding the currently-due bill: the process I was using to calculate�
our power usage, which I now believe to have been incorrect all along,�
was to assume SMPs power usage was constant from 1989 to 1990, a very�
conservative (for SMP) assumption, and that the difference (eg.~Aug 89�
vs.~Aug 90) was ``our'' power consumption.

The process totally failed in Mar-Apr 91 -- the total power�
consumption went {\it down} when SMP moved out, and by previous�
calculations SMP would owe {\it us} for that period. (This process was�
laid out in a letter to SMP last year; I will send another copy upon�
request.)

We can, if you want, go into your electrical room with an 
``amp-clamp'' and help you locate the source of the power drain. It�
won't be an exact determination, but it will tell you which breaker or�
room.

I would appreciate it, and we all would benefit, if SMP would rethink�
its attitude toward us and the problems involved in determining�
utility sharing. No hard feelings, let's just solve the problems at�
hand.


\vskip.4in
{\leftskip3in\obeylines\parskip=0pt


\vskip.5in
Tom Jennings
}

\bye
