That is because his bill has always been $6.50 for quite a while. Andre say that even electricity company suspected that he is cheating with his electricity usage. But the company was wrong and his secret lies in his basement bunker.
Since 1994, Rambaud's home — and the 35-lot no-frills campsite he built on the 475 magnificent acres he has owned for 46 years — has been "off the grid."
"I started this project because I wanted to be completely independent," the 74-year-old said.
An underground concrete bunker sits next to his house, and within the bunker, housed in a small vault made of 1-foot-thick concrete, is a hydroelectric generator that runs off a spring a mile up the mountainside.
Above the din of the generator, Rambaud explained that the force of the water coming down the mountain creates pressure of 300 pounds per square inch, and the generator translates it into 65 megawatt hours of electricity per year.
The average family home uses about 12 megawatt hours per year.
My only question is why he is not selling his electricity back to the grid. Just only with his electricity about 4 families. But that may be in the coming.
What advise does Andre gives to rest of us?
Rambaud admits that he's in the minority: blessed with abundant acreage; a cold, clear spring; and a steep mountainside to provide gravitational pressure for hydroelectricity, he can go farther off the grid than almost anyone.
He suggests that sustainable energy novices could start with smaller projects, like solar panels and energy-efficient double-paned windows that are insulated with argon gas.
"The average person can't take it to this level," he said. "But something has to be done."
Cynthia Grippaldi from the Center for Ecological Technology agrees with Rambaud and acknowledges that many people feel "powerless" in the face of the mounting energy and ecological crisis.
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