To offset that consumption the rest of the property should create revenues to pay for that consumption and ideally provide a profit to the owner occupant after expenses.If you've never read the wealth of nations its pretty awesome stuff but, its NOT light reading and is in ye olde English as it was written in the 1776 :-D~http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/adam-smith/wealth-nations.pdf

There are some steps you can take as a renter to decrease energy consumption such as heavy drapes, plastic seal kits you can use on windows, weather stripping.

Alcohol based and surprisingly easy to work with.

It seems like the natural tendency for people is to increase consumption as our incomes increase.

Can I tell them a) I want to buy the house, b) my financial situation is excellent, c) the home owner is a derelict alcoholic who is trashing the house, d) she's asking me for 30k on the side....etc..???

The base charge is the amount you pay anyway even if your consumption is 0.

That may seem like a small example but it represents the shift in mindset that needs to take place and explains why USA is known for consumption rather than producing exports.

Drug users and alcoholics are not a protected class so discriminate all you want-they may however belong to a real protected class-veteran, gay, lesbian etc- don’t overlook that! 

Domestic Violence, drugs, alcohol abuse, etc.

We've generally been able to reduce heating oil consumption 40-50% once we buy a building (you have personally been the beneficiary of two of these instances, haha!).