My overpriced Manhattan apartment pays for water but not electricity.

Assuming this isn’t a joke.

Your landlord would notice the spike in water usage and investigate.

And you couldn’t make enough power for more than a lightbulb. And that is iffy.

But part of me thinks you are trying to slam Obama in some mental-midget sort of way. Carry on.

That’s how it usually is in Manhattan. Heat usually is included in the rent also, because NY has a central steam system for heat for practically the entire city. I don’t think you can get the pressure you would need for any sort of hydroelectric generator in your apartment, but I will be following the Q to see what others say. I’ll send this to luckyguy, he probably knows. Utility bills usually are not crazy high in NY considering apartments are small and the heat is “free.”

I had an apartment where the guy must have let the hot water run day and night because we paid for it. When he moved out the tile was falling off the bathtub walls. Ugh.

@johnpowell:

Obama?

Where does that come from?

I know, it isn’t a joke unless you find it funny.

Most apartments in NY pay for their own gas and electric, unless they’re mother-in-law basement/attic marginally legal accommodations.

And as noted above, you wouldn’t be able to get much power from the water stream.

(In Manhattan the biggest of the buildings are on the ConEd steam system but not the smaller ones. For example, the 25-storey building I live in has an oil-burning boiler. All the brownstones have their own boilers. Tapping into the steam system, and the equipment that can use the high-pressure steam, is major infrastructure and not worth the expense for a smaller building.)

Why did you sign the lease if the terms were not to your liking?

And @johnpowell is correct. While you could use a generator to create power from your bathtub, the amounts would be so small as to be ridiculous.

^I married into the lease.

If you want some tips on how to reduce your energy usage, I can toss you a few tips. Last time I lived in an apartment I had $30 – $50 power bills.