New Electric Price Data, But First, Thanks!

Deck: 
Overwhelmed with CPI and PPI data on electric prices, and with your PUF site license commitments
Today in Fortnightly

Late last week, the feds dumped a wealth of August electric price data on our desk. This week, we’ll fill you in, on what it all means for utility policy and regulation.

But first, thanks! Two months ago, on July 14, 2016, this column announced the new biz model for Public Utilities Fortnightly. 

Utilities, associations and professional firms have been asked to switch from individual subscriptions to site licenses. A number of these organizations have already switched, for which we are grateful. Depending on their size, dozens or hundreds or thousands of their employees will receive the magazine and this column.

By longstanding tradition, utility commissioners receive PUF at no cost. We’re transforming this too. Every commission will sign up for a site license, we hope, expanding our service to all commission staff, again at no cost. 
 

Now, back to the data. There’s too much to fit in a single column. Here’s a taste. To get the full story, catch all the columns this week.

The Consumer Price Index for electricity was down seven tenths of a percent last month, August 2016. That is, compared with a year earlier, August 2015.

In contrast, the overall Consumer Price Index for all goods and services was up one and a tenth percent. So residential electric rates continue to fall, inflation-adjusted.

Real residential electric rates are falling most rapidly in the South. The CPI electricity in the region was down two and four tenths percent last month compared with a year earlier. While CPI overall was up one percent.

Real residential rates are also falling in the Northeast and Midwest. The West is the outlier.

 

Public Utilities Fortnightly, must-read must-keep since 1928.

Steve Mitnick, Editor-in-Chief, Public Utilities Fortnightly

E-mail me: mitnick@fortnightly.com