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Law & Lawyers

Electric Bills All-Time Record Low 1.4%

The falling percentage of electric bills has freed nearly 1% of consumption expenditures since the 1980s.

Last week, the Commerce Department's data for the Gross Domestic Product again highlighted electricity's affordability. Residential electric bills in May were 1.40 percent of personal consumption expenditures nationally.

This compares to 1.46 percent in May 2015, 1.43 percent in May 2014, and 1.43 percent in May 2013. 

And compares to 1.40 percent in April 2016, 1.36 percent in March 2016, 1.39 percent in February 2016, and 1.41 percent in January 2016.

Bottom line? Residential electric bills have been consistently moderate for a while.

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Electric and Natural Gas Service Prices Bottoming Out?

Price soothsaying herein

On August 12, the Labor Department published the Producer Price Index data through July 2016. Price trends are still good for electric and natural gas consumers. And price levels are historically favorable for consumers. 

But the four monthly data series we track, from three federal departments, Labor, Commerce and Energy, are beginning to tell us something new.

But first, what did the Producer Price Index have to say? 

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Electric Bills by Income

Electric bills are around four percent of expenditures for low-income households versus around two percent for high-income households

Today we continue to mine the mother lode, the Labor Department’s Consumer Expenditure Survey. In extraordinary detail, it reports what households spent last year for everything. 

Let’s look at electric bills by income. There are fascinating implications for utility regulation and policy. 

As we wrote last week, a household’s electric service averaged $4.00 daily. Or 2.6 percent of all consumer expenditures. 

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Feels Like Electric Service is Cheaper

Since 2014, or 2008, or 1984, or 1913, electricity prices have increased significantly less than the overall cost of living.

Nov. 22, 2016: It feels like electric utility service is less costly than it was. This feeling, a reality, is backed up by Consumer Price Index trends.

The Labor Department has been tracking the prices of the goods and services that consumers typically buy, including electric service, since 1913. It’s interesting, though not too relevant to today, that electric service costs 4.6 times what it did in 1913, while consumer goods and services overall cost 23.9 times what they did back then. Comparing 2015 to 1913 annualized. 

Electricity is far cheaper now. 

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Residential Solar's Share in September 2016 by State

Residential solar’s share of total generation in September was 0.3% nationally, but 2.6% in California, 0.8% in other five states, 0.1% elsewhere.

The Energy Department reported that residential solar generated 981 thousand megawatt-hours of electricity in September. Let's see what was its share of total electric generation, nationally and in key states.

We add together utility scale and distributed generation from all sectors including the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. Total generation in September was 353,484 thousand megawatt-hours.

So, nationally, residential solar's share of total generation was 0.3 percent.

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Achieving Net Zero

Financing your energy-efficient, passive-house construction on a slim budget.

Net zero construction can be a cost effective investment even when compared to code-compliant buildings.
Byline: 

Naomi C.O. Beal

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Fortnight Editorial: 132 Thousand Residential Solar Jobs?

Either labor productivity is real low in residential solar, or …

The number of solar industry jobs, now said to be 209 thousand, is widely reported and cited. President Obama included, as during his speech last April, announcing a program to train retiring military and veterans to work in solar.

The source for the number of solar jobs is an annual survey conducted by The Solar Foundation. The findings of the latest survey were published a couple of weeks ago in the "National Solar Jobs Census 2015." 

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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January CPI: How Far Have Electric & Gas Prices Fallen?

In last year, electric fell 2.4%, gas fell 12.7%, while overall CPI rose 1.4%

On Friday, the Consumer Price Index for January was announced. The ultimate measure of consumer prices was unchanged from December, for all consumer goods and services. 

But for electric service, specifically, the index fell seven tenths of a percent. For natural gas service, specifically, the index fell six tenths of a percent. This means electricity and natural gas became cheaper, relatively.

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Residential Electric Rates to Drop in 2016

Energy Dept. forecasts residential electric rates to drop 0.7% in 2016

Residential electric rates haven't decreased year-over-year since 2002 (US average). But the Energy Department forecasts a decrease in 2016.

The forecast was in the Short-Term Energy Outlook that came out last week. 

It does project that rates will increase in 2017. The agency expects natural gas prices to rebound and rise in 2017, driving electric rates up with them. 

The decrease in residential rates this year will be only the fifth time that the year-over year US average has fallen since 1990. Three of the five times were in the late 1990's.

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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10 Most Influential in Utilities Since 1990

Amory Lovins, Bill Hogan, Alfred Kahn, Gina McCarthy, etc.

It's January 1, 1990. Electric utilities are vertically integrated. The '92 Act is two years off. RTOs and ESCOs are unheard of.

Coal dominates the generation mix. Control technologies for emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are slowly evolving. As are gas combined-cycle technologies. Gas is drilled for vertically. 

The Clean Air Act is surprisingly amended later in the year. Few are wary of climate change, aka global warming. 

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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