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Law & Lawyers

PPI for Generation, Transmission, Distribution Lowest in 3 Years

Electricity’s Producer Price Index up just 3.7% from August 2004, while overall Consumer Price Index up 9.9%

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

There’s too much to fit in a single column. See yesterday’s column for Consumer Price Index trends in residential electric rates, by region. Here today is another taste. To get the full story, catch all the columns this week.

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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PPI for Generation Lowest Since 2004

Electric generation prices in August were at their lowest point since August 2004, twelve years ago

Electric generation prices are down 15.7 percent since 2011. Prices are down 19.7 percent since 2008.
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Electric Prices Lagged Inflation for Residential, Commercial, Industrial

Residential electric prices increased eight-tenths as fast as inflation, commercial seven-tenths as fast, industrial nine-tenths as fast

All this week, we’ve been filling you in, on what the August 2016 electric price data published last week (the Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index) means for utility policy and regulation.

There was too much to fit in a single column.

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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October issue: Two compelling excerpts

From our upcoming October issue, among 23 articles, columns, letters

“Rethinking Rationale for Net Metering,” By Barbara Alexander, Ashley Brown, and Ahmad Faruqui; and “Leadership Lyceum Podcast Summary,” Tom Fanning, Southern Co. CEO, with interviewer Tom Linquist.
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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You Must Read 'Last Days of Night'

Foundation story for our industry, with intrigues of Edison, Westinghouse, Tesla, Morgan and Bell

“Last Days of Night” is a historical novel about the war of currents between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, along with Nikola Tesla, J.P. Morgan and Alexander Graham Bell.
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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October excerpt: Why financial strength matters

An excerpt from October’s Public Utilities Fortnightly, among the 23 articles, columns and letters in this issue

An excerpt from October’s Public Utilities Fortnightly, From the Editor, pages 4 and 6:

If you believe the nation’s electric grid (including its generating, transmission and distribution infrastructure) doesn’t need much tending to, doesn’t need much capital investment, then the financial strength of our utilities doesn’t matter much to you. 

But consider the converse. If you believe the grid does need much tending to, does need much investment, then the financial strength of our utilities does matter a whole lot to you… 

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Energy Dept: July Electric Price Down

In July, residential electricity prices were down 2.4% from last July, and down 3.1% from two Julys ago.

On Monday, the Energy Department released its electric industry data for July. The average residential price fell to 12.68 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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August Electric Bills 1.5% of Consumer Expenditures

Key reason: in just four other months in history have households consumed more than in this July.

On Friday, the Commerce Department released its data on consumer expenditures in August. Electric bills were 1.5 percent of expenditures. 

That’s a low percentage. But slightly higher than in recent Augusts. 

Electric bills were 1.44 percent of consumer expenditures in the last two Augusts, in 2015 and 2014. This August was six-hundredths of a percent higher.

A slightly higher percentage is not surprising. Electricity consumption was way up this summer.

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Happy Westinghouse's Birthday!

Excerpt from October’s Public Utilities Fortnightly, page 80

On October 6, 1846, one of our industry’s greatest founders, George Westinghouse, was born in Central Bridge, New York. Just twenty-four miles from Schenectady, New York, which ultimately and ironically became the headquarters of Westinghouse’s chief rival, the Edison General Electric Company. 

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Everybody's an Expert on Rate of Return

FERC’s treatment of rate of return for pipelines and electric transmission lines has been in the news recently. This reminded me of the plight of the very high-visibility and controversial rate-of-return and cost-of-capital witness. 

This poor expert has the dubious distinction of presenting testimony on a subject in which everyone, in my decades of experience in public utility rate cases, has an opinion. 

I am not kidding as I mean everyone.

Byline: 

Branko Terzic

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