U.S. Energy Information Electricity Prices.

[BFW577]

Looks like Rhode Island is the winner this year with the most expensive electricity in the lower 48. Even beating out Alaska. Though my sister lives there and just installed panels and the state program pays solar energy producers 37.75 cents for every kilowatt-hour their panels send to the grid, locked in for 20 years.

I ran short on production last month and paid .29 kwh here in CT so I find these numbers not accurate. How do your rates compare?

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/mont...p?t=epmt_5_6_a

[J.P.M.]

Many POCO rate schedules have regressive rates. The more you use, the more you pay per kWh. The eia rates are averages and as such, are probably reasonably accurate.

If I was on T.O.U I could pay as much as $0.54/kWh or as little as $0.22/kWh depending on whether or not I could avoid using power during peak periods. I'm on tiered rates and if I'm a hog on use, I'll pay as much as $0.55/kWh for over 400 % of baseline I use in summer billing, or as little as ~ $0.23/kWh for staying within 130% of baseline use in the winter.

You have options, control and choices. A couple are to leave CT for some area like WA where power is ~ half as much, or stay put and simply use less electricity. Pay your money. Take your choice. Or bitch about the state of affairs and do nothing else.

[CodeeCB]

Here in MN the rates are pretty accurate vs what that report shows. Luckily we don't have to deal with any time of use rates, tiered systems etc. The rate is the rate, period. This was taken right from my local electric Companies site.

Basic Service Charge
$13.50 per month

Energy Charge (kWh)
$0.1289 June to September
$0.1189 October to May

Power Cost Adjustment (PCA)
Minus $0.002311 March
Minus $0.002222 April

Cody

[Sunking]

The TX and OK rates on the EIA data are significantly higher than any plan I have seen with the exception of the what we call The Left Coast Island of Austin. However in most states I know of rates like any other commodity goes down with usage. My Son who lives in my home up in TX pays 7.2 cents per Kwh for the first 2000 Kwh, and anything over 2000 Kwh drops to 6.5 cents per Kwh. My company which is adjoined to the house is on a commercial rate of 5.9-cents per Kwh. Now that NoBama is gone rates have dropped in TX because the Employment Prevention Agency threat is gone.

[frankiek3]

Looks like they average the entire bill including the service charge. The price list would need a new system if everyone was on solar and only imported a small amount of electricity.

[Wy_White_Wolf]

Wyoming so among lowest around. My provider even filed for a rate decease for the 4 year running.

WWW

[Sunking]

Wyoming so among lowest around. My provider even filed for a rate decease for the 4 year running.

WWW

Yep prices have been dropping for the last 13 years in RED states. States without mandatory Net Metering have the lowest rates. Someone has to pay for all that free money Blue States like giving away to the rich. Nothing better than making the poor pay for it.

[reader2580]

Outside of California and Hawaii, do any other states really have enough net metering customers to affect rates by more than a few hundreds of a cent?

[SunEagle]

Outside of California and Hawaii, do any other states really have enough net metering customers to affect rates by more than a few hundreds of a cent?

Good question. Apparently the POCO's in Arizona thought that they were going to lose a lot of money so they had the PUC make changes to the amount they would have to pay a co-generator.

[Sunking]

Looks like they average the entire bill including the service charge. The price list would need a new system if everyone was on solar and only imported a small amount of electricity.

Ask yourself why some states residential customers pay less than 10-cents per Kwh and the rate goes down for the more they use, while other states charge as much a 45-cents and rates go up for the more you use.

Your logic is severely flawed. Ask yourself where the power comes from at night and cloudy days. For every watt of solar installed there must be a conventional watt to replace it at a moments notice. You are paying twice.

Only one answer you can come up with. Politics. Electricity is dirt cheap to generate. California has to import 30% of their power because they refuse to generate power. That makes them dependent on other states who hold CA hostage. Typical Fruit and Nuts CA politics.

But to answer your question as an example in TX the Left Coast Island called Austin is the only city that mandates Net Metering. As a result Austin has the highest electric rates in the state of around 12 to 13 cents per Kwh. Rest of TX pays less than 10-cents. Basically Net Metering is welfare for the rich. Poor people cannot afford solar and force to pay for those who do not need their support. People are finally starting to know that and is why utilities are pushing back. Utilities do not need solar. It is forced upon them. What the public is now learning state regulators allow then to jack rates up to make up for the loses incurred.

Utilities are not building generation. They are taking that money and paying dividends back to stock holders waiting for the shoe to drop. Sooner rather than later demand will exceed production. When that happens the Utilities will say told you so, get the laws changed, and come to you for the money to catch up over a failed energy policy. CA will be the first to cry uncle.

[jflorey2]

But to answer your question as an example in TX the Left Coast Island called Austin is the only city that mandates Net Metering. As a result Austin has the highest electric rates in the state of around 12 to 13 cents per Kwh. Rest of TX pays less than 10-cents.

From the texaselectricityratings website:

Cheapest power available in Austin: 5.7 to 8.5 cents per kilowatt hour
Dallas: 5.7 to 8.5 c/kwhr
Houston: 6.8 to 9.5 c/kwhr
San Antonio: 7.7 to 10 c/kwhr


Sounds like there are people out there who are easily suckered by fake news. (Or is "alternative facts" the politically correct way to say that nowadays?)

[SunEagle]

From the texaselectricityratings website:

Cheapest power available in Austin: 5.7 to 8.5 cents per kilowatt hour
Dallas: 5.7 to 8.5 c/kwhr
Houston: 6.8 to 9.5 c/kwhr
San Antonio: 7.7 to 10 c/kwhr


Sounds like there are people out there who are easily suckered by fake news. (Or is "alternative facts" the politically correct way to say that nowadays?)

I am sure you can cherry pick POCO's and rates in Texas, or anywhere for that matter, to make your point.

But if you look at the electric rates in Hawaii, CA and New England they tend to be much higher then the rest of the US and those areas also tend to have POCO's that are required to provide a high payback to customers having solar pv systems.

Just saying it is hard not to draw the conclusion that Net Metering could be the cause of increased electric rates for everyone (with or without pv) for a specific POCO..

[Sunking]

From the texaselectricityratings website:

Cheapest power available in Austin: 5.7 to 8.5 cents per kilowatt hour
Dallas: 5.7 to 8.5 c/kwhr
Houston: 6.8 to 9.5 c/kwhr
San Antonio: 7.7 to 10 c/kwhr


Sounds like there are people out there who are easily suckered by fake news. (Or is "alternative facts" the politically correct way to say that nowadays?)

Nice try Lefty Jeflorey2, but get real facts first. . I will use your own website against you. Go try a real zip code like 78751 or 78712 inside Austin City Limits and see what you get?

What you get is: We're Sorry, But We Can't Service This Address. Go try it yourself or anyone else. Outside of Austin in the suburbs you can get those rates, but not in Austin. News Flash for you Lefty. There is only one electric service provider in the city limits of Austin, AUSTIN ENERGY, completely controlled by the pot smoking Left Coast Island of Austin goberment.

But thank you for showing everyone how cheap electricity is in TX, except the Left Coast Island of Austin.

Now shut up.

[J.P.M.]

I am sure you can cherry pick POCO's and rates in Texas, or anywhere for that matter, to make your point.

But if you look at the electric rates in Hawaii, CA and New England they tend to be much higher then the rest of the US and those areas also tend to have POCO's that are required to provide a high payback to customers having solar pv systems.

Just saying it is hard not to draw the conclusion that Net Metering could be the cause of increased electric rates for everyone (with or without pv) for a specific POCO..

About cherry picking, I saw Jeff's point as a comment and perhaps a counter to SK's post of Austin TX having the highest rates in the state.

I'm not judging nor have I checked the context or accuracy of Jeff's source, but the numbers, if consistently figured from all places in TX would seem to indicate that Austin does not have the "highest rates" in Tx.

As for how much net metering takes from the bottom line, I did some numbers for SDG & E about the time the NEM cap of 607 STC MW of installed generating capacity was reached and figured each of those installed STC kW would generate 1,700 kWh/yr. against what SDG & E would then lose in product sold by not supplying to residential customers.

I then multiplied that lost sale of power by what at the time was a somewhat conservative rate per kWh, that was, the highest of either tier 4 or peak time T.O.U. rate, and got a somewhat conservative figure for lost revenue to SDG & E because of net metering.

I lost the number but as I recall it reduced net profit by a few pennies/outstanding share of Sempra Energy (SDG & E's parent co.) common stock.

I'll try to find the number, or maybe just redo it using current numbers.

Another reason why rates may be higher in CA, HI, NY,New England, etc. may have to do with most things costing more in those areas as well as often higher bureaucracy and regulation in those areas, HI being a somewhat special case due to it's location.

[Sunking]

Another reason why rates may be higher in CA, HI, NY,New England, etc. may have to do with most things costing more in those areas as well as often higher bureaucracy and regulation in those areas, HI being a somewhat special case due to it's location.

That would be politics and energy policies. Cost of NG, Coal, and uranium are the same across the US for utilities. It is CA politics and lack of production is why rates are so high there. Any boarder states to CA who provide CA with 30% of their electricity only pay 1/2 to 1/3 watt CA residents have to pay.