At around $3.50 daily, electric bills are less than telephone bills on average
Today we continue to mine the mother lode, the 2015 Consumer Expenditure Survey released last week by the Labor Department, on what consumers spend on everything, including electric and natural gas service.
As we wrote yesterday, at four bucks a day, electric service averages 2.61 percent of Americans’ consumer expenditures. It’s a considerably lower percentage if expenditures made on behalf of consumers are counted, by government, insurance, etc.
The regional differences are dramatic.
For households in the West, electric bills averaged only $3.31 daily. Or 1.97 percent of consumer expenditures.
In the last four years of survey data, 2012 – 2015, bills in the West have been virtually constant: $3.30 daily, $3.28 daily, $3.26 daily and $3.31 daily.
For households in the Midwest, electric bills averaged only $3.51 daily. Or 2.33 percent of consumer expenditures.
In the last four years of survey data, 2012 – 2015, bills in the Midwest have been virtually constant: $3.46 daily, $3.53 daily, $3.45 daily and $3.51 daily.
For households in the Northeast, electric bills averaged only $3.68 daily. Or 2.28 percent of consumer expenditures.
In the last eight years of survey data, 2008 – 2015, with the exception of two outlier years, bills in the Northeast have been virtually constant: $3.57 daily, $3.58 daily, $3.60 daily, $3.67 daily, $3.51 daily, $3.65 daily, $3.81 daily and $3.68 daily.
The South alone accounts for as much as 46.1 percent of what the nation spends on residential electric bills. Though it has 34.3 percent of all households.
The West, Midwest and Northeast together accounts for just 53.9 percent of what the nation spends on residential electric bills. Though it has 65.7 percent of all households.
Households now spend more on telephone services than on electric service in all three regions.
In the West, the average telephone bill is $3.65 daily versus $3.31 daily for electricity.
In the Midwest, the average telephone bill is $3.55 daily versus $3.51 daily for electricity.
In the Northeast, the average telephone bill is $3.92 daily versus $3.68 daily for electricity.
Number-crunching courtesy of Public Utilities Fortnightly.
Steve Mitnick, Editor-in-Chief, Public Utilities Fortnightly
E-mail me: mitnick@fortnightly.com
