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Today in Fortnightly

Housing Market Drives Electric Market

New houses use much more electricity and drive electricity consumption growth.

Want to know why electricity consumption isn't growing that much? Look no further than the Census Department stats on new single-family houses.

In 2015, 648 thousand new single-family houses were completed nationally. That's up forty-five percent from 2011. But down sixty-one percent from 2006.

Why is the housing recovery from 2011 and lingering housing recession from 2006 so important for us in utility regulation and policy? 

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Zero-Carbon and Low-Carbon Power Rising

Zero-carbon power increased 7.3 percent, while power with emissions decreased 7.1 percent.

Of all the nation’s electricity, 35.8 percent was generated without emitting carbon dioxide, this year through June. The remaining 64.2 percent was generated with emissions. 

57.1 percent of the zero-carbon power came from nuclear plants. 16.6 percent came from wind farms. 3.5 percent came from solar. 

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Have a Happy Fourth of September!

Lewis Latimer’s birthday, Pearl Street Station’s anniversary

What's so special about this Sunday, the Fourth of September? It's both Lewis Latimer's birthday and the hundred and thirty-fourth anniversary of Pearl Street Station.

Here's an excerpt from the September issue of Public Utilities Fortnightly heading your way:

On September 4, 1848, Lewis Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. His parents were slaves in Virginia who escaped to Boston. The slave owner came to Boston to reclaim them, in one of the most important cases of the abolitionist movement. The slave owner was eventually paid for their freedom.

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Four Bucks a Day

Average residential electric bill fell to four dollars daily in 2015

Four bucks a day. On the nose. That's what the average American household pays for their home's electric utility service.

Last week, the Labor Department released the results of the Consumer Expenditure Survey for 2015. It's the mother lode, on what consumers spend for everything, including electric and natural gas service.

The average daily electric bill is down seven cents from 2014. That's a 1.62 percent drop in electricity's cost to consumers. It would be a larger drop if you took inflation into account.

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Electric Bills in West, Midwest, East Virtually Constant for Years

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.

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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Electric Bills of Low-Income Households

In the Northeast, Midwest and West, average electric bills of 24 million low-income households range from around $1.80 to $2.90 daily

Today we again 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 the electric bills of low-income households in the Northeast, Midwest and West. Low-income includes, for this look, households with income before taxes averaging under $30,000 per year in 2014 – 2015. 

We’ll leave aside electric bills in the South. Electric bills there are generally higher where air-conditioners are run harder. 

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Sept. 2016 crossword puzzle answers

Spoiler alert!  Here are the answers to the crossword puzzle, Rural Coops, in the September 2016 issue of Public Utilities Fortnightly:

Across

2. association of coops: nreca

5. original name of coops agency: rea

6. coop finance corp.: cfc

8. largest coop, in Texas: pedernales

12. main fuel of coop plants: coal

13. U.S. senator pushed to start coops: norris

14. fourth largest coop, in Florida: withlacoochee

16. in very many coop names: member

20. small Midwest state with eighty coops: iowa

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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New Electric Price Data, But First, Thanks!

Overwhelmed with CPI and PPI data on electric prices, and with your PUF site license commitments

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. 

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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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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