Late last week, the Labor Department published October’s Consumer Price Index. The underlying detail shows consumer price trends for electric and natural gas utility service nationally and regionally.
Nationally, the overall CPI for all goods and services was up 1.6 percent over the last twelve months.
As is usual these days, the CPI for electric service lagged the overall CPI. CPI-Electricity was up 0.4 percent over the twelve months.
And as is also usual these days, the CPI for natural gas service outpaced the overall CPI, as gas prices recover somewhat from last year’s levels. CPI-Gas was up 4.8 percent over the twelve months.
Both the CPI-Electricity and CPI-Gas have risen significantly in the last four months, July through October. We’ll be watching closely to see if this indicates an important trend.
There were notable regional differences.
The CPI-Electricity for the South was down 1.6 percent during the twelve-month period. In contrast, the overall CPI for the South was up 1.5 percent. The South’s electric customers are benefitting from this considerable decrease in real rates.
The CPI-Electricity for the West was up 4.1 percent. In contrast, the overall CPI for the West was up 2.3 percent. The West’s electric customers are, therefore, experiencing an increase in real rates.
These are averages of course. For example, what’s happening to rates in Texas can have a big impact on the South’s CPI numbers. And what’s happening to rates in California can have a big impact on the West’s CPI numbers.
Number-crunching courtesy of Public Utilities Fortnightly.
