Energy People: Rob Powelson
We talked with NARUC President, Commissioner Rob Powelson
Commissioner Powelson was installed as the 128th president of NARUC in November 2016.
Letter: Response to Cicchetti Re: Residential Demand Charges
A response to the article by Charles Cicchetti in our December 2016 issue
Charles Cicchetti's December 2016 article asserts TOU rates are a preferable alternative to demand charges for distributed energy resources (DER) customers. But TOU rates are not enough to maximize the benefits of DER.
Why Innovation?
Also, What, Who, Where, When?
Why is innovation all the rage? Yes, continual improvement always makes sense. But the dramatic changes being talked about, are they that urgent? Let's recognize how much customers vary in their electricity wants and needs, within service territories, between territories, and between states.
For Decades, Real Electric Price Has Fallen in South, Midwest, Northeast
If residential electricity had increased at the rate of general inflation since 1977, it would be around 13.66 cents per kilowatt-hour, over a penny higher than it is.
As we said in yesterday's column, the Labor Department just published December 2016's Consumer Price Index. The CPI for all consumer goods and services was up 2.1 percent from the prior December. The CPI for residential electric service was up 0.7 percent.
The wide gap between the CPI for all goods and services and for electric service, 1.4 percent, means the real price for electricity fell significantly.
Real Electric Price Fell in South, Midwest, Northeast
Gap between overall and electric CPI was quite dramatic in South, dramatic in the Midwest, significant in the Northeast.
The Labor Department just published December's Consumer Price Index. The CPI for all consumer goods and services was up 2.1 percent from the prior December. The CPI for residential electric service was up 0.7 percent.
The wide gap between the CPI for all goods and services and for electric service, 1.4 percent, means the real price for electricity fell significantly.
The fall in the real price for electricity is clearer when we look regionally.
Saving Private Ryan, and Longer-Lasting Light Bulbs
A memorable scene in this great flick reminds us of electricity’s role in our culture, and reminds us of Akasaki’s momentous invention.
"Saving Private Ryan" won five Academy Awards, including Best Director (Steven Spielberg). The 1998 flick was about the post D-Day search for Private Ryan (Matt Damon), who lost three brothers in combat.
There was this memorable scene:
What Edison Would and Wouldn't Recognize
Guest column
Sometimes we get a little carried away with notions about our electric industry infrastructure being out of date. Some commentators have used the statement:
"Thomas Edison would likely recognize much of today's infrastructure"
as some sort of proof of technological deficiency. Well, I do not believe it is correct, much less proof of obsolescence.
New Stats on Electric and Gas Prices
January 2017’s stats from the Labor, Energy and Commerce Departments show real electric prices continuing its downward trend
December 2016's Producer Price Index, and its components, was published by the Labor Department on January 13.
In the list of final demand, residential electricity was up just 0.6 percent in December, as compared to the prior December. While residential natural gas was up 8.2 percent.
Overall, final demand goods - from pork to pet foods to pumps - were up 1.9 percent. Final demand services - from lawn equipment retailing to life insurance to legal services - were up 1.5 percent.
Why Electric Service is This Low
Why electric service is at the all-time low, 1.30%, as a share of consumer expenditures
We've been writing this week about how electric service has never been cheaper for the American consumer than in November.
Never, ever, over the last 695 months, since January 1959.
The Commerce Department publishes each month an extraordinarily detailed table on Americans' personal consumer expenditures. Its latest release shows that the share of consumer expenditures spent on electric service was an all-time low, 1.30 percent.