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Very Difficult Paying Household Expenses

The Census Bureau reports that for the two week period ending the first of March, 13.9 percent of all American adults over the age of eighteen are now finding it to be very difficult to pay household expenses. Including utility bills presumably.

Another 18.5 percent of American adults are now finding it to be somewhat difficult to pay household expenses. Adding these two categories together, the household bills of nearly a third of American adults are very or somewhat difficult to pay.
 

Lead image: © Can Stock Photo / gvictoria

 

Electric Bill Percent

Better news on electric bill affordability comes from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In January, residential electric bills were just 1.29 percent of Americans’ personal consumption expenditures in total. That’s lower than in January of 2018, when electricity was 1.40 percent, and lower than in January 2019, when electricity was 1.32 percent.

However, it was higher than in January 2020, when electricity was at an all-time low, at 1.17 percent. This is a direct result of our pandemic world.

Registered and Ready for NARUC

80 is the New 60? Considering I’m fairly old myself, I like the vibe. But that’s the session name for the panel at NARUC’s upcoming winter meeting discussing nuclear plant second license renewals and the impact on the grid’s decarbonization. The session will be on February 10.

Then there’s the session on FERC Order 2222, on distributed resources in wholesale markets. The Commission is always creative at naming its landmark orders. About the only aspect of its rules that we can all agree on. The session will be on February 9.