U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON DC 20585
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 1999
Decrease in Electric Rates Greater in 1998
Than
Previous Four Years
Combined
The average price of electricity in the United States decreased in 1998 for the fifth consecutive year to the lowest rates since 1990. Moreover, the 1.6 percent decrease was greater in 1998 than the price drops in the previous four years combined, according to information released today by the Energy Information Administration in Electric Power Annual 1998 Volume II.
The price of electricity decreased for all major consumer sectors in 1998 including the residential sector, which had a slight increase in 1997. At the national level, average monthly residential bills declined by 2.0 percent despite a 4.8-percent increase in average monthly electricity consumption.
Additional highlights from the report include:
- The average price for all electricity customers in the United States was 6.74 cents per kilowatthour in 1998. New Hampshire, whose utilities depend on high-cost nuclear and nonutility power contracts, had the highest average price at 11.93 cents per kilowatthour. This was followed by Hawaii at 11.56 cents per kilowatthour, which produces most of its generation from petroleum, and New York at 10.71 cents per kilowatthour due to high-cost generation and non-utility contracts (Figure #1).
- Idaho, whose utilities rely entirely on low-cost hydroelectric generation, had the lowest average price for all electricity customers at 4.02 cents, followed by Washington at 4.03 cents and Kentucky at 4.16 cents per kilowatthour, respectively.
- Installed capacity at U.S. nonutility generating facilities increased by 32.5 percent in 1998. This growth resulted mainly from purchases of plants from utilities. This reclassification from utility to nonutility capacity also caused the nonutility share of net generation to increase to 11.2 percent, compared with 10.6 percent in 1997.
- The cost of demand-side management programs, which encourage consumers to modify their levels and patterns of electricity consumption, continued to decrease, from $1.6 billion in 1997 to $1.4 billion in 1998, marking the fifth consecutive year of decline. Many States no longer allow utilities to include these expenditures in their rate base.
- Emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) from both utility-owned and nonutility electric power plants increased 0.7 percent, nitrogen oxides (NOx) decreased about 1.2 percent, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rose 4.0 percent--while net generation increased by 3.5 percent.
An electronic version of Electric Power Annual 1998, Volume II is available on EIA's Internet site at: www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epav2/epav2.pdf. Printed copies of the report will be available on or before December 15, 1999, from the U.S. Government Printing Office, 202/512-1800 or through EIA's National Energy Information Center, 202/586-8800.
| The report described in this press release was prepared by the Energy Information Administration, the independent statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. The information contained in the report and the press release should be attributed to the Energy Information Administration and should not be construed as advocating or reflecting any policy position of the Department of Energy or any other organization. |
EIA Program Contact: Robert Schnapp, 202/426-1211
EIA Press Contact: National Energy Information Center, 202/586-8800
EIA-99-29
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