Electricity Data

U.S. Residential Electricity Prices Trending Up

ed — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 16:34:11 +0000

Residential electricity rates have risen 1.93% from 1992 to 2010 on a compounded annual basis, which compares favorably with the rate of inflation over the same time frame. Nevertheless, the trend remains up. From Texas to California to Tennessee, concern over rising rates remains high.

The chart below from The Energy Information Administration shows the monthly average electricity rate in the U.S. from 2000-2010 with projections through 2012. Annual growth rates are graphed at the bottom. Note the annual growth rate (not compounded growth rate) was much higher through the first part of the decade. However, projections of 0.6% and 0.7% in 2011 and 2012 appear unusually low by comparison.

Added to the EIA chart is the red price channel. Price channeling is a stock market charting technique, but used here to illustrate that electricity rate projections are predicted to remain near the bottom of the channel the next two years. Is this a reasonable expectation? Not likely. In light of current expansionary monetary policies, price increases in the commodities and raw materials used in electric generation will push electricity prices above the 0.7% expected increase.

Electric power industry lobbying expenses 1998-2010

ed — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 19:04:52 +0000

If money talks, then electric utilities have been some of the loudest voices in Washington over the past decade. Electric power utilities ranked third in the nation in lobbying expenses over the period from 1998-2010, according to OpenSecrets.org, a non-partisan group which tracks the influence of campaign money on elections and public policy.

Over the 12 year period, electric utilities spent $1.42 billion on lobbying, topped only by insurance at $1.5 billion and pharmaceuticals at $2.08 billion, according to OpenSecrets' website. In 2010 alone, the industry spent $191 million, employing 902 lobbyists in the process. PG&E Corp. was the biggest lobbyist in 2010 spending $45.4 million, followed by Southern Co. ($13.2 million), Edison Electric Institute ($13.1 million), American Electric Power ($10.3 million), and Duke Energy ($6.5 million).

The following charts show industry level spending since 1998, plus expenditures of the industry's three national trade associations.

Electric Industry Lobbying Expenditures

Edison Electric Institute

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association

American Public Power Association

Chart and Data Source: OpenSecrets.org

Employment projections in electric power industry

ed — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:34:17 +0000

The electric power industry is shrinking in terms of total employment and will decline further if Bureau of Labor Statistic employment projections hold. The data survey is conducted every ten years and covers total employment in the generation, transmission, and distribution (GTD) sectors of the industry. Natual gas and water utilities are not included in the following employment projections.

Total power industry employment has fallen from 443,800 in 1998 to 404,700 in 2008. BLS projections estimate the industry at 345,700 employees by 2018.

On an absolute basis, the changes in industry employment from 1998 to 2008 is a net loss of 39,100 jobs. By 2018, the industry employment level is expected to lose another 59,000.

The final chart shows the annual growth rate in employment in the electric power industry. Employment prospects are not as promising as other industries. From 1998 to 2008, the annual employment growth rate was -0.9%. Unfortunately the decline will accelerate to -1.6% during the 2008-2018 period.

Data Source

Idaho project triples wind generating capacity, state ranks 15th nationally

ed — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:29:54 +0000

The largest wind generation project in Idaho history is now complete and delivering power to Idaho consumers, according to local sources. The wind farm is a joint venture between GE Energy Financial Services and Exergy Development Group, Atlantic Power Corporation and Reunion Power.

The $500 million project will provide 183 megawatts of capacity, up from the state's current capacity of 60 megawatts. Texas leads the nation in wind-generation capacity with 1841 megawatts according to January 2011 data from the Energy Information Administration (data available through October 2010). Idaho's ranking in wind generating capacity moves to 15th in the nation with the new project, up from 23rd. From Ocotber 2009 to October 2010, Idaho increased wind generation capacity by only 27 megawatts, an 82% increase. However, the addition of 183 megawatts reflects a 305% increase.

Nationally, wind generating capacity continues to increase. Capacity increased 16.9% in the past year from 6,814 megawatts to 7,953. However the bulk of the increase came from independent power producers (IPP), like the Idaho project, rather than traditional electric utilities. The following chart breakdowns the past year's growth in capacity by sector. Traditional electric utilities increased their wind generating capacity by 11.7% in the past year, while IPPs increased capacity at an annual rate of 17.7%.

Data Source

Colorado electric consumers have third lowest residential bills in nation

ed — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 13:00:07 +0000

There is an interesting article in the Denver Post Sunday titled, "Xcel electricity rates up 21 percent in Colorado." Although accurate, the article is misleading. It creates the impression electric utility rates in Colorado are high and getting higher. By Colorado perspectives, rates are rising. From a national perspective, many states would be happy to swap places with Colorado.

The paper reports Colorado residential customers pay an average of $68 a month for electricity. Although the article mentions that Colorado's rates remain below the national average, it fails to mention just how far below the national average. When looking at rates only, Colorado ranked 29th in the nation in lowest residential rates, with an average residential retail price of 11.19 cents/KWH compared with the national average of 11.62. However, the residential consumers in Colorado pay some of the lowest bills in the nation.

According to 2009 data from U.S. Energy Information Administration, the latest for which monthly bill information is available, the Colorado average residential bill of $68 a month ranks as the third lowest in the nation. Only New Mexico and Utah, with average residential bills of $64.30 and $66.16 respectively, rank lower. The average monthly bill in the Mountain Division of the Census region is $89.38. The region includes Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Colorado's average monthly bill is 23% below the regional average and 34% below the national average of $104.52. Even if Xcel were to raise its rates another 20% over the next six years as Xcel proposes, the average monthly bill would be only $82.43, still far below the current national average.

Union vs Non-union wages 2000-2010

ed — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 01:05:30 +0000

Non-union workers are falling behind their union coworkers according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Statistics. Union weekly earnings at U.S. utilities rose from $838 in 2000 to $1193 in 2010, while non-union wages rose from $806 to $1014 during the same period.

Another way of looking at the wage difference is union weekly wages grew at an annual compounded rate of 3.59% over the decade while non-union wages grew at 2.32%. If the current trend continues over the coming decade, union weekly are expected to grow to $1697, while non-union weekly wages grow to $1275. By 2020, the union wage premium will be 33% over non-union wages, up from the current 17%.

Related Article: Union membership in electric utilities

Texas Reliability Entity generating capacity margin chart

ed — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 02:20:29 +0000

Power generators in Texas have come under criticism this week over the possibility of buying power from Mexico to meet high consumer demands because of extreme winter weather. However, power suppliers have been able to meet those demands for the most part. Below is chart of the demand and capacity resources in the region.

The Texas Reliability Entity (TRE) ensure the reliability of the bulk power system in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) region. TRE serves 85% of the Texas load and 75% of the Texas land mass.

The chart plots consumer demand and capacity resources in megawatts. The difference between the two, called capacity margin, is reserve generating capacity utilized during extreme winter and summer peak loads. While having a large reserve is desirable in extreme conditions, idle capacity is costly. Power generators have to balance the trade off, maintaining just enough reserve capacity to meet emergencies but not over building the system. Note the difference between the blue and green columns. TRE systems maintains a certain percentage of excess generating capacity over consumer demand. This capacity margin is represented by the red line, expressed in percent on the right.

Data Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

Number new power plants down in 2009, capacity up

ed — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:43:30 +0000

Extreme cold temperatures in the southwestern U.S. is raising concerns over available power generating capacity as some power companies were forced implemented rolling blackouts (link....link...link).

Here's a look at the data. The number of power plants retired in 2009 exceeded the number of new plants built, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The November 2010 data shows 114 power plants built in 2009 and 132 retired. New and retired coal, petroleum, and gas power plants are charted below. Not charted, but important to the mix now, is the addition of 120 wind generating plants built in 2009, which exceeds the total number of new coal, petroleum, and gas plants combined.

As far as generating capacity, the additional (new) plants in the above chart represent an increase of 12,874 megawatts and retirements represent 7,100 megawatts, for a net gain of 5,774 megawatts in 2009. With the added generating capacity from wind, another 9,581 megawatts, and other sources, generating capacity increased by 23,144 megawatts in 2009. Retirements accounts for 7,249 megawatts, providing a net increase of 15,895 megawatts to the nations power system.

Utility unemployment rates falls to 3.4% in January 2011

ed — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:52:02 +0000

The unemployment rate in utilities fell to 3.4% in January 2011, down from 4.2% the previous month, according to data release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics today. The rate is also a significant improvement upon the previous to years when January 2010 and January 2009 recorded unemployment rates of 4.2% and 6.3%, respectively.

Nationally, the utility sector is doing far better than the overall economy. The U.S. unemployment rate fell from 9.4% in December to 9.0% in January, remaining well above the utility sector's 3.4% rate. While the lower unemployment rate is welcoming news for the nation, the reduction is attributed to workers who quit looking for a job. Only 36,000 new jobs were created in January, while 600,000 gave up looking. When workers job out of the labor force, they are no longer counted as unemployed.

Union membership in utilities increases 8.4%, wages up 7.1% in 2010

ed — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 22:06:24 +0000

Union membership in U.S. utilities increased 8.4% in 2010 over the previous year, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics latest report (see below) on union membership released January 21, 2011. The data does not breakdown membership among the various utility segments.

Union membership climbed from 237,000 in 2009 to 257,00 in 2010 (Table 3 BLS 2010 Union Membership Report), while total employment in utilities rose from 906,000 to 909,000 during the same period. Union members now comprise 28.3% of the utility workforce, up from 26.1% in 2009. When the total number of employee represented by unions are counted, the percentage of union representation is even higher. In 2010, 30.3% of all utility employees were represented by unions compared to 28.3% in 2009.

Utility employees are bucking the national trend. Union membership nationally declined last year by 612,000. Nationally, 14.7 million workers were union members, representing 11.9% of the workforce, down from 12.3% in 2009.

At over 30 percent unionization, the utility workforce closely resembles the public sector and ranks as the highest rate of unionization among all industries in the private sector. The public sector workforce is substantially more unionized than the private sector, 36.2% compared to 6.9% in 2010.

For utilities with high union membership wishing to control labor costs, think again. Annual wages for union members increased 7.1% in 2010 compared with only 0.6% for non-union members (Table 4). Wages for union workers continue to outpace their non-union counterparts. The union wage premium (union wages compared to non-union wages) was 11.1% in 2009 and 18.2% in 2010. In other words, union member wages were 18.2% higher than non-union wages in 2010. Looking from the other side of the coin, the non-union wage discount was 10% in 2009 and 15.4% in 2010.