U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON DC 20585
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 1998
Industrial Electricity Prices Lowest Since 1981
Industrial customers in 1997 paid the lowest prices for electricity in 17 years, according to new figures released today by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). "Four straight years of price declines for industrial customers suggest they've been using their size and anticipation of lower prices resulting from greater competition in generation to win concessions from electric utilities," said Jay Hakes, EIA Administrator.
In contrast, the price of electricity to residential customers went up slightly between 1996 and 1997, reaching its highest level ever (Table 1). However, average monthly bills actually decreased because of lower electricity usage due to generally milder weather nationwide.
Additional highlights from two new EIA reports released today, Electric Sales and Revenue 1997 and Electric Power Annual 1997, Volume II, include:
- The average price for all electricity customers in the United States was 6.85 cents per kilowatthour in 1997. Hawaii, whose utilities depend on high cost petroleum for over 99 percent of their generation, had the highest average price at 12.49 cents per kilowatthour, followed by New Hampshire and New York at 11.66 cents and 11.13 cents, respectively.
- Idaho, whose utilities rely entirely on low cost hydroelectric generation, had the lowest average price for all electricity customers at 3.87 cents, followed by Kentucky and Washington at 4.03 cents and 4.04 cents, respectively.
- Sales to end-use customers through State-administered pilot programs (to test the viability of retail electric competition) more than doubled between 1996 and 1997, although that amount represents only one-fifth of 1 percent of all retail sales.
- Net income for major U.S. investor-owned electric utilities decreased by 13.4 percent to $18.4 billion, as utilities prepare for restructuring of the industry. Extraordinary deductions (such as write-offs of purchased power contracts and uneconomic assets, sometimes referred to as "stranded assets") of $2.5 billion accounted for most of the reduced net income.
- Net income for major U.S. publicly owned utilities declined 4.5 percent to $2.1 billion because of higher operating expenses related to generation.
- Nonutility generating capacity and gross generation accounted for 9 percent of total electric capacity and 10 percent of total electric generation.
An electronic version of Electric Sales and Revenue 1997 is available on EIA's Internet site at: ftp://ftp.eia.doe.gov/pub/electricity/esr.pdf. Electric Power Annual 1997, Volume II can be found at: ftp://ftp.eia.doe.gov/pub/electricity/epav2.pdf. Printed copies of the reports will be available on or before November 10, 1998 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: Linda Bromley, 202/426-1164
EIA Press Contact: National Energy Information Center, 202/586-8800, infoctr@eia.doe.gov
EIA-98-26
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