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Electricity: What A Bargain!

Click to View and Print PDFAmerican homes use more electricity today than ever. Yet the portion of our household budgets that we devote to our electricity bills has actually declined.

That’s because electricity prices—unlike the prices for most other goods—did not keep pace with the rate of inflation for many years.

Click to View and Print PDFThe growth rate for electricity prices remains comparable to, and even lower than, other important goods. Overall, the price of one kilowatt-hour of electricity (adjusted for inflation) has increased at a lower rate that other consumer goods like gasoline, health care, housing, food, and transportation.1

Today electric companies are facing steadily increasing costs to generate and deliver electricity. While electric companies make continuous efficiency improvements and are working with state regulators to contain costs and to keep electricity prices as low as possible, the fact is that rising electricity costs are becoming inevitable throughout the United States. And yet, electricity remains one of the true bargains among crucial U.S. commodities.

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Reduced Emissions

1Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration (EIA).