by Jbs012209e3 — January 26, 2009—In 2007, the average retail price of electricity for all customers increased to 9.13 cents per kilowatthour (kWh), an increase of 2.6% over 2006, according to a new report from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Information Administration (EIA). Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price 2007 provides annual statistics for sales, revenue, number of consumers, and average retail price by entity, sector, census division, and state.
According to the report, five states saw the average price of electricity rise by 10% or more from 2006 to 2007. Prices increased in all regions of the country except the West South Central. The larger increases occurred in New England, the East North Central, and the South Atlantic. Another nine states saw 5-10% increases between 2006 and 2007.
States with restructuring programs such as Maryland and Delaware had portions of their retail electricity price caps lifted in 2006, contributing to significant price hikes. Delaware’s increase in electricity rates for residential customers is reportedly scheduled to continue through 2009 as a result of state legislation. Illinois and Connecticut were affected by a shift from unbundled to bundled electricity services.
The average industrial price increased to 6.4 cents per kWh, or 3.7% higher than 2006. Average commercial prices increased to 9.7 cents per kWh, a 2.0% increase over 2006. Industrial and commercial retail sales increased 1.6% and 2.8%, respectively.
When compared to 2006, 2007 industrial sector retail revenue increased by 5.5% to $65.7 billion and commercial sector retail revenue increased 4.9% to $128.9 billion. The difference between increased sales versus increased revenues, 1.6% compared to 5.5% for the industrial sector and 2.8% compared to 4.9% for the commercial sector, is primarily due to increased fossil fuel prices from 2006 to 2007, according to EIA.
Total retail sales of electricity in 2007 were 3,765 million MWh compared to 3,670 million MWh in 2006, reflecting an annual growth in electricity sales of 2.6%, equaling the growth in sales from 2005 to 2006 and outpacing the 1.8% average annual growth since 1995.
Total retail revenues in 2007 were $343.7 billion. Annual growth in electricity revenues in 2007 was 5.3%, reflecting increases in the cost of fuels used to generate electricity. Revenues in the commercial sector increased by 4.9%, and revenues in the industrial sector increased 5.5%. According to the report, percentage increases in revenues in all sectors outpaced their respective increases in sales due to higher average retail prices in 2007.
