My electric bill in DC is up over 150% since 2020.
jox218 on
Totally unrelated, I just had a $750 electric bill and I want to throw up!
themodgepodge on
Is this based on base $/kWh pricing or effective cost with all transmission and other fees and such bundled in?
syphax on
Why is this not just regular old inflation? Shrinkflation would be if they redefined a kWh to only be 3 million Joules or something.
oberwolfach on
It’s not “shrinkflation” in the sense most people think of it. Consumer electric prices are generally the sum of a supply component and a delivery component. The supply component primarily reflects the cost of fuel; for DC, the marginal fuel is usually natural gas. The delivery component reflects things like grid maintenance costs. Natural gas was extremely cheap for much of 2024 (pricing varies by location, but think levels on the order of $2-3 per mmbtu), because the preceding 2023-2024 winter was much warmer than normal and the market was so oversupplied that producers had to make emergency cuts to avoid overfilling storage facilities. Since then, the price has normalized because the 2024-2025 winter was relatively cold and cleared the oversupply (think levels on the order of $3-4 per mmbtu). Typically the supply rates charged to consumers lags the market rates for fuel by several months, but the timing still very likely reflects a period of low natural gas prices transitioning to a period of near-normal natural gas prices.
Snl1738 on
I thought solar would make electricity cheaper
quietcrisp on
$0.17 -> $0.22/kWh sucks but meanwhile in the UK I pay $0.34/kWh ðŸ«
7 Comments
My electric bill in DC is up over 150% since 2020.
Totally unrelated, I just had a $750 electric bill and I want to throw up!
Is this based on base $/kWh pricing or effective cost with all transmission and other fees and such bundled in?
Why is this not just regular old inflation? Shrinkflation would be if they redefined a kWh to only be 3 million Joules or something.
It’s not “shrinkflation” in the sense most people think of it. Consumer electric prices are generally the sum of a supply component and a delivery component. The supply component primarily reflects the cost of fuel; for DC, the marginal fuel is usually natural gas. The delivery component reflects things like grid maintenance costs. Natural gas was extremely cheap for much of 2024 (pricing varies by location, but think levels on the order of $2-3 per mmbtu), because the preceding 2023-2024 winter was much warmer than normal and the market was so oversupplied that producers had to make emergency cuts to avoid overfilling storage facilities. Since then, the price has normalized because the 2024-2025 winter was relatively cold and cleared the oversupply (think levels on the order of $3-4 per mmbtu). Typically the supply rates charged to consumers lags the market rates for fuel by several months, but the timing still very likely reflects a period of low natural gas prices transitioning to a period of near-normal natural gas prices.
I thought solar would make electricity cheaper
$0.17 -> $0.22/kWh sucks but meanwhile in the UK I pay $0.34/kWh ðŸ«