A coalition created for increased competition in the nation’s electricity transmission infrastrucutre says the latest inflation numbers show electricity price inflation continues hurting households and businesses.
The Electricity Transmission Competition Coaltion points to inflation data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics which showed the August CPI measured monthly electricity services inflation at an increase of .2%.
Over the last year, electricity services inflation rose 2.1%, compared to energy commodities which fell -4.2%. On a 12-month basis, electricity inflation is 6.3% higher than CPI energy commodities.
“Electricity inflation is a persistent problem and is being driven by the accelerating cost of electricity transmission projects that are not being competitively bid to reduce costs,” chargedd Paul Cicio, Chair of the Coalition.
“The consistent increase in the cost of electricity is forcing homeowners to spend more on their monthly utility bills and reduces the competitiveness of manufacturing. FERC has failed to enforce Order 1000, a decade old rule that was to supposed usher in an era of transmission competition. Instead, only 3 percent of all transmission projects are competitively bid.”
He said the nation will need to spend an estimated $2.1 trillion according to Princeton University to achieve its net-zero goals. But Cicio says it could be made cheaper with electricity transmission competition.
Source: Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition