Oklahomans who have complained about the soaring rates of electricity are supported by news that electricity price inflation is also going up dramatically. So much so, it is outpacing the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI), according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
On an annualized basis, electricity price inflation rose 5.8% compared to 2.7% for the general price level. Monthly increases for electricity prices were more than triple the overall rate of
inflation. Electricity prices rose 1.0% in the last month, while the Consumer Price Index measured a 0.3% increase.
The inflation prompted Paul Cicio, Chair of the Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition to blame higher electricity bills on the increase in transmission rates.
“These costs are out of control because monopoly utilities are exempt from the competitive bidding processes for new transmission lines that keep prices in check. Existing FERC policy is anti-consumer and anti-free market,” he said.
“FERC’s failure to ensure robust competition for transmission projects means consumers are left paying the price for energy infrastructure. With hundreds of billions in new transmission
planned, this problem will only get worse unless regulators act to protect consumers”
The summer heatwave has underscored the cost of electricity accelerating the trend of rising prices. In the PJM, the nation’s largest RTO network, transmission costs have risen as a
percentage of the price of electricity from 7% to nearly 28%.
Read more about the benefits of transmission competition in ETCC’s comprehensive report.
The Coalition is a nation-wide coalition committed to increasing competition in the country’s electricity transmission infrastructure. It also represents 95 companies and organizations from all 50 states including manufacturing groups, retail electric consumers, state consumer advocates, think tanks, and non-incumbent transmission developers.