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In California it’s about 30 to 40 cents kWh during normal times.
by ed25519FUUU 6y ago
In California it’s about 30 to 40 cents kWh during normal times.
- pixelpoet 6y agoAverage in Germany is 30 euro cents per kWh in 2019 apparently; I'm at 31c with this Energiewende Ökostrom which I sure hope is going to help transition to sustainability: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energiewende https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energiewende
- Lammy 6y agoIt didn't have to be this way :( https://www.energy-net.org/01NUKE/CALIF.HTM https://www.energy-net.org/01NUKE/CALIF.HTM "Northern California is the home of the first successful opposition to the promotion and development of commercial nuclear reactors in the U.S. In the 1950's northern and central California's privately owned utility company, PG&E, was planning to be one of the giants in the new field of nuclear energy."
- wahern 6y agoNevada or even Mexico could play regulatory arbitrage, build nuclear plants in their jurisdictions, and export the electricity to California. I suppose Mexico might be cheaper as Nevada lacks water, particularly in remote regions where there'd be the least local resistance. Baja California has the Pacific and the Gulf of California; Sonora has the Gulf of California. California's unique history of opposition to nuclear is unfortunate, but there are larger dynamics that are also suffocating nuclear in California; dynamics that at most are only marginally stronger in California as compared to elsewhere in the United States. Oregon or Washington could also build more nuclear plants. They already export a significant amount of electricity to California, especially to Southern California. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_DC_Intertie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_DC_Intertie) Nuclear is disfavored everywhere, and even where it's allowed and nominally profitable the RoI still sucks, so it doesn't take much friction to shift investment elsewhere. We need change at the national level to make nuclear practical again. Though, now I'm genuinely curious why Mexico doesn't have more than its current two nuclear plants. PEMEX? (Note: Not that I think that Mexico is some third-world country bereft of regulations and organized opposition. I'm sure many of the reasons are similar as elsewhere. Still, I bet therein lie some interesting and informative stories.)
- hnburnsy 6y agoArizona does this (see Palo Verde Generating Station, the largest power plant in the US by generation) and I benefit with $0.05230 per kWh off peak (off peak is 8 pm - 3 pm on weekdays, all day on weekends and 10 holidays).
- adanto6840 6y agoThat's about the same as the non-summer part of ToU plan in NV -- both peak & off-peak. It's about a cent cheaper off-peak right now. On the TOU plan in NV, weekdays in June thru Sept, from 1PM to 7PM, it's ~0.45/kWh -- but rest of the time it's under 6c/kWh -- comparable [or less] than your rate. Hard to believe we haven't figured out efficient, reliable, & redundant long-distance electricity transmission at this point. I generated almost 100kWh today & have used ~half that; it sure seems like transmission is almost as big of an issue as storage.
- hnburnsy 6y agoFun fact, California entities own 27% of Palo Verde Generating Station in Arizona.
- Rebelgecko 6y agoThe vast majority of nuclear power plants are built next to oceans and large lakes. The one that my sibling commenters mentioned in Arizona is the only exception to that rule in the US.
- imtringued 6y agoLarge nuclear power plants have unique cooling needs. You must place them near a big body of water or risk shutting them down because of insufficient cooling if you place then near rivers.
- addicted 6y agoNuclear is more expensive than wind or solar with way higher upfront investment and way higher lead time to start generating money. And in the US, thanks to NIMBY politics, there’s no solution for long term waste disposal either.
- dragonwriter 6y ago> > In California it’s about 30 to 40 cents kWh during normal times. > It didn't have to be this way :( And, it's not! The claimed price is in the ballpark of double the actual price.
- zbrozek 6y agoHere it is from the horse's mouth: https://www.pge.com/tariffs/assets/pdf/tariffbook/ELEC_SCHEDS_E-1.pdf https://www.pge.com/tariffs/assets/pdf/tariffbook/ELEC_SCHED... Lowest rate is $0.25/kWh and most usage will land at $0.32/kWh. Or so you'd think reading that PDF. I divided my total electric bill by my total usage and got $0.44/kWh. There was a lot of usage in tier 2 because I don't live in the cold and dark. I use a computer and refrigerator. The various confusing surcharges and credits make knowing what any given kWh will cost very difficult. We're getting fleeced.
- jjav 6y agoSorry but you're way off. Please take a look at an actual PG&E bill.
- dragonwriter 6y ago> Sorry but you're way off. No, the federal Energy Information Agency and Bureau of Labor Statistics are not wrong. > Please take a look at an actual PG&E bill. Looking at an actual bill will tell you what you pay, not what is typical in the state. And if it's a PG&E bill, it will tell you a significantly higher number than is paid in non-PG&E areas (which make up a majority of the state, and which include significant territories throughout Northern and Central California, including parts of the Bay Area, as well as pretty much all of Southern California.)
- jeffbee 6y agoThe average price paid for residential^W power in California last year was 16 cents, not 30, not 40.
- ed25519FUUU 6y agoWe paid 33 cents / kWh on the bay area last year. Not sure how the rest of CA is doing.
- kelnos 6y ago> Not sure how the rest of CA is doing. The parent provided a figure: 16 cents.
- gothroach 6y agoI'm on T3 with an excessive use surcharge, so I'm closer to 45 cents here in the North Bay.
- dragonwriter 6y ago> We paid 33 cents / kWh on the bay area last year. Not sure how the rest of CA is doing. Forget “the rest of California”, that's extremely high for the Bay Area. Last year, SF Area average retail electricity prices by month ranged between 22.9 ¢/kW and 24.0 ¢/kW. https://www.bls.gov/regions/west/news-release/averageenergyprices_sanfrancisco.htm https://www.bls.gov/regions/west/news-release/averageenergyp...
- zbrozek 6y agohttps://www.pge.com/tariffs/assets/pdf/tariffbook/ELEC_SCHEDS_E-1.pdf https://www.pge.com/tariffs/assets/pdf/tariffbook/ELEC_SCHED... Most of my usage is in tier 2 at $0.31443/kWh. In practice the actual bill comes out to $0.44/kWh because of all the random other complicated cruft. Check out slide 28: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/uploadedFiles/CPUCWebsite/Content/News_Room/NewsUpdates/2019/Cal%20Advocates%20Rate%20Trend%20Presentation%20-%20April%2024th%202019.pdf https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/uploadedFiles/CPUCWebsite/Content/Ne...
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- dragonwriter 6y ago> In California it’s about 30 to 40 cents kWh during normal times. https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/ https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/ 16.89 ¢/kW in 2019. Where did you get 30-40 ¢/kW?
- mayli 6y agohttps://www.pge.com/pge_global/common/pdfs/rate-plans/how-rates-work/Residential-Rates-Plan-Pricing-2020.pdf https://www.pge.com/pge_global/common/pdfs/rate-plans/how-ra... https://www.pge.com/tariffs/assets/pdf/tariffbook/ELEC_SCHEDS_E-1.pdf https://www.pge.com/tariffs/assets/pdf/tariffbook/ELEC_SCHED...
- function_seven 6y agoYikes. I’m in California but pay 17¢/kWh including the fixed monthly costs. (My tiers are 10.5¢, 16.8¢, and 19.1¢) I love my municipal utility.
- jjav 6y agoI don't know where that website is getting its info but it is way off from reality. The cheapest possible PG&E (Silicon Valley) rate is off-peak (after midnight) winter rate. Looking at my January bill here right in front of me, that rate is $0.16675 for transmission + $0.05525 for generation. So that's 22.2c/kWh. That's the cheapest it ever gets. The most expensive tier is peak (afternoon to midnight) in the summer, 62c/kWh.
- ihattendorf 6y ago
- bcrosby95 6y agoAs others have stated this seems high. I'm in SoCal with SCE and my rates are around 22 cents/kwh for tier 1, 28 cents/kwh for tier 2, and 35 cents/kwh for tier 3. I have a 2k square foot home and a family of 5 and we never hit tier 3.