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Those numbers seem totally off to me. I have a municipal utility company, so they don't have to worry about profit or anything like that. The lowest possible r
by Rebelgecko 3y ago
Those numbers seem totally off to me.
I have a municipal utility company, so they don't have to worry about profit or anything like that. The lowest possible residential rate, for people who use a minimal amount of electricity at the cheapest times, is $0.2106/kWh. And that's before amortizing the daily "power access fee". Most people will be in the middle or top tier, where the marginal price can exceed $0.40/kWh.
For PG&E, it looks like electricity starts at $0.38/kWh after taxes and goes up to $0.48/kWh for heavy users[1]
For SoCal Edison, the cheapest tier is $0.36/kWh and goes up to $0.46/kWh for heavy users.
Unless there's some secret to getting cheap electricity, or the numbers in your link don't include state taxes/fees, it seems impossible to me that the average residential kilowatt-hour of electricity only costs $0.19.
Edit: FWIW, the BLS CPI calculations[3] say that rates in California metros range from $0.274-$0.475. They don't publish a CA average, but the "Pacific" regional average of $0.228/kWh is still above the $0.196/kWh figure, even after being brought down by states like Washington where electricity is ~75% cheaper than places like San Diego
[1]: https://www.pge.com/pge_global/common/pdfs/rate-plans/how-rates-work/Residential-Rates-Plan-Pricing.pdf https://www.pge.com/pge_global/common/pdfs/rate-plans/how-ra...
[2]: https://www.sce.com/residential/rates/Standard-Residential-Rate-Plan https://www.sce.com/residential/rates/Standard-Residential-R...
[3]: https://www.bls.gov/regions/midwest/data/averageenergyprices_selectedareas_table.htm https://www.bls.gov/regions/midwest/data/averageenergyprices...
- wilg 3y agoThis is an interesting point. The link (nor the GP) doesn't claim it's "residential" though, just "retail". Perhaps commercial rates significantly lower it? If you have better data, I'd love to see if it affects the substance of the GPs post.
- Rebelgecko 3y agoOh, that makes sense. My understanding is that industrial users of electricity can get some hefty discounts. Unfortunately that isn't helpful for the average person or when comparing cost of living between two regions.
- mdeeks 3y agoFor PG&E it appears they have an EV specific rate plan that is cheaper. It says it is $0.27/kWh for off peak charging. https://www.pge.com/pge_global/local/images/data/en-us/rate-plans/rate-plan-options/rates-ev2-a-745px.png https://www.pge.com/pge_global/local/images/data/en-us/rate-... I can't link directly to the tab but its the second tab on this page: https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/rate-plans/rate-plan-options/electric-vehicle-base-plan/electric-vehicle-base-plan.page https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/rate-plans/rate-plan-o... If you're lucky enough to live in Alameda, it has its own municipal power. Their EV rates are significantly cheaper at $0.15/kWh https://www.alamedamp.com/393/TOU-Time-of-Use-Rate-for-EV-Owners https://www.alamedamp.com/393/TOU-Time-of-Use-Rate-for-EV-Ow...
- m463 3y agoyes but during the day the ev plan is 58c/kwh
- Rebelgecko 3y agoI think offpeak EV charging is a relatively small fraction of overall electricity consumption.
- mdeeks 3y agoSorry this article was EV specific but I see now the OP meant electricity costs in general