3 ms·

I always like to put numbers to things. To put some numbers to this, the average residential rates for electricity in modern-day MI is around ~$0.20 per kWh. Lo

I always like to put numbers to things. To put some numbers to this, the average residential rates for electricity in modern-day MI is around ~$0.20 per kWh. Louisiana appears to be one of the cheapest states in this regard, averaging around $0.12 per kWh. As a selfish comparison point, the average residential rate for Finland, an EU country known for its recent nuclear developments (great!), is ~$0.25 per kWh, about 25% higher. France, well known for its pro-nuke approach, seems to average ~$0.28 per kWh, or about 40% higher. Germany, which has... Not done so, is around $0.40 per kWh, or about twice as high. Even Iceland, famed for its "almost free" geothermal power, seems to average $0.16-0.18 kWh for an ordinary residential connection - one must assume aluminum plants, etc can cut much better deals with the geothermal plants, through strategies like close colocation, of course. These are very important factors to keep in mind, even if the absolute numbers seem small. Expensive electricity makes everything else more expensive as well. It touches every facet of our lives in a way not even food does. And making electricity cheaper probably benefits human welfare en masse in a huge way. It's a shame power management doesn't seem to be very attractive to recent EE grads like myself since it pays much worse and requires much more credentialing to break into compared to, say, WordPress development.

Gare 2y ago
> These are very important factors to keep in mind, even if the absolute numbers seem small. Expensive electricity makes everything else more expensive as well. It touches every facet of our lives in a way not even food does. It has to be noted that in most EU countries electricity for business is quite cheaper than for households. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Electricity_price_statistics https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...
- hiAndrewQuinn 2y ago
  Correct, but this doesn't create as much of a wedge as you might suspect. It's also true in the US that commercial electricity tends to be 20-50% cheaper than the home delivered stuff. In the EU the additional tax burden means the difference is usually closer to 40-70%. Ironically, in this way, you could describe the EU as being far more business-friendly than the United States (by dint of being much more consumer-hostile, but hey). Making the fundamental power generation cheaper is probably still the best lever a private actor can push.
wreckdropibex 2y ago
> the average residential rate for Finland, an EU country known for its recent nuclear developments (great!), is ~$0.25 per kWh, about 25% higher Huh? More like 11-17c/kWh. - Average spot price for 2024 was less than 6c/kwh https://www.nodesk.fi/sahkon-keskihinta-2024/ https://www.nodesk.fi/sahkon-keskihinta-2024/ - Transmission costs are around 2-6c/kwh https://sahkokuningas.fi/sahkon-siirtohinta/ https://sahkokuningas.fi/sahkon-siirtohinta/ - Taxes bit less than 3c/kWh Even if you add all those up, you only get max 15c/kWh. As of today, you can get 2 year fixed price for less than 8c/kWh, even with that it only adds up to 17c/kWh, with most expensive transmission costs, taxes rounded up and energy price rounded up. Nuclear energy has contributed to the cheap price, but so has wind power https://www.talouselama.fi/uutiset/te/bfe4f5f4-0329-4cfe-9897-12dde4a59ff4 https://www.talouselama.fi/uutiset/te/bfe4f5f4-0329-4cfe-989...
- hiAndrewQuinn 2y ago
  https://countryeconomy.com/energy-and-environment/electricity-price-household/finland https://countryeconomy.com/energy-and-environment/electricit... is where I'm pulling most of my data from, which itself seems to be using Eurostat as a source.
  - korhojoa 2y ago
    Maybe this is a "including everything" proce, i.e. transmission, connection fees, etc. I currently pay a flat ~8c/kWh. I could save by using spot price electricity but as I don't use much, this keeps the monthly cost predictable.

Gare 2y ago

> These are very important factors to keep in mind, even if the absolute numbers seem small. Expensive electricity makes everything else more expensive as well. It touches every facet of our lives in a way not even food does. It has to be noted that in most EU countries electricity for business is quite cheaper than for households. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Electricity_price_statistics https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...

hiAndrewQuinn 2y ago
Correct, but this doesn't create as much of a wedge as you might suspect. It's also true in the US that commercial electricity tends to be 20-50% cheaper than the home delivered stuff. In the EU the additional tax burden means the difference is usually closer to 40-70%. Ironically, in this way, you could describe the EU as being far more business-friendly than the United States (by dint of being much more consumer-hostile, but hey). Making the fundamental power generation cheaper is probably still the best lever a private actor can push.

wreckdropibex 2y ago

> the average residential rate for Finland, an EU country known for its recent nuclear developments (great!), is ~$0.25 per kWh, about 25% higher Huh? More like 11-17c/kWh. - Average spot price for 2024 was less than 6c/kwh https://www.nodesk.fi/sahkon-keskihinta-2024/ https://www.nodesk.fi/sahkon-keskihinta-2024/ - Transmission costs are around 2-6c/kwh https://sahkokuningas.fi/sahkon-siirtohinta/ https://sahkokuningas.fi/sahkon-siirtohinta/ - Taxes bit less than 3c/kWh Even if you add all those up, you only get max 15c/kWh. As of today, you can get 2 year fixed price for less than 8c/kWh, even with that it only adds up to 17c/kWh, with most expensive transmission costs, taxes rounded up and energy price rounded up. Nuclear energy has contributed to the cheap price, but so has wind power https://www.talouselama.fi/uutiset/te/bfe4f5f4-0329-4cfe-9897-12dde4a59ff4 https://www.talouselama.fi/uutiset/te/bfe4f5f4-0329-4cfe-989...

hiAndrewQuinn 2y ago
https://countryeconomy.com/energy-and-environment/electricity-price-household/finland https://countryeconomy.com/energy-and-environment/electricit... is where I'm pulling most of my data from, which itself seems to be using Eurostat as a source.
- korhojoa 2y ago
  Maybe this is a "including everything" proce, i.e. transmission, connection fees, etc. I currently pay a flat ~8c/kWh. I could save by using spot price electricity but as I don't use much, this keeps the monthly cost predictable.