Solar proponents claim that electric rates in California have been going up significantly faster than inflation, making solar a good deal. Here’s the data to prove it.
http://www.energy.ca.gov/electricity/weighted_avg_retail_prices.html
Utility-Wide Weighted Average Retail Electricity Prices 1980-2005
(nominal $) (cents/kWh)
Year PG&E SCE SDG&E LADWP SMUD BGP ESPs Other Municipal Utilities
Historical
1980 4.76 6.09 8.43 5.61 2.53 6.72
1981 6.05 6.45 9.36 6.16 2.82 6.48
1982 6.24 7.37 11.26 6.11 3.03 7.60
1983 6.42 7.42 11.66 5.85 3.75 7.48
1984 7.86 7.64 11.80 6.08 3.92 7.79
1985 8.73 7.94 12.84 6.54 4.56 7.81
1986 8.72 8.20 11.66 6.74 5.45 7.65
1987 7.56 8.19 10.42 7.09 6.64 8.22
1988 7.85 8.51 9.82 7.57 7.35 9.05
1989 8.79 9.17 9.51 8.06 7.41 9.50
1990 9.24 9.45 9.22 8.39 8.27 9.82
1991 9.87 10.07 9.36 8.23 8.30 9.91
1992 10.42 10.36 9.47 8.62 8.21 10.34
1993 10.59 10.06 9.89 9.13 7.69 10.96
1994 10.71 10.28 9.69 9.53 7.96 11.49
1995 9.89 10.46 9.67 9.14 8.18 11.43
1996 10.20 10.22 10.36 9.12 8.14 11.36
1997 10.30 10.22 10.70 9.36 7.92 10.51
1998 9.74 10.10 10.16 9.76 7.63 10.95
1999 9.81 10.05 10.16 9.75 7.60 10.96
2000 9.82 10.12 13.72 9.79 7.61 10.97
2001 11.74 12.87 13.66 9.79 9.26 13.57
2002 12.72 12.82 14.45 9.80 9.27 12.72
2003 13.18 13.16 14.26 9.80 9.81 12.43
2004 12.72 12.18 14.55 9.66 8.60 11.88 6.19 9.34
2005 13.07 12.93 14.72 9.31 10.10 11.97 6.44 9.51
Note: Energy Commission staff estimated these prices using data from EIA, utility websites and submittals during the IEPR cycles.
Utility-Wide Prices – These include prices for residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customer classes.
BGP – This category includes electricity rates for customers of the cities of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena.
Other Municipal Utilities – This category includes rates for Redding Electric Utility, Silicon Valley Power, City of Anaheim, Riverside, Roseville, Modesto Irrigation District, Turlock Irrigation District, and Imperial Irrigation District.
ESPs – These rates only reflect the generation portion of the total rate. Other charges such as T&D must be added. ESPs – Energy Service Providers include Arizona Power Service (APS), Constellation New Energy (CNE), Pilot Power Group, Strategic Energy LLC, and Sempra Energy Solutions.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html
Table 5.6.A. Average Retail Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, November 2007 and 2006 (Cents per kilowatthour)
Residential Commercial Industrial1 Transportation All Sectors
California Nov-07 Nov-06 Nov-07 Nov-06 Nov-07 Nov-06 Nov-07 Nov-06 Nov-07 Nov-06
California 14.26 14.47 11.94 12.23 9.75 9.66 7.8 7.27 12.23 12.38
http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/115.htm
Average Revenue per Kilowatthour by State
(Lowest to Highest Rate as of November 2007)
Rank State Average Electricity Rate for
All Sectors
(Cents per Kilowatthour)
39 Maryland 11.58
40 District of Columbia 11.99
41 Vermont 12.11
42 California 12.23
43 New Jersey 12.84
44 Alaska 13.12
45 Rhode Island 13.55
46 Maine 13.66
47 New Hampshire 13.68
48 Massachusetts 14.71
49 New York 14.90
50 Connecticut 15.77
51 Hawaii 23.67
More info http://www.energy.ca.gov/electricity/index.html#rates