A friend of mine was commenting on his electric service at his house and how the last two electric bills were double what they normally are. This price increase has really been a significant hurdle to many family budgets as it eats into things like grocery store budgets.
What most people do is realize this is just too high, so you go shopping on the internet and look at the prices. You soon realize that a 12-month contract is anywhere from 19-27 cents per kWh as of June 2022.
There has been a short reprieve on these sky-high prices but not by much, but it may soon be going back up again to these historical highs. A low 12-month rate in the Houston Texas area is 18.1 cents per kWh so not the 9 cent rates many are accustomed to paying.
So why have many people’s energy bill doubled in price?
Answer: The fighting in Russia and the Ukraine has created a huge demand for Liquid Natural Gas which is being exported from Texas and other states to European countries. This has raised the price of electricity generation which is then reflected on your energy bill. Since 47% of electricity is generated using natural gas in Texas this is why the war has caused such a dramatic increase in your electric bill.
Fortunately, the forecast for 2023 by energy.gov shows that electric rates should come back to prices most of us are familiar with paying our electric company. Let’s all hope this forecast stays on target.
Donny Eisenbach
Donny has been writing about the deregulated energy markets since early 2007. His knowledge has helped consumers lower their electricity cost.
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