The national average price of electricity in the United States rose by 10.9% from April 2005 to April 2006, according to a survey conducted by NUS Consulting Group (Park Ridge, New Jersey, U.S.). The survey sampled 24 of the largest investor-owned electric companies in the country using an industrial model of monthly usage totaling 450,000 kWh with a monthly demand of 1000 kW.

The average price of electricity in the United States was 8.82 cents/kWh in April 2006, compared with 7.95 cents/kWh in April 2005. According to NUS Consulting, the highest power prices can be found in states where the electricity market has been deregulated. “Considered in the past by many as a means of lowering electricity prices, the central promise of deregulation has yet to be fulfilled for many consumers,” the consulting firm stated.

The largest price escalation over the past year occurred in Texas, with Texas utility customers seeing an increase of 46.4% in their electricity bills. Other utilities with notable increases included: Reliant Energy (Texas) at 42.3%; Florida Power & Light (Florida) at 28.7%; Public Service Electric & Gas (New Jersey) at 28.4%; and Progress Energy (Florida) at 24.3%.

The survey found the lowest-priced utilities included Dominion Power (Virginia) at 5.18 cents/kWh, Ameren UE (Missouri) at 5.46 cents/kWh, Duke Power (North Carolina) at 5.46 cents/kWh, Ohio Power at 5.50 cents/kWh, and Xcel Energy (Minnesota) at 5.73 cents/kWh.