FERC Website Update Features Consumer Power Costs and Grid Reliability

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has announced new updates and features to its website focusing on the cost consumers pay for power as well as its reliability.

Visitors to FERC.gov will be able to see the retail cost of electricity by state and the amount of time and the number of times they are without power during a year. The source for the data is the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The map provides the retail cost of power by state on the left. The darker the color, the higher the cost. The cost of electricity to power a home or small business varies from state to state, and state regulators determine the retail rates paid as a consumer.

FERC affects the rates through its regulation of transmission and wholesale power. FERC oversses interconnected high-voltage transmission lines across the country.

The reliability of power by region and state will also be seen on the page. Lower numbers will be considered good. FERC’s reliability jurisdiction is primarily over high-voltage lines, including the infrastructure network necessary for operating and maintaining grid reliability.