#electricity-prices

#electricity-prices

Limited transmission capacity increases prices by creating "congestion," with overloaded power lines unable to carry more electricity because of overheating risks. That leads to using higher-cost, less-efficient electricity to meet demand. "It's like a two-way highway that was built decades ago that's now expected to carry rush-hour traffic to and from a major city every time - every day of the year [there are] more cars, bigger trucks, constant congestion,"

The nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute studied U.S. households' "energy wallet" - what they pay for gasoline, power, natural gas, heating oil and propane, and more. The big picture: Last year, total "wallet" spending averaged $5,530 per household, with $1,860 for electric bills and $2,930 for gasoline. That's pretty similar to 2020 levels in inflation-adjusted dollars. But there was lots of variation in between, largely from gasoline price changes, while power has been steadier.

The nationwide average retail residential price for 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity rose from 16.41 cents to 17.47 cents between May 2024 and May 2025, a gain of about 6.5%.

Homeowners in NYC can save around $15,000 on solar installations before the federal tax credit expires in 2025, which requires systems to be operational by then.