The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Electric Power Monthly, which provides official energy statistics, reports that, as of July 2008, residential and commercial customers in New York State paid the highest electric rates in the continental United States.Residential rates were 19.75 cents/kwh and commercial rates hit 19.52 cents/kwh.
How did this happen in a state that has cheap hydropower from Niagara Falls and the Robert Moses St. Lawrence project and a fleet of nuclear power plants that produce 44% of the state's non-natural gas power?
The answer: the "restructuring" (read deregulation) of New York's electric industry turned state-regulated power plants over to owners who can wholesale their power at or close to NYISO spot market prices.
The price for all electricity in the NYISO markets, regardless of the hour and the cost of production, is the price imposed by the market clearing bidder (the one with the lowest successful bid).
The post from the PULP blog:
http://pulpnetwork.blogspot.com/2008/11/excelsior-ny-achieves-highest-electric.html
