Utah posted the lowest electricity costs in the nation for 2023.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration showed Utah residents only paid an average of $86 a month for electricity. That is just 63% of the national average of $137 a month.
The next lowest states were New Mexico, where households averaged $95 a month, and Colorado, where residents paid $98. Households in Hawaii paid the highest amount, at $213 a month, despite being the second-most efficient users in the nation after California.
While Utahns had the lowest electric bills in the nation, they did not have the cheapest electricity per kilowatt-hour. That honor went to North Dakota, which charged residents just under 11 cents per kilowatt-hour. Washington and Idaho followed, with Utah falling in 4th place with a cost of 11.2 cents. That is far lower than the national average of almost 16 cents.
Even so, Utah’s low rate is 3% higher than in 2022 while the national average increased 6%.
Garkane Energy, which serves customers across the Byway area (excluding Panguitch City), charged about 12 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2022, including the base rate charge and taxes.
Some of the states that enjoyed the lowest energy costs are served by Rocky Mountain Power and its affiliate PacifiCorp. Together the companies cover parts of Idaho, Utah and Wyoming, and parts of Washington, Oregon and a small slice of Northern California.
Jona Whitesides, Rocky Mountain Power spokesman, said that the company’s lower electricity costs are due to its wide range of energy sources. “We have a mixed portfolio approach that keeps the costs really low,” he told KSL. “We are able to pull from hydro, wind, solar.”
Whitesides noted that these renewable sources, such as hydropower pulled from the Northwest, have not produced as much energy during drought years. During such years, the company has still come out on top because it relies heavily on burning fossil fuels. Over the last few years Rocky Mountain Power has converted several of their coal-burning plants to natural gas, which is a relatively cheap source of energy.
Last year 43% of utility scale electricity was produced from natural gas. Nuclear generated 19%, coal generated 16%, and renewables (hydro, solar, wind and other) contributed 21%. A decade ago, nearly 40% of energy was produced from coal power plants.
– The Byway
Feature image courtesy of Steve Johnson.