Energy Center Missouri's Total State Electricity

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Missouri's Total State Electricity Bill at a Glance

Missouri's Total Electricity Bill, 1999: Distribution by Sector

In 2000, Missourians used about 72.6 billion Kwh of electricity for which they paid a total of about $4.4 billion at an average cost of 6 cents per kilowatthour.
In 1999, Missouri ranked fifteenth among states in residential expenditures for electricity, seventeenth in commercial expenditures and twenty-third in industrial expenditures. Missouri ranked eighteenth in total expenditures for electricity.
Residential consumers in Missouri paid about 48 percent of the state’s total electricity bill and consumed about 29.6 billion kwh, 41 percent of total usage. They paid an average price of 7 cents per kilowatthour, a 1 percent reduction from the average price in 1999.
Commercial consumers paid about 36 percent of the state’s total bill and consumed about 27.0 billion kwh, 37 percent of total usage. They paid an average price of 5.8 cents per kilowatthour, a 2.4 percent reduction from the average price in 1999.
Industrial consumers paid about 16 percent of the state’s total bill and consumed about 16.1 billion kwh, 22 percent of total usage. They paid an average price of 4.4 cents per kilowatthour, unchanged from the average price in 1999.
Large purchasers such as industrial firms pay lower electric rates than small purchasers for a variety of reasons including lower distribution costs and the ability of large customers to negotiate quantity price deals or take advantage of special arrangements such as interruptible load agreements.
The Energy Information Administration provides recent data on average residential, commercial and industrial electricity prices.

Increase in Missouri’s Total Electricity Bill, 1990-1999

The state’s total electricity bill increased about 21 percent between 1990-1999, driven by a 28 percent increase in consumption. The pattern of increase continued in 2000 when total expenditures increased by about $186 million compared to 1999, a 4.5 percent increase. between 1999 and 2000. Electricity consumption increased 5.3 percent in 1999-2000.
Residential and commercial demand has driven these increases, pushed by population and economic growth, new uses for electricity and decreasing electricity prices. During 1999-2000, residential and commercial spending for electricity increased by about 5.2 percent in Missouri. Industrial consumers, on the other hand, reduced their use of electricity and limited spending increases to under 1 percent.
Over the past decade, statewide average electricity rates have trended lower in Missouri. From 1990 through 1999, the statewide average price for electricity declined by about 6 percent. The average price of electricity paid by residential and commercial consumers decreased an additional 1.7 percent during 1999-2000.
However, at the beginning of 2001, Missouri electricity prices increased, paralleling increases in other fuel prices. Factors that triggered the price increases included cold weather and an increase in the price of coal