According to data released by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the average price for a kilowatthour (KWH) of electricity in the United States has reached an all time high — 14.3 cents. This means that it is now more expensive than ever to power all of the essentials that keep us going everyday.
Before this spike in June, the highest KWH average was 13.7 cents. While it’s normal for the price of electricity to spike in the summer, this number is still high. The seasonally adjusted electricity price index accounts for these fluctuations and measures changes in price relative to 100. The highest number reached by this index is 209.341 and it was hit in March of this year. The seasonally adjusted price index for June 2014 was not far off, 209.144. In June 1984, the price index was 103.9 — less than half of that number.
With electricity costs rising every year, there is no better time than now to make the switch to solar power in your home. Unlike electricity, the cost of solar energy has been trending downward recently. Since 2008, solar panel installation costs have gone down by about 80%. In addition to the savings customers see on monthly utility bills, the panels also increase the value of homes come resale. Even in a tough real estate market, homes with solar panels have sold for roughly 17% more than other homes and the sales happened about 20% faster.
Solar energy is a great way to offset your electricity costs.
For more information about these monumental electricity costs, check out this article at CNS News.