Missouri Electric Rates Among Lowest in Nation
Two of Missouri's key electrical rates were the sixth and eight lowest in the nation in 2004, according to the Missouri Public Service Commission.
At 5.86 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh, an industry standard measurement) for commercial service, Missouri had the sixth lowest rate in the nation in 2004 for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Missouri's 7.06 cents per kWh for residential service made it the eighth lowest. Missouri's industrial electricity rate was 4.39 cents per kWh, making the state 19th in that category.
The state's rates have also been going down relative to other states since 1997. In that year, Missouri's commercial electrical rates were the 15th lowest of all 50 states plus DC, and residential rates the 19th lowest.
Sources of energy
Coal was still the primary (83.0 percent) source of electric-power
industry generation in Missouri in 1999, says the U.S. Energy
Information Administration. Both nuclear and hydroelectric energy as
a power source have been dropping; and gas as a source rising, from
0.5 percent in 1994 to 2.2 percent in 1999.
Most and least costly
The Public Service Commission says that Hawaii, at more than 18
cents/kWh for residential service in 2004, has also been
consistently the most expensive state for electricity costs since
1997. The coal-producing state of Kentucky (3.3 cents/kWh for
industrial electricity in 2004) and the hydroelectric-fueled states
of Idaho (5.34 cents/kWh, commercial, 2004) and Washington (6.36
cents/kWh) have consistently been the lowest.
Sources: Missouri Public Service Commission, U.S. Energy Information Administration
