LOCAL ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT | ELECTRICITY

What we pay for power and how we use it

By ELIZABETH SOUDER
Staff Writer esouder@dallasnews.com

Electricity demand in Texas continues to rise as population swells. The problem is, power generation in our deregulated market isnt growing as quickly as demand. Cheap electricity prices are great for consumers, but tend to chase away investors who prefer not to sink money into new power plants that might not turn a prot. As regulators grapple with keeping the lights on, heres a look at how Texans consume electricity.

Paying less
For years, Texans endured higher electricity prices than the rest of the country as our deregulated electricity market exposed us to high natural gas prices. Natural gas markets set wholesale power prices in a state that relies heavily on gas to fuel generating plants. But after natural gas markets collapsed, the Texas consumer got some relief. Average residential electricity price, in cents per kilowatt hour: United States
13.0 12.5 12.0 11.5 11.0 10.5 10.0 9.5 9.0 J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A 2010 2011 2012

Bigger in Texas
Texans use larger refrigerators than other Americans, but 80 percent of us have only one refrigerator, compared with 77 percent of Americans. UNITED STATES Medium
(15-18 cubic feet)

Texas United States: 11.95

Large

(19-22

45.6% Small
(Less than 14 cubic feet)

cubic feet)

42.2% Very large

(More than 22 cubic feet)

3.7% Half-size or compact .8% TEXAS Medium

(15-18 cubic feet)

7.6% Do not use a refrigerator .2%

Texas: 11.27

Large

(19-22

38.8% Small
(Less than 14 cubic feet)

cubic feet)

48.2% Very large

(More than 22 cubic feet)

SOURCE: EIA

Total energy consumption

In areas of the country with mild weather, people tend to use less electricity, natural gas and other energy per square foot. Newer, more efcient home and building stock helps Texas beat other states, despite our larger televisions and refrigerators. The 2009 energy data is consumption per square foot, in thousand British thermal units. Mountain north 49.3 Pacic 45.8 Middle Atlantic 50.8 California 38.9 Texas 43.8 West south central 50.5 South Atlantic 38.1 East south central 42 West north central 46.1 East north central 51.1 New England 50.6

4.7%

8.2%

Number of televisions
Texans have about the same number of televisions as other Americans, but ours are bigger. UNITED STATES No television 1 television 1.3% 21.3% 5 or more 8.5% 4 televisions 12.5% TEXAS No television 1.2% 5 or more 8.3% 4 televisions 11.9% 1 television 20.2% 2 televisions 34.5% 3 televisions 23.8% 2 televisions 33% 3 televisions 23.4%

Mountain south 42.4

SOURCE: EIA

Dialing up the thermostat

Most Texans have central air conditioning, and most turn up the temperature when they arent home. TEMPERATURE
69 degrees or less 70 degrees 71 to 73 degrees 74 to 76 degrees 77 to 79 degrees 80 or more degrees Do not have or regularly use central air conditioning equipment

Television display size

WHEN AWAY U.S.
4.2% 5.6% 6.9% 10.9% 8.3% 8.3% 55.9%

WHEN HOME U.S.

5.8% 7.5% 9.9% 11.6% 7.4% 1.9% 55.9%

UNITED STATES Less than 21 inches No television 11% 1.3% 37 inches or more 40.5% 21 to 36 inches 47.2% TEXAS Less than 21 inches 8.2% 21 to 36 inches 42.4%

TEXAS
5.9% 11.8% 11.7% 24.7% 14.1% 2.4% 29.4%

TEXAS
3.5% 7.1% 5.9% 18.8% 16.5% 18.8% 29.4%

No television 1.2% 37 inches or more 48.4%

SOURCE: Energy Information Administrations 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey.

The bottom line

If youve got an old-style thermostat, make sure the schedule is programmed right. Rather than cooling to 72, just bump your temperature a little bit. Every degree makes a difference of 5 percent on your energy bill. Greg Fasullo, chief executive, EnTouch Controls Just think of electricity as a mechanical heartbeat of this state. If you really look at it, everything depends on us having a reliable, predictable and, hopefully, cost-effective electricity to keep everything functioning. Its tough to make a case for efciency when electricity is cheap. Still, as the Texas population grows faster than our capacity to generate power, we will probably need conservation just to prevent blackouts. Elizabeth Souder, staff writer, The Dallas Morning News

Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, chairman of House Committee on State Affairs