Division of Energy

Missouri's Total State Electricity Bill at a Glance

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Figure 1

Missouri's Total Electricity Expenditures, 2009: Distribution by Sector  

In 2009, Missourians used about 79.7 billion kilowatt-hours (KWh) of electricity for which they paid a total of about $5.9 billion at an average cost of 7.35 cents per kilowatt-hour.  

In 2009, Missouri ranked 22nd in total expenditures for electricity.  Missouri ranked 20th among states in residential and commercial expenditures for electricity, and 27th in industrial expenditures.

Residential consumers in Missouri paid 43 percent of the state’s total electricity bill and consumed about 34.2 billion KWh, 50 percent of total usage (See Figure 1). They paid an average price of 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, a 6.8 percent increase from the average price in 2008. 

Commercial consumers paid about 36 percent of the state’s total bill and consumed about 30.4 billion KWh, 38 percent of total usage. They paid an average price of 7.0 cents per KWh, a 5.3 percent increase from the average price in 2008.

Industrial consumers paid about 14 percent of the state’s total bill and consumed about 15.1 billion KWh, 19 percent of total usage. They paid an average price of 4.9 cents per KWh, a 3.3 percent increase from the average price in 2008.  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 contractual arrangements and take advantage of special arrangements such as interruptible load agreements.

Electricity Consumption and Expenditures, 2008-2009

Consumption for electricity fell in all sectors between 2008 and 2009 (see Figure 2).  The largest decrease was in the industrial sector, 15.7%, followed by the residential sector (3.3%) and the commercial sector (2.3%).  The total consumption of electricity fell by 5.6%.

While consumption fell, the amount of money spent on electricity increased in the residential (3.3%) and commercial sectors (2.8%), while falling in the industrial sector (-7.1%, See Figure 3).  Overall, expenditures on electricity increased 1.5% across all sectors. 

The reduction in electricity use in 2009 can be attributed to both differences in the weather and the overall economic situation.  As seen in Figure 4, 2009 had a different pattern of cooling days than in 2008.  “Cooling degree days” are the number of days with temperature above 65 degrees in a month, i.e., warm days.  Cooling degree days require more electricity to run air conditioners and refrigeration equipment.  As Seen in Figure 4, 2009 had fewer cooling degree days than 2008.

In terms of economics, 2009 was a year of economic recession and saw a reduction in consumption across all energy sectors and types of fuel.

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Figure 3

Figure 4

 

Changes in Missouri’s Total Electricity Bill, 1989-2009

Figure 5

The state’s total electricity bill increased about 2.76 percent (measured as the compound annual growth rate) between 1989 and 2009 (see Figure 5).  Total consumption increased 2.10 percent over the same period.  Within this overall pattern of increase in expenditures, electricity expenditures fell during five years, 1991-1992, 1998-1999, 2002-2003, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.  In each year except 2008-2009, the reductions in the residential sector were greater than reductions in the industrial and commercial sectors.  In 2008-2009 the largest reduction was in the industrial sector, a reduction of 15.7 percent, compared to a reduction of 3.3 percent in the residential sector and 2.3 percent in the commercial sector.

The graphs below show the overall trend in Missouri electricity expenditures per capita, electricity consumption per capita and electricity price per kilowatt-hour between 1998 and 2009.  Electricity expenditures are the product of price and level of consumption.  The graphs show that electricity expenditures have increased steadily since 1989, with the steepest increase between 2004 and 2009 (Figure 6), while energy use peaked in 2007 (see Figure 7).  In terms of electricity price, in dollars per KWh, between 1990 and 2003 electricity prices saw a gradual decline each year, but recovered to 1990 levels in 2008 (Figure 8).

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Figure 10

In the period between 2004 and 2009 per capita expenditures for electricity (adjusted for inflation in electricity prices) increased 10.6 percent across all sectors. 

Prices for electricity have steadily increased since 2004 (see Figure 8).  Between 2004 and 2009, the price per KWh has increased at a compound annual growth rate of 3.24% across all sectors.   The highest rate of increase is seen in the residential class, 3.45%, while the commercial class increased at a rate of 3.07% and the industrial class increased at a rate of 2.70%. 

The inflation rate for electricity prices in Missouri was calculated by calculating the average of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for electricity prices in the St. Louis and Kansas City metropolitan areas.  CPI data for other Missouri cities and regions is not available.  The inflation rate for electricity prices for these two cities was -5.1 percent between 2000 and 2003 and 10.6% between 2004 and 2009 (see Figure 9).

Missouri’s electrical production comes primarily from fossil fuels.  In 2009, 85 percent of Missouri’s electricity was produced from coal, natural gas or petroleum -- 82 percent came from coal (see Figure 10).  Missouri imports nearly all of these fuels.  Missouri can expect continued increases in demand, variation in supply and, most likely, increases in electricity prices.  The use of renewable energy sources from wind, biomass and solar, may provide an increasing share of Missouri's electricity profile in the future. 

Data Sources: Statistics presented in this fact sheet are based on energy consumption, price and expenditure data from the State Energy Data System, SEDS, provided by the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration, EIA.  In addition to the SEDS data, EIA also provides more recent data on average residential, commercial and industrial electricity prices.