Colorado electric consumers have third lowest residential bills in nation

There is an interesting article in the Denver Post Sunday titled, "Xcel electricity rates up 21 percent in Colorado."  Although accurate, the article is misleading.  It creates the impression electric utility rates in Colorado are high and getting higher.  By Colorado perspectives, rates are rising.  From a national perspective, many states would be happy to swap places with Colorado. 

The paper reports Colorado residential customers pay an average of $68 a month for electricity.  Although the article mentions that Colorado's rates remain below the national average, it fails to mention just how far below the national average.  When looking at rates only, Colorado ranked 29th in the nation in lowest residential rates, with an average residential retail price of 11.19 cents/KWH compared with the national average of 11.62.  However, the residential consumers in Colorado pay some of the lowest bills in the nation.

According to 2009 data from U.S. Energy Information Administration, the latest for which monthly bill information is available, the Colorado average residential bill of $68 a month ranks as the third lowest in the nation.  Only New Mexico and Utah, with average residential bills of $64.30 and $66.16 respectively, rank lower.  The average monthly bill in the Mountain Division of the Census region is $89.38.  The region includes Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.  Colorado's average monthly bill is 23% below the regional average and 34% below the national average of $104.52.  Even if Xcel were to raise its rates another 20% over the next six years as Xcel proposes, the average monthly bill would be only $82.43, still far below the current national average.