Weekly Electric Price Index Update
Six-month and one-year plans cross price-paths
This week, 148 plans were analyzed in the CenterPoint Energy Electric Price Index, from 43 providers.
- Much like this time last year, six-month and one-year plans are priced very similarly. Both plan types could be purchased for $102 per month in March of 2011; today they can be locked in at $96 per month.
- The price of six-month plans rose $1 last week. Over the last year, however, the average price of six-month plans have fallen by more than any another plan type. The average six-month plan price is currently $6 less expensive per month than it was in March 2011.
- The average price of one-year plans stayed basically the same as last week, which makes them $3 a month cheaper than in February and $5 per- month cheaper than a year ago.
- The average price of two-year plans moved up 24 cents but is still $3 lower than this time last year.
- The unusual disappearance of a green premium for two-year plans continued for a third week in a row. While renewable energy historically costs more, the average cost of two-year green plans is 51 cents lower than the price of standard two-year plans. As the dark green line in the chart below shows, the premium for two-year green plans (the amount "extra" you pay for renewable-only energy), is less than zero.