Weekly Electric Price Index Update
One and Two-year prices dipping while the Green Premium returns
This week, 149 plans were analyzed in the CenterPoint Energy Electric Price Index, from 43 providers.
- Six-month and one-year plans are priced very similarly, as they were this time last week, and last year. Both plan types could be purchased for $103 per month in March of 2011; today the average price is $96 per month.
- The price of six-month plans rose less than $1 last week, following the steady increase that has been evident thus far in 2012. On the other hand, the average price of six-month plans have fallen by more than any another plan type over the last year. The average six-month plan price is currently $7 less expensive per month than it was in March, 2011.
- The average price of one-year plans stayed very close to last week’s price, which makes them $2 a month cheaper than in February and $7 per-month cheaper than a year ago.
- The average price of two-year plans essentially remained unchanged last week, falling a meager 30 cents. They are $4 lower than this time last year.
- The Green Premium, or the amount “extra” you pay for 100 percent renewable energy, increased across all plan types shown in the Index. Six-month and one-year 100 percent renewable plans are currently $4 and $6 more expensive than the standard average prices for these contract lengths, respectively.
- However, the average price of two-year renewable plans are essentially the same as two-year non-renewable plans. As the dark green line on the chart below shows, the average price of all-renewable, two-year fixed-rate plans is only 29 cents higher than standard, two-year plans.