[Tanada]

So the price of oil used to power the mining equipment and transporting equipment for coal is going down. Less cost.

The amount of kWh being consumed by industry (probably residential too) is going down. Less profit

The amount of fossil fuel required for generation is going down. Less demand.

Other factors.

What is the bottom line for electric companies look like now?

IMO you have it all wrong, Coal is the cheapest FF option for electric companies and the last one they willingly reduce. Couple that with the fact that most coal is baseload power on 24/7 and you are not going to see a steep falloff in Coal demand.

Natural Gas plants, both baseload and peaking, are what is going to take a hit. Couple that with the fact that NatGas is a relatively expensive electric power FF and you end up with a slightly improved bottom line in terms of generating expense, but this is offsett by the fact that maintainence has to be done to keep plants up even if they are not selling power at the moment from those plants.

There would have to be a pretty steep decline in demand before they would consider scrapping or even mothballing plants.

[bratticus]

So the price of oil used to power the mining equipment and transporting equipment for coal is going down. Less cost.

The amount of kWh being consumed by industry (probably residential too) is going down. Less profit

The amount of fossil fuel required for generation is going down. Less demand.

Other factors.

What is the bottom line for electric companies look like now?

IMO you have it all wrong, Coal is the cheapest FF option for electric companies and the last one they willingly reduce.

Re-read my post after you sober up thanks.

[JoeW]

It's a mixed bag for electricity generation. The cost of inputs (fossil fuel) has declined. The availability of credit to build new plants has decreased.
There is an increase in the number of individuals who are not paying their electricity bills.

I think the long-term prognosis for electric utility companies is good. The world needs electricity, and electricity can be made cheaply and cleanly.

[Starvid]

What country are you talking about Bratticus?

The situation for power companies is very dependent on local regulations, generation mix, transmission capacity and so on.

[PeakOiler]

Since 2008 is history, I updated my Annual Utility Electricity Use spreadsheet from my utility electric bills:



Yeah I'm a geeky number cruncher, but what I found interesting is the annual increased amount of electricity 2007-2008 y-o-y was almost equal to the differences for the months of June, July, and August which gives a good reflection of the weather differences between 2008 and 2007. (Very hot in late Spring-Summer 2008, and only somewhat hot in late Spring-Summer 2007. [Ah, I remember when it used to rain here...]) The AC had to work more last year. I will now focus on making the AC more efficient--esp. added insulation to the ductwork.

I averaged 19.3 kw-hr/day in 2008. Average cost/mo in 2008 = $75.65

The <1200 sq ft house uses no natural gas (directly), propane in any significant amount, (the bbq propane tank is on it's second year), or fuel oil.

I spent about $100 on split oak firewood this season and most of that hasn't been burned yet.

Edited for clarification on the amount of firewood purchased in 2008.

[Ludi]

Our electric bill averaged $81.00 per month for our house plus shop. That's the combined bill for our home and business, all electric appliances and well pump.