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New Report: Electricity Generation Costs Soar 74 Percent Over Two Decades

A decade ago, many utilities faced significant financial strain when energy commodity prices fluctuated dramatically (predominantly the fall of natural gas prices) and capital markets froze. Since then, the power industry has looked to cheaper natural gas plants and renewables for electricity generation.

And that’s not a bad thing.

But as the new report Uptake just released shows, there has been a significant and continued rise of non-fuel power generation operations and maintenance (O&M) costs. One of the key findings from our analysis of 20 years of data major utilities submit annually to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is that these costs per megawatt-hour have soared 74 percent.

See for yourself in a preview of our report, “Broken: Costs to Operate, Maintain Electricity Generation Have Soared Over Two Decades”:

This upward trend in O&M costs will likely be unsustainable for many utilities as they face regulatory and other market pressures to keep rates stable. Efficiency, flexibility, competition and low-carbon demands will compel utilities to implement new maintenance, operations and asset performance management strategies and technologies in the coming years.

If they do, there is significant financial value to be captured.

Download the report to find out how much.