by Sidney Sweeting, DDS
The cost of electricity, particularly BEC’s fuel surcharge, has become the number one complaint in the Bahamas the past few weeks and it is the topic of the editorial in the Tribune this morning.
During the second world war our Government of the time put in a "war tax". Thirty years later that tax was still being levied. In fact, I believe that it is still in place under another name.
My advice to Bahamians is to tighten their belts because if any Bahamian Government levies a tax, even if they call it a fuel surcharge, they will never remove it.
The cost of oil could drop to $! per barrel but it will remain.
Below is the KW/H rates for electricity in the U.S. Why our rates with fuel surcharge is .43 cents per KW/H, only God knows. The highest rate is Hawaii with 26.96 cents and the lowest is Idaho at 5.39 cents. It is a shame that Bahamians and businesses in the Bahamas are being saddled with the rates we are currently having to pay.
Average Revenue per Kilowatthour by State
(Lowest to Highest Rate as of April 2008)
Rank State Average Electricity Rate for
All Sectors
(Cents per Kilowatthour)
1 Idaho 5.39
2 West Virginia 5.42
3 Wyoming 5.52
4 Kentucky 5.72
5 Nebraska 6.16
6 Missouri 6.22
7 Utah 6.26
8 North Dakota 6.55
9 Iowa 6.57
10 Washington 6.78
11 South Dakota 6.85
12 Indiana 6.92
13 Minnesota 7.14
14 Oklahoma 7.16
15 Virginia 7.16
16 Kansas 7.26
17 South Carolina 7.29
18 Arkansas 7.40
19 Oregon 7.40
20 Alabama 7.42
21 New Mexico 7.65
22 North Carolina 7.72
23 Tennessee 7.72
24 Montana 7.91
25 Ohio 8.15
26 Georgia 8.24
27 Mississippi 8.30
28 Arizona 8.59
29 Colorado 8.62
30 Wisconsin 8.79
31 Michigan 8.81
32 Louisiana 8.95
33 Illinois 8.99
34 Pennsylvania 9.11
National Average 9.26
35 Nevada 9.74
36 Florida 10.32
37 Texas 10.55
38 California 11.59
39 Delaware 11.91
40 Maryland 12.18
41 Vermont 12.25
42 New Jersey 13.38
43 Maine 13.52
44 Rhode Island 13.73
45 District of Columbia 13.83
46 New Hampshire 13.96
47 Alaska 14.96
48 Massachusetts 15.09
49 New York 15.61
50 Connecticut 16.55
51 Hawaii 26.96
This table was updated on August 27, 2008. Typically, there is one month between updates.
Source: Electric Power Monthly. Energy Information Administration, Washington, DC. Nebraska Energy Office, Lincoln, NE.