© SOPA Images
Photo illustration in Ukraine – 04 Apr 2021
(77WABC) — Consumers already frustrated over high gasoline prices are also faced with rapidly rising electricity bills, compounding inflation’s financial toll on people and businesses.
Electric rates in New York are up 15%, according to the energy department’s latest figures. Nationally rates rose 12% for the first two months of 2022. Annually there’s been a 4% increase.
As air conditioner use spikes into the summer months, the costs to consumers is expected to increase. The war in Ukraine has driven up the already high cost of natural gas, which is burned to produce about 40 percent of America’s electricity.
Supply chain chaos has made routine grid maintenance and upgrades more expensive.
