Electricity - Interesting Facts

• 7 percent of power generated at large central stations is lost during transmission to the user over high-voltage lines.

• 10 percent of total US generating capacity is fueled by natural gas, about the same as hydropower.  More than half of US capacity is coal-fired, with nuclear accounting for 20 percent.

• 24 cents per kWh: Price charged for electricity produced at Thomas Edison's first plant, built in 1882.  Current average US price is about 6.3 cents/kwh.

• 27 percent of US electric utilities generate their own electricity.  The other 63 percent are distribution utilities that purchase wholesale power from others. 

• 63 nuclear reactor projects cancelled in the United States between 1975 and 1980.

• 857 kilowatt-hours of electricity used monthly by typical American household.

• $212 billion in electrical bills paid by US customers each year.