Supply, demand and government regulations America's electric
utilities and governments are grappling with a supply-and-demand
dilemma. In spite of efforts that consumers and utilities have
been making for years to use electricity more efficiently, the
American lifestyle these days simply demands more electricity.
Today's average residential electric bill for a year is $263.40
higher than it was in 2005. U.S. homes on average used an
additional 50 kilowatt-hours every month between 2009 and 2010,
and in that period retail electricity sales rose 4.4 percent. On
the supply side, the power plants that utilities built in the
1960s and 1970s — mostly coal and nuclear plants — now need
expensive updated technology to meet efficiency, security and
pollution control requirements. In some cases, it makes more
sense economically to shut down the older plants. New generating
stations are scheduled to come online. The U..S. Department of
Energy predicts 20,000 megawatts of natural gas facilities will
start operating this