Adjusted for inflation, residential energy costs in the United States are cheaper than they were 30 years ago. But the price gap between Washington and the U.S. is closing, especially for electricity. And with recent spikes in heating oil and natural-gas prices, experts say Washington consumers could soon be paying just as much for energy as the rest of the country, if not more. Natural-gas prices in Washington have dropped more sharply than the national average, 45.3 percent vs. 10.6 percent, but a volatile wholesale market this summer forced the state's major gas companies to raise rates up to 27 percent.
Energy prices are volatile and can be difficult to explain.
Energy supply and demand also differ from region to region, making trends hard to track. For instance, West Coast oil prices tend to be higher because of high transportation costs and regional supply problems. In Washington, last year's Olympic Pipe Line explosion has hampered efforts to transport oil from Eastern Washington refineries. And natural-gas prices in the Northwest tend to be cheaper because the region was the only market for British Columbia gas companies. Since 1983, the state's electricity prices have been closing in on the national average.