Economic Impact
As America's most vital commodity, electricity is critical to our economic strength. At the wholesale level, electricity is a commodity, and at $217 billion a year it is one of the largest commodities in the U.S. economy.

• Market forces are powerfully oriented toward demanding low prices for commodities. The lower the prices, the greater the downward pressure on inflation, which is why changes in commodity prices are considered a key indicator of inflationary trends.



• When any commodity is projected to have stable and declining prices, economists predict low inflation. Since electricity is one of the biggest commodities bought and sold in our nation, low and declining electric rates will moderate inflationary pressure for years to come, thereby protecting the integrity of savings and investments.

There is a direct connection between electricity, new technologies and the nation's economy.

• Increasing electricity demand is a direct measure of the fast-growing use of electric-based technologies such as telecommunications devices and computer and internet-oriented equipment, which boost the U.S. economy.



• The growing dependence on electricity is best illustrated by the continued close relationship between electricity usage and the general level of economic activity. Each percentage increase in real GDP between 1970 and 2000 has, in general, resulted in just over a one percent rise in the demand for electricity.