Energy Cost Impacts on
West Virginia Families
Energy prices, high unemployment, and stagnant incomes are straining the
budgets of West Virginia’s lower- and middle-class families. West Virginia
households with annual incomes below $50,000, representing nearly 62% of
West Virginia’s population, spend an estimated average of 24% of their aftertax income on energy. Energy costs for the poorest households earning less
than $10,000 represent 67% of their family incomes, before accounting for any
state energy assistance. Increased energy costs are competing with other
necessities for lower- and middle-income family budgets across West Virginia.
W e s t V irg in ia F a m ily E n e rg y C o s ts
a s P e rc e n t o f A fte r-T a x In c o m e
100%
75%
67%
50%
28%
25%
19%
12%
0%
<$10K
$ 1 0 -< $ 3 0 K
$ 3 0 -< $ 5 0 K
A nnua l G ro s s H o us e ho ld Inc o m e
March 2012
www.americaspower.org
> /= $ 5 0 K
Energy Cost Impacts on
West Virginia Families
This paper assesses the impact of energy costs on West Virginia households
using energy consumption survey data and current energy price data from the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (DOE/EIA).1 Energy costs
are summarized by household income group using West Virginia data from the U.S.
Bureau of the Census.2 Energy expenditures as a percentage of after-tax income are
estimated for the effects of federal and state income taxes and federal social insurance
payments.
Key findings include:
•
Nearly 62% of West Virginia’s families have gross annual incomes of $50,000 or
less, with an average after-tax income of $21,431. West Virginia’s unemployment
rate of 7.4% in January 2012 ranked 27th highest in the nation. The median
household income of West Virginia families in 2010 was $38,218, 23% below the
national median household income.
•
Measured in constant 1990 prices, residential electricity prices in West Virginia
have declined by 7% since 1990, while the price of residential natural gas has
decreased by 2%. The relatively low cost of electric power is due in part to West
Virginia’s historic reliance on domestic coal for nearly all of its electric generation.
•
Energy costs are consuming the after-tax household incomes of West Virginia’s
low- and middle-income families at levels comparable to other necessities such
as housing, food, and health care. West Virginia families spend an estimated
average of 15% of their after-tax incomes on energy. The 459,000 West Virginia
households earning less than $50,000 devote an estimated 24% of their aftertax incomes to energy.
•
The 221,000 West Virginia families with annual incomes of $10,000 to $30,000,
30% of the state’s population, spend an estimated 28% of their after-tax family
budgets on energy.
•
The 77,000 poorest families in West Virginia, living well below the federal
poverty line and earning less than $10,000 per year, are being squeezed hardest
by energy cost increases. Many of these families receive state energy assistance
to help reduce energy costs. Yet for most lower-income families and for 281,700
West Virginia households receiving Social Security – representing 38% of all
West Virginia households – rising energy costs are competing with other basic
necessities for the family budget.
2
West Virginia Household Incomes
U.S. Census Bureau data on West Virginia household incomes in 2010 (the most
recent available) provide the basis for estimating the effects of energy prices on
consumer budgets.3 The table below shows estimated 2010 after-tax incomes for West
Virginia families in different income brackets. The Congressional Budget Office has
calculated effective total federal tax rates, including individual income taxes and
payments for Social Security and other social welfare programs.4 State income taxes are
estimated from current West Virginia income tax rates.5
West Virginia households by pre-tax and after-tax income, 2010
Pre-tax annual income:
<$10K $10-<$30K $30-<$50K
Households (Mil.)
Pct. of total households
Avg. pre-tax income
Effec. fed tax rate %
Est. state tax %
Est. after-tax income
0.077
10.4%
$5,713
2.0%
0.0%
$5,599
0.221
29.8%
$19,553
9.1%
2.0%
$17,383
0.161
21.7%
$39,585
14.1%
3.0%
$32,816
≥$50K Total/avg.
0.283
38.1%
$93,554
23.2%
4.0%
$68,107
0.742
100%
$50,574
14.8%
2.8%
$41,673
Nearly 62% of West Virginia families had estimated pre-tax incomes below
$50,000 in 2010, compared with 50% nationally. After federal and state taxes, these
families had average annual incomes of $21,431, equivalent to an average monthly
take-home income of $1,786. In 2010, the median household income of West Virginia
families was $38,218, 23% below the national median household income of $49,445.6
In January 2012, West Virginia’s unemployment rate of 7.4% ranked 27th highest in the
nation.7
Residential and Transportation Energy Expenses
The principal residential energy expenses are for electricity and natural gas for
home cooling, heating, and household appliances. Many West Virginia homes also use
propane fuel and other heating sources such as wood.
As shown in Chart 1, the price of residential electricity in West Virginia has
declined by 7% in real, inflation-adjusted terms since 1990, while the price of
residential natural gas has decreased by 2%. The inflation-adjusted 7% decrease in
residential electricity prices since 1990 reflects, in part, West Virginia’s historic reliance
on low-cost coal for most of its electric energy supplies. In 2011, coal-based generation
provided 96% of the state’s electricity.8 West Virginia’s average residential electric
price in 2011, 9.4 cents per kilowatt-hour (measured in 2011 prices), was 20% below
the U.S. average of 11.8 cents per kWh.9
3
Chart 1
Gas $/mcf and Electric cents/kWh
West Virginia Residential Natural Gas and Electricity Prices,
1990-2011 (Constant 1990 $)
12.00
Nat'l Gas
10.00
Electricity
8.00
6.00
4.00
2.00
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Source: U.S. DOE/EIA (2012).
Energy Expense Estimates
Estimated household energy expenses for West Virginia are based upon DOE/EIA
residential electric and natural gas sales data for West Virginia in 2011.10 Total
household energy costs are distributed by income category using DOE/EIA residential
energy survey data.
Gasoline prices have declined from their 2008 peaks, but are above $3.75 per
gallon in most areas. Gasoline accounts for the largest single increase in consumer
energy costs since 2001. EIA’s March 2012 Short-Term Energy Outlook projects 2012
average retail gasoline costs at $3.79 per gallon. In 2001, the average price of gasoline
was $1.47 per gallon.
The increase in gas prices follows a decade-long trend of increased market
shares of pickup trucks and SUVs, and an increase in the average number of vehicles
owned per household.11 Many families continue to own low-efficiency vehicles with low
trade-in values.
4
DOE/EIA’s 2001 Survey of Household Vehicles Energy Use (2005) provides
information on regional gasoline use by household income category. These regional
gasoline consumption data are updated using EIA’s 2012 national average retail
gasoline price estimate of $3.79 per gallon. To be conservative, household gasoline
consumption is reduced by 6.3% from 2001 levels, reflecting recent trends in the
number of vehicle-miles driven annually per household.12
The table below summarizes estimated West Virginia household energy expenses
by income group, with the percentage of after-tax income represented by energy costs:
Estimated West Virginia household energy costs by income category
Pre-Tax Annual Income:
Residential energy $
Electric $
Natural Gas $
Other* $
Gasoline $
Total energy $
Energy % of after-tax income
<$10K $10-<$30K $30-<$50K
≥$50K
Average
$1,513
$1,042
$310
$161
$2,247
$3,760
$1,702
$1,214
$322
$166
$3,091
$4,793
$1,984
$1,459
$346
$179
$4,198
$6,182
$2,473
$1,807
$439
$227
$5,676
$8,149
$2,057
$1,491
$373
$193
$4,230
$6,287
67%
28%
19%
12%
15%
*Other includes propane gas and wood.
The share of household income spent for energy falls disproportionately on
lower- and middle-income families earning less than $50,000 per year. The 30% of
West Virginia households earning between $10,000 and $30,000 spend an estimated
28% of their after-tax income on energy. While many lower-income consumers qualify
for energy assistance, these government programs are hard pressed to keep pace with
the escalation of energy prices. In 2011, Congress reduced annual funding for the
federal LIHEAP energy assistance program from $5.1 to $4.7 billion. Further LIHEAP
funding reductions are possible.
The average West Virginia family with an after-tax income of $41,673 spends an
estimated $6,287 on energy, or 15% of the family budget. The 459,000 West Virginia
households earning less than $50,000, representing 61.9% of households, allocate 24%
of their after-tax incomes to energy. The large share of after-tax income devoted to
energy poses difficult budget choices among food, health care and other necessities.
Disproportionate Impacts on Senior Citizens
The impacts of increased energy costs are falling disproportionately on West
Virginia’s 281,700 households of Social Security recipients, representing 38% of the
state’s households. In 2010, Social Security recipients in West Virginia had an average
5
household Social Security income of $15,503.13 Some 62% of these senior households
had additional retirement income averaging $15,134 before taxes.
Unlike young working families with the potential to increase incomes by taking
on part-time work or increasing overtime, many fixed income seniors are limited to
cost-of-living increases that may not keep pace with energy prices. Maintaining the
relative affordability of electricity and natural gas prices, and increasing low-income
energy assistance, are essential to the wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of West
Virginia’s senior and lower-income citizens.
Conclusion
The escalation of West Virginia consumer energy prices - together with high
unemployment and sluggish income growth among lower- and middle-income
households - underscore the need to find ways to reduce energy cost impacts on West
Virginia families, especially lower- and fixed-income households.
Acknowledgment: This paper was prepared for ACCCE by Eugene M. Trisko, an energy
economist and attorney in private practice. Mr. Trisko has served as an attorney in the
Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission and as an expert
economic witness before the WV PSC and other state public utility commissions. He
represents labor and industry clients in environmental and energy matters. Mr. Trisko
can be contacted at emtrisko@earthlink.net.
End Notes
1
Data on residential energy consumption patterns by income category are from U.S.
Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, 2005 Survey of Residential
Energy Consumption (RECS), available at
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/contents.html. West Virginia electricity, natural gas
and other residential energy costs are based on 2011 state data from U.S. DOE/EIA
Electric Power Monthly (February 2012), Natural Gas Monthly (February 2012) and
State Energy Data System data available at www.eia.gov/state/seds. 2012 gasoline
price projections are from DOE/EIA Short Term Energy Outlook (March 2012).
2
Household incomes in West Virginia by income category are derived from the
distribution of household income in U.S. Census Bureau, American Fact Finder, West
Virginia Selected Economic Characteristics: 2010 (2012).
3
Id.
4
Congressional Budget Office, “Effective Federal Tax Rates Under Current Law, 2001 to
2014,” (August 2004). Effective federal tax rates for the income categories employed in
this paper were interpolated from CBO’s tax rates by income quintile.
5
State tax data are estimated from state tax rates compiled by the Tax Foundation
(2010).
6
6
U.S. Census Bureau, American Fact Finder, West Virginia Selected Economic
Characteristics 2010 (2012).
7
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (March 2012).
8
U.S. DOE/EIA, Electric Power Monthly (February 2012).
9
Id.
10
Id., and U.S. DOE/EIA, Natural Gas Monthly (February 2012).
11
U.S. DOT, 2001 National Household Travel Survey, “Summary of Travel Trends,”
(December 2004).
12
The Department of Transportation’s 2009 National Highway Transportation Survey
(2011) reports that average vehicle-miles traveled per household declined from 21,187
miles in 2001 to 19,850 miles in 2009.
13
U.S. Census Bureau, West Virginia Selected Economic Characteristics: 2010 (2012).
7