Precise Points of Fact

On a national basis, the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that electric bills will rise 5.2 percent this year. But next year, they’re expected to rise 9.8 percent. “In the last two months, 20 to 30 utilities started requesting to have their rates increased,” says Tyler Hodge, an electricity analyst at EIA in Washington. “With the rise in fuel costs, other utilities will follow suit pretty soon.”