The price of running an investor-owned utility power plant in the U.S. has risen by 74% in the past 20 years, according to analysis of financial data from major utilities sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by AI firm Uptake. Of the nearly 2,500 plants analysed, the median operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, excluding fuel, were $10.80/MWh in 2017, compared with $6.21/MWh in 1998, with hydro projects having risen by 145%. Coal and combined-cycle natural gas costs were up 113%, while in contrast, renewables had gone down 14%.
The price of running an investor-owned utility power plant in the US has risen by 74% in the past 20 years, according to analysis of financial data from major utilities sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by AI firm Uptake. Of the nearly 2,500 plants analysed, the median operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, excluding fuel, were $10.80/MWh in 2017, compared with $6.21/MWh in 1998, with hydro projects having risen by 145%. Coal and combined-cycle natural gas costs were up 113%, while in contrast, renewables had gone down 14%.