Electricity prices in US pretty stable

Here is a table from the US EIA on electricity prices:

Table 7.4. Average Retail Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, 1994 through 2005 (Cents per kilowatthour)
Period	Residential	Commercial	Industrial	Transportation	Other	All Sectors
Total Electric Industry
1994	8.38	7.73	4.77	NA	6.84	6.91
1995	8.4	7.69	4.66	NA	6.88	6.89
1996	8.36	7.64	4.6	NA	6.91	6.86
1997	8.43	7.59	4.53	NA	6.91	6.85
1998	8.26	7.41	4.48	NA	6.63	6.74
1999	8.16	7.26	4.43	NA	6.35	6.64
2000	8.24	7.43	4.64	NA	6.56	6.81
2001	8.58[R]	7.92[R]	5.05[R]	NA	7.20[R]	7.29[R]
2002	8.44[R]	7.89[R]	4.88[R]	NA	6.75	7.20[R]
2003	8.72[R]	8.03[R]	5.11[R]	7.54[R]	NA	7.44[R]
2004	8.95[R]	8.17[R]	5.25[R]	7.18[R]	NA	7.61[R]
2005	9.45	8.67	5.73	8.57	NA	8.14

Over the 11 year period the retail price to residential customers increased 12.7% or about 1.1% per year; hardly a radical change or a huge burden on consumers.

Another table from the same link, this time containing revenue of US electricity producers during the same time frame:

Table 7.3. Revenue from Retail Sales of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by Sector, by Provider, 1994 through 2005 (Million Dollars)
Period	Residential	Commercial	Industrial	Transportation	Other	All Sectors
Total Electric Industry
1994	84,552	63,396	48,069	NA	6,689	202,706
1995	87,610	66,365	47,175	NA	6,567	207,717
1996	90,503	67,829	47,536	NA	6,741	212,609
1997	90,704	70,497	47,023	NA	7,110	215,334
1998	93,360	72,575	47,050	NA	6,863	219,848
1999	93,483	72,771	46,846	NA	6,796	219,896
2000	98,209	78,405	49,369	NA	7,179	233,163
2001	103,158[R]	85,741[R]	50,293[R]	NA	8,151[R]	247,343[R]
2002	106,834[R]	87,117[R]	48,336[R]	NA	7,124[R]	249,411[R]
2003	111,249[R]	96,263[R]	51,741[R]	514	NA	259,767[R]
2004	115,577[R]	100,546[R]	53,477[R]	519[R]	NA	270,119[R]
2005	128,393	110,522	58,445	643	NA	298,003

So prices remained stable but usage went way up. Revenue increased 52% over the 11 years, so the annual rate of increase is 4.7%. So adding capacity was not a problem for the industry. And electricity used in the US is pretty much produced domestically.

I would say that electricity demand at least for consumers is more inelastic than that for gasoline. So one method of reducing US dependence on foreign oil would be to convert cars to electric engines. Food for thought...