Public power issuers “will likely manage the projected long-term decline in residential electricity consumption by using their inherent rate flexibility and lowering capex,” said Fitch Ratings in a Dec. 27 news release. The rating agency noted that although electricity sales are expected to increase during the next four months, the U.S. Energy Information Administration has forecast that average household electric demand will decline by 11 percent through 2040.
Fitch cited EIA projections, as well as its own 2017 long-term outlook for the public power sector and rural electric cooperative utilities.
