(Originally published December 16, 2015 on https://athf3.wordpress.com/)
The data suggest that all projections of growth in Michigan’s electrical generating industry are flatly wrong:
| Michigan Total Electric Power Industry | |||
| Megawatt-hours Generated | |||
| Figures come from US Energy Information Administration | |||
| (http://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/state/) | |||
| Year | MW-hrs | % change | |
| (annual) | |||
| 1990 | 100059737 | ||
| 1991 | 105978124 | 5.91% | |
| 1992 | 95321939 | -10.06% | |
| 1993 | 106368549 | 11.59% | |
| 1994 | 98307389 | -7.58% | |
| 1995 | 107444612 | 9.29% | |
| 1996 | 112518309 | 4.72% | |
| 1997 | 106970759 | -4.93% | |
| 1998 | 100477394 | -6.07% | |
| 1999 | 103239715 | 2.75% | |
| 2000 | 104209594 | 0.94% | |
| 2001 | 111845610 | 7.33% | |
| 2002 | 117889087 | 5.40% | |
| 2003 | 111347060 | -5.55% | |
| 2004 | 118487269 | 6.41% | |
| 2005 | 121619771 | 2.64% | |
| 2006 | 112556738 | -7.45% | |
| 2007 | 119309936 | 6.00% | |
| 2008 | 114989806 | -3.62% | |
| 2009 | 101202605 | -11.99% | |
| 2010 | 111551371 | 10.23% | |
| 2011 | 109169507 | -2.14% | |
| 2012 | 108166078 | -0.92% | |
| 2013 | 105417801 | -2.54% | |
| 2014 | 106816991 | 1.33% | |
| 6.75% | Total change in last 24 years | ||
| 0.28% | Average annual change in 24 years | ||
| 18.42% | Total change in first 14 years | ||
| 1.84% | Average annual change in first 14 years | ||
| -9.85% | Total change in last 10 years | ||
| -0.98% | Average annual change in last 10 years | ||
In other words, electricity consumption in Michigan indicates that there never has been an actual economic recovery since the financial crisis of late 2008. This will not surprise anyone who has been paying attention things like real wages and the actual conditions of life in Detroit, Flint, Pontiac, etc. It’s just another confirmation of the gap between reality and the lies politicians and economists tell us.
Art Myatt