AC ON BLAST

Texans spend the 3rd lowest amount of money on energy, new report finds

Don't talk to us about the heat.

It doesn't have to be 100 degrees for Texans to lambast the singularly most-hated request that could ever be asked of them: to turn down their air conditioner. As it turns out, a new report commends Texas as the third least energy-expensive state in the nation.

According to the new study by personal finance website WalletHub, the average Texan's total energy consumption cost is about $379 a month. Breaking that number down, that means monthly electricity costs average out to about $153, then $68 for natural gas, and $158 for vehicle fuel. Home-heating oil consumption is another factor included in the report, which comes out to zero for the state.

Texas additionally has the fifth-lowest natural gas consumption per consumer, and the third-lowest gas prices in the nation. AAA says the state's average price is $3.13 per gallon, in contrast to the national average of $3.52.

WalletHub compared the average monthly energy bills for every state and the District of Columbia to determine the rankings of the most and least expensive energy costs. Data for the study was collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and others.

The rest of the bottom five in the category for least energy-expensive states include Kansas (No. 47) and Nebraska (No. 48) with the same average energy cost of $384; New Mexico in No. 50 with residents spending $373 per month on energy; and residents in the District of Columbia (No. 51) spending the least in the nation at $274 a month.

To compare, Wyoming is the most energy-expensive state in the country, with residents' average total energy costs coming out to $844 a month. They spend $117 a month on electricity, $78 on natural gas, $287 on vehicle fuel, and $362 on home-heating oil consumption.

The top five most energy-expensive states in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Wyoming ($844)
No. 2 – North Dakota ($645)
No. 3 – Alaska ($613)
No. 4 – Connecticut ($593)
No. 5 – Massachusetts ($589)

Karen Clay, a professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, explained why energy costs are higher in some states, like Wyoming and North Dakota, than others.

"Energy costs reflect a combination of factors, including access to resources such as natural gas, coal, sun, and wind," Clay said. "The costs of moving and distributing energy, as well as state policies regarding energy efficiency and environmental impact, also contribute to varying energy costs among states."

The full report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

texas reports Energy Use WalletHub

Trucking news

Driverless truck company postpones Texas route, citing construction

Photo courtesy of Aurora

Driverless semis traveling from Dallas to Houston were expected to launch this year.

Autonomous truck company Aurora Innovation says it won't start hauling freight without humans on board until April of 2025, a delay from previous statements that commercial service would begin by the end of 2024.

The Pittsburgh company said the April launch of driverless semis traveling from Dallas to Houston — originally announced last year — will be “modestly later” than the company had intended. The company also previously announced a partnership with Uber.

The company told investors on its third-quarter earnings conference call that it has made progress toward ensuring its trucks will operate safely.

Remaining obstacles are “primarily in the areas of some elements of surface street driving and some elements of construction that we see on the freeway,” CEO Chris Urmson said. “We want to have extremely high confidence in the system as we as we go forward.”

The company will start with about 10 autonomous tractor-trailers and move to “tens” of trucks by the end of next year, Urmson said.

“This shift to our timeline will have a negligible financial impact and does not affect our scaling efforts on our path to self-funding," Urmson said.

Aurora also intends to haul freight without human drivers from Fort Worth to Phoenix later in 2025, Urmson said.

Aurora in August added nearly $500 million to its balance sheet with a capital raise in August, which the company expects to fund the initial phases of its strategy to scale up driverless trucking.

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