AI Analysis: Electric power selling price index, monthly

Executive Summary

Canada's Electric Power Selling Price Index (Statistics Canada, Table 18100204) has risen 321.3% over 45 years, climbing from 31.0 in January 1981 to 130.6 in February 2026 against a 2014 base of 100, with prices now approximately 30.6% above 2014 levels. All three index categories — National Total, Over 5,000 kW, and Under 5,000 kW — are extremely strongly correlated (r ≥ 0.9863), indicating that shared market forces drive electricity prices consistently across consumer tiers. The data is remarkably stable and well-behaved, with no statistical outliers detected across 542 monthly observations, reflecting a steady and uninterrupted long-term upward trend.

Key Findings

• Canada's national total Electric Power Selling Price Index rose from 31.0 in January 1981 to 130.6 in February 2026, representing a 321.3% increase over 45 years of monthly data.
• The index has increased approximately 30.6% since the 2014 base year (2014=100), indicating continued above-baseline price growth in recent years.
• The Under 5,000 kW category has the highest mean index value at 80.17, while the Over 5,000 kW category shows the widest spread with values ranging from 12.2 to 325.4 and a standard deviation of 31.33 across 6,488 records.
• All three index categories are extremely strongly correlated, with the National Total and Under 5,000 kW pair sharing the highest correlation at r = 0.9992, suggesting near-identical price movement across consumer tiers.
• No statistical outliers were detected across all 542 monthly national total observations using both IQR and Z-score methods, confirming a smooth and consistent long-term upward trend without sudden price shocks.
• The dataset covers 13 Canadian regions — including Alberta, British Columbia, Atlantic Region, and Manitoba — enabling broad geographic comparison of electricity price trends since 1981.
• Month-over-month price changes were uniformly modest throughout the entire 45-year period, with no single month registering a change large enough to qualify as a top-5% anomaly.