Electricity

With less than one week until winter is officially over, Americans are celebrating the end of the season with an extra "spring" in their steps. What's got them feeling so happy? Two words: fatter wallets, thanks to warmer temperatures and lower heating costs.

It's summer, a season of warm days and scary air-conditioning bills. Want to pay your bills with plastic so you can get reward points? Well, the credit-card fees utilities charge could change your mind. SmartCharge offers some customers a way to avoid those fees.

If you're like the typical American, you've probably got about 40 household appliances that you routinely leave plugged in – even when these devices aren't actively being used. But did you know that even when they're turned off, appliances and electronic gadgets gobble up energy, costing you...

Expectations for power price increases have been put off to 2015 and beyond by bank analysts. But a combination of steady demand recovery, infrastructure changes and the retirement of coal-fired plants in 2015 could contribute to a tightening U.S. power market by the middle of the decade.

Given the uncertain prospects of the U.S. economic recovery, it's not surprising that many investors are reluctant to pour more money into stocks this spring. One lower-risk way to invest is to buy stocks that also pay decent dividends. Here are three options in the energy sector.

The Empire State Building is perhaps best remembered as the site of King Kong's last stand, but in real life, the monkey on the building's back wasn't a giant gorilla -- it was a giant electricity bill. But that was before one of the most remarkable green renovations ever undertaken.

Some TVs use as much electricity as a refrigerator, one of the home's biggest energy hogs. Yet big-screen TVs come in energy-efficient models at prices comparable to the electricity-gobbling beasts. Trouble is, you can't spot them just by looking at them. Side by side, they may appear identical,...

The big solar panel installer has announced its second East Coast deal in a month: It's buying the residential solar business of Vermont-based groSolar, after picking up Maryland's Clean Currents. And SolarCity isn't the only West Coast solar player heading East for growth.

American companies have a golden opportunity to expand the country's top spot globally. Industry leaders meeting in New York laid out the huge opportunity but also warned that red tape and a relative scarcity of skilled personnel threaten to stifle efforts to build this clean-energy source.

First Solar, one of the world's biggest solar manufacturers, is looking toward 2011 with plenty of good cheer. According to its latest forecast, released Tuesday, the company expects sales to heat up some 46% in spite of lower subsidies in Germany, the world's largest solar market.