Electricity Rates by State in 2017

Oct 4, 2017 by

Get to Know Electricity Supply Rates in Your State

In recent years, many states have adopted a deregulated energy market that allows residents to shop for the supply portion of their energy rather than automatically getting it from their utility – a right known as energy choice. Deregulation changed the world of energy, which is reflected in price differences across regulated and deregulated energy markets. Here, we’ve compiled data to show you just how much energy costs can vary, including historical energy supply prices from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in all 50 states. Information on recent rates and fluctuations may help you understand your bill or decide to change your energy supply plan.

Familiar with energy choice and want to sign up for a new plan? Enter your ZIP code above for rates you can secure today. 

Residential Rates by State | Commercial Rates by State | States with Lowest Rates

Energy supplier vs. utility: What is the difference?

Energy bills from your utility are split into three services: supply, transmission and delivery. What is the difference between an energy supplier and utility?

  • Energy suppliers can sell you energy supply but cannot transmit or delivery it to your home.
  • Energy utility can sell you energy supply as well as transmit and deliver energy to your home.

When you start an energy supply plan, your utility bill might look a little different, but will not complicate how you pay for energy. Your new energy supplier’s name will appear beside the supply cost, while the utility continues to charge for the two remaining portions of your bill. What services are on an energy bill and what does each mean?

  • Supply: Energy supply accounts for the cost of purchasing the energy from where it is produced.
  • Transmission: Energy transmission charges involve the movement of electricity from where it is generated to the place it is distributed.
  • Delivery: Delivery costs account for the delivery of electricity to your home or business.

In a traditional energy market, you receive your energy supply, delivery and transmission from the local utility. A public utility commission (PUC) controls the rates utilities charge for these services, which can change at any time.

If you live in a state with energy choice, you can sign up for energy supply from an independent supplier that offers rates not determined by the PUC. The local utility continues to provide power line maintenance, deliver energy to your address and restore energy in an emergency – for which it charges delivery and transmission fees.

 

Residential Energy Rate electric supply rates in 2017

As of 2015, the average home in the U.S. consumed 901 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per month. Bills vary by state and region, as cost per kWh differs. To estimate this month’s supply portion of your energy bill, multiply the average home’s energy usage (901 kWh) by the supply cost per kWh in your state this time last year. For example, the average supply cost per kWh in July 2016 for Floridians was 11.18 cents, which amounted to an energy supply bill of just over $100 (11.18 cents x 901 kWh) that month.

Electricity rates by state, depicted in quintiles

 

Residential Electricity Rates by State

(cents per kWh from June ’16 – May ’17)

State June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Alabama 12.16 12.08 12.22 12.27 12.56 12.29 12 12.11 12.97 12.82 12.71 12.73
Alaska 21.31 21.42 21.07 20.85 21.02 21.18 20.44 20.57 20.61 21.58 21.42 22.04
Arizona 12.54 12.7 12.56 12.77 12.16 11.66 11.3 11.31 11.66 11.73 12.49 13.04
Arkansas 10.31 10.28 10.38 10.43 9.85 10.08 9.45 9.18 9.84 9.85 10.4 10.49
California 18.11 18.49 18.88 18.23 13.94 17.93 18.15 18.44 18.68 18.87 14.09 18.29
Colorado 12.56 12.44 12.79 12.78 12.01 12.16 11.78 11.53 11.88 11.89 11.95 11.91
Connecticut 20.94 19.76 18.78 18.97 19.93 19.75 19.02 19.28 19.91 20.06 20.12 20.94
Delaware 13.6 12.99 13 13.09 15.5 13.87 12.94 12.83 13.37 13.86 13.62 14.77
Florida 11.08 11.18 11.47 11.39 11.2 11.3 11.17 11.54 11.95 11.76 11.58 11.38
Georgia 12.25 12.29 12.52 11.93 11.07 10.93 9.92 10.86 11.62 11.73 11.49 11.7
Hawaii 27.5 28.04 27.45 27.84 27.54 28.48 27.68 28.32 29.39 29.04 30.33 29.07
Idaho 10.13 10.81 10.51 10.29 10.31 10.08 9.49 9.26 9.66 9.92 9.76 10.17
Illinois 12.25 12.06 11.94 12.2 12.7 12.86 11.69 11.27 12.21 13.76 13.2 13.71
Indiana 11.33 11.27 11.35 11.79 12.24 12.42 11.4 11.28 11.78 11.99 12.57 12.3
Iowa 13.57 14.07 14.28 12.72 12.27 12 10.66 10.79 11.16 11.65 12.19 13.11
Kansas 13.3 13.06 13.17 12.92 13.12 13.16 12.13 11.95 12.99 13.3 13.58 13.77
Kentucky 10.33 10.28 10.31 10.47 10.83 11.01 10.36 10.26 10.59 10.48 10.76 10.66
Louisiana 8.96 9.06 9.43 9.52 9.33 9.16 9.12 7.71 9.57 9.46 9.35 9.88
Maine 15.9 15.87 16.12 16.28 16.28 16.24 15.68 15.95 16.02 15.92 16.05 16.18
Maryland 14.61 14.05 13.83 14.04 15.19 14.34 14.01 14.25 14.36 14.16 14.33 14.53
Massachusetts 18.52 18.2 18.34 19.47 18.71 19.15 18.87 19.59 19.86 19.84 20.7 20.03
Michigan 15.41 15.37 15.87 15.77 15.77 15.46 15.28 15.23 15.41 15.38 15.4 15.85
Minnesota 12.81 13.2 13.11 13.88 13.24 13.15 11.97 12.13 12.83 12.58 13.03 13.36
Mississippi 10.64 10.21 10.31 10.19 10.66 11.04 10.68 10.57 11.27 11.53 11.64 11.68
Missouri 12.59 12.28 12.4 11.26 10.4 10.79 9.63 9.37 9.96 10.43 10.9 11.85
Montana 11.59 11.6 11.5 11.62 11.35 11.06 10.64 10.61 10.61 10.74 10.93 11.29
Nebraska 11.9 12.1 12.02 12.34 10.8 10.73 9.73 9.28 9.96 10.52 10.69 11.25
Nevada 11.4 10.72 10.83 11.18 12.06 11.8 11.26 11.55 11.91 12.13 12.32 12.15
New Hampshire 18.13 18 18.25 18.35 18.93 19.11 18.68 18.48 18.91 18.98 19.01 19.61
New Jersey 16.05 16.16 16.22 16.17 15.29 15.29 15.32 15.83 15.69 15.57 15.75 16.22
New Mexico 12.22 12.51 13.02 12.9 12.59 11.98 12.08 11.98 12.84 12.76 12.63 12.83
New York 17.89 17.94 18 18.38 18.27 17.75 17.18 17.3 17.48 17.02 17.31 18.5
North Carolina 11.13 11.19 11.36 11.44 11.78 11.22 10.29 10.49 11.19 11 11.43 11.27
North Dakota 11.39 11.26 11.38 11.88 10.9 10.3 9.21 8.98 9.46 9.56 10.39 11.4
Ohio 12.47 12.25 12.21 11.9 12.28 12.22 12.11 11.55 12.15 12.35 12.52 12.51
Oklahoma 9.99 9.99 10.51 11.11 11.03 9.4 9.3 9.09 11.07 10.54 11.83 10.74
Oregon 10.79 10.78 10.86 10.91 10.98 10.75 10.59 10.4 10.53 10.51 10.69 10.86
Pennsylvania 14.03 13.76 13.81 14.17 14.4 14.24 13.76 13.79 14.29 14.08 14.46 14.67
Rhode Island 18.69 17.11 18.57 20.49 18.89 18.17 18.39 18.98 19.83 18.01 19.64 16.95
South Carolina 12.68 12.58 12.76 12.74 12.39 12.54 12.02 12.14 12.93 12.64 13.13 12.99
South Dakota 11.98 12.19 11.93 12.49 12.18 11.71 10.71 10.33 10.68 11.11 11.66 12.25
Tennessee 10.37 10.45 10.54 10.56 10.63 10.95 10.63 10.42 10.52 10.63 10.68 10.74
Texas 10.98 10.86 10.94 11.14 11 11.11 10.86 10.84 11.41 11.31 11.27 11.17
Utah 11.51 11.72 11.89 11.28 10.69 10.71 10.68 10.71 10.7 10.74 10.74 10.82
Vermont 17.57 17.29 17.27 17.53 17.78 17.84 17.22 17.05 17.51 17.39 17.72 18.04
Virginia 12.24 11.71 11.74 11.72 11.25 11.52 10.72 10.58 11.09 11.46 11.5 11.88
Washington 9.59 9.6 9.57 9.64 9.58 9.51 9.16 9.24 9.27 9.28 9.43 9.68
West Virginia 11.16 11.19 11.57 11.59 11.89 11.72 11.22 11.31 11.58 11.52 11.87 12.02
Wisconsin 14.96 14.54 14.33 14.77 14.76 14.4 13.74 14 14.34 14.51 14.75 15.35
Wyoming 11.81 11.88 11.75 11.8 11.56 11.3 10.71 10.57 10.77 10.91 11.48 11.69
Washington DC 12.85 12.3 12.48 12.26 13.49 13.71 12.46 12.37 12.84 13.04 13.1 13.55

 

Commercial electricity supply rates in 2017

In states with energy choice, the open market is not only for residents. Businesses can also take advantage of pricing and plans available through an energy supplier. In some states, only business customers have energy choice. Across the United States in 2015, the average business consumed more than 6,000 kWh of electricity per month and received an energy supply bill of around $600. That’s six times more than the typical home!

Commercial electric bills can vary greatly by industry and business. Although homes come in all shapes and sizes, businesses have larger variations with diverse needs – from industrial buildings to mom-and-pop businesses. In March 2017, the average business in Pennsylvania paid 9.1 cents per kWh. With this number, we can deduce that on average companies in Pennsylvania paid $546 in March for their energy supply.

Here are recent kWh prices for businesses (cents per kWh from June ’16 – May ’17): 

State June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Alabama 11.16 11.11 11.03 11.04 11.49 11.33 11.58 11.5 11.99 11.74 11.44 11.5
Alaska 18.64 18.61 18.7 18.29 18.31 18.26 18.09 18.33 18.72 19.89 20.35 20.64
Arizona 11.2 11.24 11.1 11.03 10.63 9.64 9.62 9.66 9.76 9.78 10.23 11.3
Arkansas 8.47 8.24 8.28 8.33 8.09 8.02 8.01 8.01 8.28 7.98 8.5 8.56
California 16.05 16.94 17.01 16.8 15.87 14.34 13.9 13.99 14.45 14.51 13.94 14.93
Colorado 10.25 10.01 10.2 10.4 9.99 9.89 9.43 9.17 9.45 9.54 9.64 9.83
Connecticut 16.01 15.53 15.37 15.61 15.92 15.87 15.32 15.6 15.93 16.03 15.81 16.16
Delaware 9.99 9.45 9.87 9.65 10.85 10.07 9.67 9.78 10.58 10.95 9.95 10.48
Florida 8.92 8.87 9.05 9.06 9.14 9.23 9.05 9.48 9.88 9.63 9.55 9.29
Georgia 9.93 10 9.7 9.67 9.6 9.76 9.15 9.8 10.04 10.19 10.03 9.79
Hawaii 24.69 24.8 25.01 25.25 24.9 25.9 25.77 26.35 26.6 26.41 26.46 26.36
Idaho 8.31 8.12 8.02 7.7 7.84 7.9 7.5 7.43 7.64 7.73 7.99 7.78
Illinois 8.72 8.98 8.87 8.86 8.91 8.77 8.6 8.3 8.46 9.68 9.07 9.23
Indiana 9.56 9.55 9.74 9.94 10.05 10.36 10.12 10.1 10.38 10.26 10.41 10.3
Iowa 10.68 10.97 11.24 9.9 8.76 8.78 8.19 8.67 8.7 8.48 8.96 9.39
Kansas 10.58 10.42 10.41 10.14 10.33 9.87 9.72 9.74 10.26 10.28 10.53 10.57
Kentucky 9.47 9.29 9.21 9.41 9.53 9.71 9.39 9.48 9.75 9.56 9.76 9.6
Louisiana 8.11 8.14 8.51 8.57 8.45 8.61 8.92 7.64 9.26 9.1 8.87 8.98
Maine 11.6 11.86 12.27 12.08 12.4 12.46 12.2 12.37 12.61 12.49 12.18 12.09
Maryland 11.04 10.74 10.75 10.85 11.22 11.04 11.25 11.17 11.29 10.97 11.07 10.96
Massachusetts 15.34 15.74 15.71 16.12 15.4 14.89 14.91 15.29 15.41 15.15 15.02 15.01
Michigan 10.69 10.66 10.74 10.84 10.89 10.99 10.97 10.84 11.25 11.08 10.81 11.54
Minnesota 9.88 10.1 10.16 10.82 9.91 10.22 9.22 9.57 11.07 9.78 10.59 10.71
Mississippi 9.52 9.25 9.3 9.32 9.82 9.95 10.08 10.12 10.47 10.48 10.47 10.29
Missouri 10.66 10.38 10.52 9.18 8.37 8.43 8.48 8.1 8.38 8.4 8.55 10.01
Montana 10.5 10.32 10.16 10.34 10.31 10.22 10.03 9.89 9.96 10.04 10.22 10.46
Nebraska 9.57 9.56 9.35 9.44 8.6 8.48 8.49 8.4 8.52 8.88 8.72 8.97
Nevada 7.92 7.7 7.98 8.12 7.98 7.73 7.59 7.77 7.95 7.83 8.02 7.85
New Hampshire 14.03 13.99 14.3 14.41 14.57 14.67 14.57 14.32 14.88 14.7 14.48 14.78
New Jersey 13.4 13.23 13.19 12.9 11.87 11.76 11.73 11.96 12.05 12.1 12.24 12.97
New Mexico 10.12 10.45 10.64 10.57 10.01 9.54 9.86 9.39 10.13 9.99 9.97 10.25
New York 15.12 15.68 15.57 15.79 14.89 14 13.75 13.87 13.42 14.21 13.78 14.54
North Carolina 8.63 8.98 8.88 8.75 8.81 8.37 8.32 8.41 8.68 8.55 8.2 8.64
North Dakota 9.3 9.36 9.57 9.85 9.28 9.08 8.74 8.76 8.98 8.84 9.12 9.37
Ohio 9.82 9.63 9.78 10 10.12 10.04 9.89 9.67 9.97 10.07 10.24 10.05
Oklahoma 7.8 8.01 8.16 8.29 7.93 6.8 7.29 7.82 7.95 7.5 8.04 7.88
Oregon 8.8 8.83 8.87 8.91 9.01 8.93 8.89 8.72 8.74 9.01 8.89 8.97
Pennsylvania 9.12 9.04 9.08 9.08 9.24 9.15 9.01 9 9.3 9.01 9.13 9.11
Rhode Island 14.47 14.19 14.63 14.71 14.35 14.48 13.67 15.58 16.06 15.15 15.37 13.87
South Carolina 10.58 10.46 10.36 10.32 9.78 10.09 10.25 10.14 10.74 10.23 10.48 10.21
South Dakota 9.71 9.92 9.57 10.01 9.62 9.5 9.24 8.94 9.15 9.47 9.64 9.69
Tennessee 10.1 10.24 10.26 10.35 10.12 10.23 10.44 10.42 10.34 10.28 10.27 10.33
Texas 7.78 7.65 7.65 7.73 7.76 7.63 7.6 7.96 8.51 8.4 8.42 8.28
Utah 9.78 9.13 9.18 9.55 8.94 8.54 8.11 8.07 8.33 8.52 8.46 9.21
Vermont 14.58 14.6 13.97 14.66 14.81 14.78 14.32 14.34 14.54 14.33 14.72 14.83
Virginia 8.29 7.86 7.84 7.81 7.63 7.81 7.69 8.02 7.41 7.74 7.86 7.81
Washington 8.35 8.33 8.27 8.34 8.54 8.49 8.3 8.37 8.41 8.55 8.37 8.38
West Virginia 9.2 9.06 9.2 9.3 9.61 9.76 9.27 9.57 9.87 9.79 9.94 9.68
Wisconsin 11.48 11.35 11.08 10.9 10.81 10.77 10.63 10.73 11.04 10.94 10.85 11.45
Wyoming 9.77 9.49 9.45 9.72 9.41 9.78 9.13 9.19 9.63 9.55 9.94 10.02
Washington DC 11.58 11.3 11.7 11.47 12.05 11.77 11.82 11.76 12.01 12.29 11.93 11.55

 

Understand the energy market

Due to the volatility of the energy market, energy supply prices may fluctuate throughout the year. Over the past 12 months, California has experienced the biggest fluctuation in Residential Energy Rate electric prices, while Washington and Oregon have had the most consistent prices.

Fluctuations in electricity supply prices may seem random, but there are a few primary factors that determine how much you pay. These factors are:

  • What time you use energy: Some energy suppliers offer plans with time-of-use discounts, such as free energy supply from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
  • What month you use it: In warmer states, summer rates can be higher than winter rates due to higher energy demand for cooling.
  • Where you live: Energy supply rates change from state to state and even among utility areas in the same state, regardless of whether the state has energy choice.

Where you live can affect your electricity rate

Based on June ’16 – May ’17 data, if you live in Louisiana, you pay the lowest average electricity supply rates of any state in the country – 9.21 cents per kWh. The next lowest rate is in Washington, where residents pay an average of 9.46 cents per kWh. Below are the cheapest 15 states to live in based on residential electricity rates:

Rank State Price (cents / kWh)
1 Louisiana 9.2125
2 Washington 9.4625
3 Idaho 10.0325
4 Arkansas 10.0450
5 Oklahoma 10.3833
6 North Dakota 10.5092
7 Kentucky 10.5283
8 Tennessee 10.5933
9 Oregon 10.7208
10 Mississippi 10.8683
11 Nebraska 10.9433
12 Missouri 10.9883
13 Utah 11.0158
14 Texas 11.0742
15 Montana 11.1283

 

 

The Future of Energy

Energy comes from many sources, including coal, natural gas, nuclear and renewables. As nonrenewable sources such as coal diminish, the need for renewable energy sources grows. Some states satisfy the country’s growing renewable energy needs with their production of wind, solar and hydropower.

 

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