June 24, 2014

Residential Electricity Costs by State - 2014

I discussed this topic in 2011 but the numbers have changed since then.

Nationally electricity averages 12.41 cents per kWh.     I live in the Northwest and our electricity is relatively cheap here.     The US Energy Information Administration has state level averages on electric costs.   Note that these are just state level averages and your electric utility may charge more or less and your rates may vary depending on time of use or the amount of power you use.

Here's the list of all states for April 2014 :


Alabama 11.79
Alaska 19.03
Arizona 11.97
Arkansas 9.75
California 10.17
Colorado 12.19
Connecticut 19.87
Delaware 13.33
D.C. 13.16
Florida 11.76
Georgia 11.49
Hawaii 38.08
Idaho 9.55
Illinois 11.77
Indiana 11.9
Iowa 11.71
Kansas 12.62
Kentucky 10.72
Louisiana 10.12
Maine 15.38
Maryland 14.08
Massachusetts 18.19
Michigan 14.62
Minnesota 11.97
Mississippi 11.87
Missouri 10.55
Montana 9.98
Nebraska 10.14
Nevada 13.57
New Hampshire 17.54
New Jersey 15.72
New Mexico 11.82
New York 19.56
North Carolina 11.84
North Dakota 9.14
Ohio 12.4
Oklahoma 11.05
Oregon 10.37
Pennsylvania 13.12
Rhode Island 18.26
South Carolina 12.52
South Dakota 10.26
Tennessee 10.81
Texas 12.07
Utah 10.2
Vermont 18.07
Virginia 11.08
Washington 8.75
West Virginia 9.56
Wisconsin 13.77
Wyoming 10.24

The 5 cheapest states are :


Washington 8.75
North Dakota 9.14
Idaho 9.55
West Virginia 9.56
Arkansas 9.75

And the 5 most expensive are :


Hawaii 38.08
Connecticut 19.87
New York 19.56
Alaska 19.03
Rhode Island 18.26

Electricity is cheap in the Northwest due to large hydroelectric power installations such as Grand Coulee Dam.     Hawaii and Alaska have expensive power due to their remote locations and having to rely more on fossil fuels to generate electricity.

Now since I've got the numbers from 2011 and the newer 2014 numbers we can compare the changes.    Based on a 3 year period the compound annual growth of rates for each state are :


Alabama 2%
Alaska 3%
Arizona 3%
Arkansas 3%
California -11%
Colorado 3%
Connecticut 3%
Delaware -2%
District of Columbia 0%
Florida 0%
Georgia 2%
Hawaii 5%
Idaho 7%
Illinois 0%
Indiana 4%
Iowa 4%
Kansas 6%
Kentucky 5%
Louisiana 4%
Maine 0%
Maryland 0%
Massachusetts 8%
Michigan 5%
Minnesota 3%
Mississippi 3%
Missouri 4%
Montana 2%
Nebraska 4%
Nevada 4%
New Hampshire 2%
New Jersey -1%
New Mexico 4%
New York 4%
North Carolina 4%
North Dakota 3%
Ohio 3%
Oklahoma 3%
Oregon 3%
Pennsylvania -1%
Rhode Island 4%
South Carolina 3%
South Dakota 5%
Tennessee 3%
Texas 2%
Utah 6%
Vermont 3%
Virginia 2%
Washington 2%
West Virginia 0%
Wisconsin 2%
Wyoming 5%


The largest increases:


Massachusetts 8%
Idaho 7%
Utah 6%
Kansas 6%
Michigan 5%


And the smallest increases (which are actually decreases) :


California -11%
Delaware -2%
New Jersey -1%
Pennsylvania -1%
Illinois -0.37%


So thats interesting that the rates dropped so much in California.    I haven't dug into that enough to find out why its down but I suspect its due to lower natural gas prices.   This report THE FUTURE OF ELECTRICITY PRICES IN CALIFORNIA points out that natural gas accounts for 60% of local CA electricity production and gas prices have been down in recent years.
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