Investor-owned utilities charge 23% more for electricity than public providers

Investor-owned utilities charge 23% more for electricity than public ones In 2025, homes paid 17.8¢ a kilowatt-hour at investor-owned utilities, 14.5¢ at public utilities and 14.1¢ at co-ops. Since 2020, investor-owned prices rose 34% and public ones 19%, against 24% inflation. Average home price by utility owner Change since 2020 against inflation, or cents per kilowatt-hour since 2015. | Year | Investor-owned | Public | Co-op | |---|---|---|---| | 2025 | 17.8¢ +34% | 14.5¢ +19% | 14.1¢ +19% | | 2024 | 16.9¢ +28% | 13.9¢ +14% | 13.5¢ +14% | | 2023 | 16.6¢ +25% | 13.4¢ +10% | 13.2¢ +12% | | 2022 | 15.4¢ +17% | 13.3¢ +9.4% | 13.1¢ +11% | | 2021 | 13.9¢ +5.1% | 12.4¢ +1.8% | 12.1¢ +2.2% | | 2020 | 13.3¢ | 12.2¢ | 11.8¢ | | 2019 | 13.1¢ | 12.0¢ | 11.9¢ | | 2018 | 13.1¢ | 12.0¢ | 11.8¢ | | 2017 | 13.3¢ | 11.8¢ | 11.9¢ | | 2016 | 12.9¢ | 11.6¢ | 11.6¢ | | 2015 | 12.9¢ | 11.6¢ | 11.6¢ | Every year since 2015: home revenue, kWh sold, homes, price and bill by utility owner, for the US and each state, as a gzipped CSV. Download CSV (gzip)Home prices in 2025 Share of homes by their utility's average price per kilowatt-hour, in 2-cent bands. | Price a kWh | Investor-owned | Public | Co-op | |---|---|---|---| | Under 10¢ | 0.1% | 3.9% | 1.2% | | 10 to 12¢ | 3.8% | 13.2% | 10.4% | | 12 to 14¢ | 13.9% | 43.8% | 40.0% | | 14 to 16¢ | 20.3% | 12.7% | 30.8% | | 16 to 18¢ | 20.0% | 3.2% | 11.7% | | 18 to 20¢ | 12.4% | 6.5% | 2.4% | | 20 to 22¢ | 9.1% | 1.5% | 1.0% | | 22 to 24¢ | 2.7% | 0.9% | 0.8% | | 24 to 26¢ | 3.4% | 0.6% | 0.9% | | 26 to 28¢ | 1.3% | 13.3% | 0.0% | | 28 to 30¢ | 1.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | | 30¢ or more | 11.4% | 0.5% | 0.6% | Price change by state, 2020 to 2025 Investor-owned prices rose faster than nonprofit (public and co-op) prices in 38 of the 48 states with both: investor-owned against nonprofit. - Maine - Washington - California - New Jersey - New York - Ohio - Delaware - Oregon - Oklahoma - Illinois - Pennsylvania - Wyoming - Hawaii - Maryland - Florida - Colorado - North Carolina - Indiana - Georgia - Mississippi - Wisconsin - Rhode Island - Virginia - Montana - Connecticut - Alabama - Minnesota - Texas - Arizona - Utah - North Dakota - New Mexico - Alaska - New Hampshire - Tennessee - Nevada - South Carolina - Massachusetts - Nonprofit prices rose as fast or faster in these 10 - South Dakota - Michigan - Louisiana - Missouri - Idaho - Kansas - Vermont - Arkansas - Iowa - Kentucky Largest utilities, 2020 to 2025 Change in the average home price at utilities with 250,000 or more homes: investor-owned, public and co-op. - New York State Electric & Gas, NY+97% - San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), CA+79% - Potomac Electric Power, DC+76% - Rochester Gas & Electric, NY+75% - Southern California Edison (SCE), CA+73% - Tampa Electric, FL+72% - Ameren Illinois, IL+72% - Central Maine Power, ME+69% - Baltimore Gas & Electric, MD+67% - Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), CA+59% - Appalachian Power (AEP), VA+59% - Puget Sound Energy, WA+57% - National Grid (Niagara Mohawk), NY+57% - Duke Energy Ohio, OH+52% - Portland General Electric, OR+50% - AEP Ohio, OH+50% - PSO (AEP), OK+50% - Potomac Electric Power, MD+49% - Delmarva Power, DE+48% - Duquesne Light, PA+46% Showing 20 of 99 | New York State Electric & Gas | Investor-owned | +97% | | San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) | Investor-owned | +79% | | Potomac Electric Power | Investor-owned | +76% | | Rochester Gas & Electric | Investor-owned | +75% | | Southern California Edison (SCE) | Investor-owned | +73% | | Tampa Electric | Investor-owned | +72% | | Ameren Illinois | Investor-owned | +72% | | Central Maine Power | Investor-owned | +69% | | Baltimore Gas & Electric | Investor-owned | +67% | | Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) | Investor-owned | +59% | | Appalachian Power (AEP) | Investor-owned | +59% | | Puget Sound Energy | Investor-owned | +57% | | National Grid (Niagara Mohawk) | Investor-owned | +57% | | Duke Energy Ohio | Investor-owned | +52% | | Portland General Electric | Investor-owned | +50% | Showing 15 of 99 About the data - Public power is common where electricity is cheap, so we also compared utilities within each state. Investor-owned prices rose faster in 38 of 48 states. - Most of the gap opened from 2020 to 2023, during the energy price spike: 25% at investor-owned utilities, 11% at public utilities and co-ops. Before and since, both rose at about the same pace. - After inflation, investor-owned prices rose 7.9%. Public and co-op prices fell 4.3%. - Co-op homes have the highest bills, $159 a month in 2025, because they use the most power. - Homes that buy power from a retail supplier aren't in the investor-owned figures. Counting them, prices on investor-owned lines rose 36%. - Price is what homes paid divided by the kilowatt-hours they used, from EIA's yearly survey of utilities. Federal utilities and the smallest ones are left out. - The data shows what homes paid, not why. Investor-owned utilities earn a return for shareholders on what they build. Public utilities and co-ops have no shareholders. See the rate cases for increases utilities are asking for now.