By Alex Reyes, founding editor · Published · Figures from data retrieved
In most of the US the utility that delivers a home’s electricity also sells it. In 14 states and DC some homes buy it from someone else: 21.5 million of the country’s 141.8 million homes, or 15%, by EIA-861. The utility still owns the wires and reads the meter.
9.1 million homes buy from a retail marketer. EIA files them under the marketer whether the household chose it or its town or county arranged it for its residents. 5.5 million are with a community choice aggregator, a local government that buys power for its residents unless they opt out, in California and New Hampshire. In Texas 7.0 million homes buy full service from a retail provider, because the wires companies there sell no electricity themselves.
In Ohio (58%), Massachusetts (58%), and Texas (56%) more than half of homes are on a supplier other than their utility.
| State | Share of homes | Homes | Largest suppliers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohioretail marketers | 58% | 3,005,826 | Energy Harbor Corp.; AEP Energy; Dynegy Energy Services, LLC |
| Massachusettsretail marketers | 58% | 1,624,506 | Direct Energy Services; Constellation NewEnergy, Inc; Dynegy Energy Services, LLC |
| Texasretail providers selling full service | 56% | 6,992,178 | Reliant Energy Retail Services; TXU Energy Retail Co, LLC; US Retailers, LLC |
| Californiacommunity choice aggregators, retail marketers | 40% | 5,384,209 | San Diego Community Power; Clean Power Alliance of Southern Califor; Ava Community Energy |
| New Hampshirecommunity choice aggregators, retail marketers | 35% | 229,223 | Community Power Coalition of NH; Direct Energy Services; Electricity NH, LLC |
| Illinoisretail marketers | 26% | 1,375,391 | MC Squared Energy Services, LLC; Constellation NewEnergy, Inc; Homefield Energy |
| Rhode Islandretail marketers | 25% | 114,432 | NextEra Energy Services, LLC; SmartEnergy Holdings, LLC; Clearview Electric Inc. |
| Pennsylvaniaretail marketers | 23% | 1,280,190 | Reliant Energy Northeast LLC; Energy Harbor Corp.; Inspire Energy Holdings, LLC |
| Connecticutretail marketers | 20% | 293,596 | Constellation NewEnergy, Inc; Town Square Energy; Direct Energy Services |
| Marylandretail marketers | 12% | 288,585 | Constellation NewEnergy, Inc; WGL Energy Services, Inc.; Inspire Energy Holdings, LLC |
| Maineretail marketers | 9% | 67,006 | Electricity Maine, LLC; SmartEnergy Holdings, LLC; XOOM Energy Maine, LLC |
| Washington, DCretail marketers | 9% | 28,606 | CleanChoice Energy, Inc.; SmartEnergy Holdings, LLC; MPower Energy NJ LLC |
| New Yorkretail marketers | 9% | 638,198 | Constellation NewEnergy, Inc; Direct Energy Services; Green Mountain Energy Company |
| Delawareretail marketers | 6% | 27,160 | Reliant Energy Northeast LLC; Inspire Energy Holdings, LLC; Direct Energy Services |
| New Jerseyretail marketers | 5% | 198,351 | Inspire Energy Holdings, LLC; SmartEnergy Holdings, LLC; Direct Energy Services |
The plans on WattClear’s pages are utilities’ published tariffs. A supplier’s offers are contracts, change often and are not in any public tariff record, so they are not priced here. The guide to delivery and supply shows how much of a utility’s bill is the supply a household could buy elsewhere.
Where a state regulator runs its own comparison site and WattClear holds a sourced record of it, the state’s page names it, as does this list:
Every figure here is computed when the site is built, from the records named below, by the same code that fills the state, utility and cost-to-run pages this guide links to. When those records are refreshed, the figures change with them; the words around them do not, which is why no sentence here states a direction the data has not been checked for.
The text was reviewed by the editor before publication. The methodology page sets out what the rate engine assumes and where its figures stop being reliable.