By Alex Reyes, founding editor · Published · Figures from data retrieved
Before a single kilowatt-hour, most published plans bill a fixed amount every month. Across the 198 plans priced here it runs from $0.00 to $31.93 a month, with a median of $17.00 — and the median plan’s fixed charge is 13% of a 500 kWh bill against 3% of a 2,000 kWh one.
A fixed charge does not move with the meter. The same amount is spread over whatever a household uses, so it takes a larger share of a small bill than a large one — which is why, on the same plan, a light user’s effective rate is higher than a heavy user’s.
It is the mechanism behind the pattern in what published electricity plans cost, state by state: the median rate falls as use rises in 16 of the 18 states there.
| State | Plans | Median a month | Lowest to highest | Share at 500 kWh | Share at 1,000 kWh | Share at 2,000 kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 54 | $24.14 | $0.00 to $24.14 | 11% | 6% | 3% |
| Arizona | 16 | $21.94 | $0.00 to $28.44 | 29% | 16% | 8% |
| New York | 52 | $20.00 | $2.75 to $31.93 | 17% | 9% | 5% |
| Oregon | 3 | $16.36 | $11.69 to $16.36 | 15% | 8% | 4% |
| North Carolina | 10 | $15.81 | $14.00 to $24.81 | 21% | 12% | 6% |
| Georgia | 4 | $14.00 | $0.46 to $14.00 | 17% | 9% | 5% |
| Washington | 10 | $13.43 | $7.75 to $13.48 | 15% | 8% | 4% |
| Illinois | 4 | $12.37 | $8.94 to $19.52 | 18% | 10% | 5% |
| Pennsylvania | 3 | $11.30 | $11.30 to $13.00 | 9% | 5% | 3% |
| Ohio | 3 | $10.70 | $0.00 to $10.70 | 18% | 10% | 5% |
| Florida | 3 | $10.52 | $10.52 to $19.25 | 15% | 8% | 4% |
| Virginia | 4 | $10.29 | $7.58 to $12.99 | 12% | 6% | 3% |
| Texas | 9 | $9.25 | $8.07 to $15.00 | 15% | 8% | 4% |
| Michigan | 4 | $8.73 | $8.73 to $8.73 | 7% | 4% | 2% |
| Colorado | 5 | $8.19 | $5.60 to $15.83 | 10% | 5% | 3% |
| Massachusetts | 7 | $7.50 | $7.00 to $10.00 | 6% | 3% | 1% |
| Minnesota | 4 | $6.00 | $6.00 to $6.00 | 7% | 4% | 2% |
| New Jersey | 3 | $6.00 | $6.00 to $13.94 | 4% | 2% | 1% |
At 500 kWh a month the fixed charge is 29% of the median bill in Arizona, and 4% in New Jersey. The same dollars are a rounding error on a large bill and a visible part of a small one.
| Utility | Plan | A month | A year | Share at 500 kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester Gas & Electric CorpNew York | SERVICE CLASSIFICATION NO. 4 RESIDENTIAL SERVICE - TIME-OF-USE RATE RSS (Non-Retail Access Rate Choice) Schedule II | $31.93 | $383 | 28% |
| Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.New York | SC1C (TOU)- Zone D | $30.62 | $367 | 41% |
| Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.New York | SC1C (TOU)- Zone B | $30.62 | $367 | 41% |
| Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.New York | SC1C (TOU)- Zone E | $30.62 | $367 | 40% |
| Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.New York | SC1C (TOU)- Zone A | $30.62 | $367 | 35% |
| Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.New York | SC1C (TOU)- Zone C | $30.62 | $367 | 34% |
| Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.New York | SC1C (TOU)- Zone F | $30.62 | $367 | 34% |
| New York State Elec & Gas CorpNew York | WEST - SERVICE CLASSIFICATION NO. 12 Residential Service TOU NSS (Non-Retail) | $30.00 | $360 | 27% |
| New York State Elec & Gas CorpNew York | EAST - SERVICE CLASSIFICATION NO. 12 Residential Service TOU NSS (Non-Retail) | $30.00 | $360 | 23% |
| New York State Elec & Gas CorpNew York | LOWER HUDSON VALLEY - SERVICE CLASSIFICATION NO. 12 Residential Service TOU NSS (Non-Retail) | $30.00 | $360 | 23% |
16 of the 198 plans bill no fixed charge at all. Whether that makes one cheaper is a question about the whole bill, and it can only be asked within a utility: a municipal utility’s price is lower whatever it bills. 3 utilities here publish both kinds.
At Pacific Gas & Electric Co and Arizona Public Service Co, the plans without a fixed charge come out cheaper at 1,000 kWh a month. At Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, they come out dearer: the charge is gone and the price per kWh is not.
| Utility | Without a fixed charge | With one | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Gas & Electric CoCalifornia | $2,98411 plans | $4,57321 plans | −$1,589 |
| Los Angeles Department of Water & PowerCalifornia | $2,9313 plans | $2,8591 plan | +$72 |
| Arizona Public Service CoArizona | $1,1931 plan | $1,5733 plans | −$380 |
The fixed charge is the one the record publishes, billed every month of the year. Taxes are excluded, and consumption is spread evenly across the months, so a plan whose charge varies by season is shown at its average.
A plan can also carry a minimum bill, which is not a fixed charge: it only applies when the bill would otherwise fall below it. Where a record publishes one, the rate engine bills it separately. No plan in this data publishes a minimum without also publishing a fixed charge.
Every figure here is computed when the site is built, from the records named below, by the same rate engine that fills the state, utility and appliance 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.
Estimate — your actual bill may differ.
NREL/OpenEI Utility Rate Database (CC0 1.0), retrieved September 2, 2026.