By DueRiva · Published · Updated · Figures from data retrieved
Before a single kilowatt-hour, most published plans bill a fixed amount every month. Across the 243 plans priced here it runs from $0.00 to $60.00 a month, with a median of $15.81 — and the median plan’s fixed charge is 15% of a 500 kWh bill against 4% 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 43 of the 44 states and DC there.
| State | Plans | Median a month | Lowest to highest | Share at 500 kWh | Share at 1,000 kWh | Share at 2,000 kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 1 | $31.82 | $31.82 to $31.82 | 39% | 25% | 15% |
| Nebraska | 2 | $31.75 | $30.00 to $33.50 | 45% | 34% | 25% |
| Maine | 2 | $28.46 | $26.71 to $30.21 | 18% | 10% | 5% |
| Arizona | 12 | $26.72 | $13.93 to $40.00 | 30% | 17% | 10% |
| Wyoming | 1 | $24.24 | $24.24 to $24.24 | 28% | 17% | 9% |
| California | 51 | $24.14 | $0.00 to $24.14 | 10% | 5% | 2% |
| Idaho | 1 | $23.50 | $23.50 to $23.50 | 35% | 21% | 12% |
| Kentucky | 5 | $22.81 | $20.00 to $23.00 | 26% | 15% | 8% |
| New Hampshire | 2 | $22.77 | $19.81 to $25.73 | 17% | 9% | 5% |
| New Mexico | 2 | $21.89 | $12.79 to $30.99 | 21% | 11% | 6% |
| Vermont | 2 | $21.87 | $19.04 to $24.69 | 17% | 9% | 5% |
| Tennessee | 5 | $21.81 | $15.10 to $24.29 | 27% | 15% | 8% |
| New York | 27 | $19.00 | $16.80 to $30.00 | 15% | 9% | 5% |
| Hawaii | 2 | $18.34 | $15.41 to $21.26 | 10% | 5% | 3% |
| Nevada | 2 | $18.00 | $18.00 to $18.00 | 23% | 13% | 7% |
| Alabama | 3 | $17.23 | $16.00 to $26.50 | 24% | 14% | 7% |
| Washington, DC | 1 | $17.09 | $17.09 to $17.09 | 17% | 9% | 4% |
| Ohio | 4 | $16.88 | $8.30 to $18.79 | 16% | 9% | 4% |
| North Carolina | 7 | $15.97 | $14.00 to $60.00 | 21% | 11% | 6% |
| Iowa | 1 | $15.50 | $15.50 to $15.50 | 16% | 9% | 5% |
| Oregon | 4 | $15.18 | $14.00 to $16.36 | 16% | 8% | 4% |
| Wisconsin | 9 | $15.00 | $15.00 to $17.92 | 15% | 8% | 4% |
| Florida | 4 | $14.27 | $10.52 to $19.25 | 17% | 9% | 5% |
| Kansas | 3 | $14.25 | $14.25 to $14.25 | 20% | 11% | 6% |
| Illinois | 3 | $14.01 | $14.01 to $19.52 | 11% | 6% | 3% |
| Georgia | 5 | $14.00 | $0.46 to $34.00 | 17% | 9% | 4% |
| Texas | 8 | $14.00 | $9.25 to $15.00 | 19% | 10% | 5% |
| Indiana | 3 | $13.70 | $13.70 to $17.00 | 15% | 8% | 5% |
| Washington | 11 | $13.48 | $7.49 to $14.90 | 15% | 8% | 4% |
| Rhode Island | 1 | $12.54 | $12.54 to $12.54 | 9% | 5% | 3% |
| Utah | 2 | $12.16 | $12.16 to $12.16 | 17% | 9% | 4% |
| Pennsylvania | 4 | $12.15 | $11.30 to $15.52 | 10% | 5% | 3% |
| Louisiana | 2 | $12.04 | $8.07 to $16.00 | 16% | 9% | 5% |
| Missouri | 12 | $12.00 | $9.00 to $27.38 | 16% | 9% | 5% |
| South Carolina | 6 | $11.87 | $9.50 to $20.00 | 14% | 8% | 4% |
| Maryland | 2 | $11.32 | $10.32 to $12.32 | 9% | 5% | 2% |
| Virginia | 2 | $10.29 | $7.58 to $12.99 | 11% | 6% | 3% |
| Connecticut | 2 | $9.62 | $9.62 to $9.62 | 6% | 3% | 2% |
| Michigan | 6 | $8.73 | $8.73 to $9.75 | 7% | 4% | 2% |
| Colorado | 5 | $8.19 | $8.19 to $20.78 | 9% | 5% | 2% |
| Massachusetts | 6 | $7.50 | $7.00 to $10.00 | 6% | 3% | 1% |
| South Dakota | 1 | $7.00 | $7.00 to $7.00 | 7% | 4% | 2% |
| Minnesota | 3 | $6.00 | $6.00 to $6.00 | 7% | 4% | 2% |
| New Jersey | 5 | $6.00 | $4.27 to $13.94 | 4% | 2% | 1% |
| West Virginia | 1 | $6.00 | $6.00 to $6.00 | 8% | 4% | 2% |
At 500 kWh a month the fixed charge is 45% of the median bill in Nebraska, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EnergyUnited Elec Member CorpNorth Carolina | Residential Service R Single Phase | $60.00 | $720 | 62% |
| Salt River ProjectArizona | E-28 Tier 3 PRICE PLAN FOR RESIDENTIAL TIME-OF-DAY SERVICE WITH SUPER OFF-PEAK HOURS | $40.00 | $480 | 40% |
| Salt River ProjectArizona | E-23 Tier 3 BASIC PRICE PLAN FOR RESIDENTIAL SERVICE | $40.00 | $480 | 40% |
| Salt River ProjectArizona | E-24 Tier 3 M-POWER PRICE PLAN FOR PRE-PAY RESIDENTIAL SERVICE | $40.00 | $480 | 40% |
| Brunswick Electric Member CorpNorth Carolina | Residential Service R | $35.00 | $420 | 40% |
| Jackson Electric Member CorpGeorgia | ATOU Residential Service Time-of-Use | $34.00 | $408 | 42% |
| Lincoln Electric SystemNebraska | Residential Single Phase (Facilities Level 1) | $33.50 | $402 | 53% |
| Entergy Mississippi IncMississippi | Residential Service Single Phase (RS-40C) | $31.82 | $382 | 39% |
| Jackson Electric Member CorpGeorgia | A - Residential Service | $31.00 | $372 | 41% |
| Public Service Co of NMNew Mexico | 1B (Residential Service Time-Of-Use) | $30.99 | $372 | 27% |
2 of the 243 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. One utility here publishes both kinds.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Department of Water & PowerCalifornia | $2,9352 plans | $2,8911 plan | +$45 |
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 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 methodology page sets out what the rate engine assumes and where its figures stop being reliable.