State Electricity Costs Driven by Energy Source

Residents of Alabama pay more for electricity than residents of any other state — a monthly bill of $146. The state’s primary source of fuel for electricity generation is natural gas.

New Mexico residents pay the least for electricity — $76 in a state where the primary source of energy is coal.

The least expensive single fuel overall is coal and the most expensive is petroleum liquids, the major source of power generation in Hawaii.

Those results were compiled from U.S. Energy Information Administration data by HowMuch.net. The researchers noted:

While central air conditioners and home heating units can play a role in determining a state’s average electricity cost, the factor that drives the price the most is the source for generating power. States that use coal as their source to generate power have the least expensive average monthly electricity bills, while states that use peak natural gas and nuclear energy to generate power have the highest average monthly bills.

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The five states with the highest electricity prices and the primary fuel source are:

1. Alabama: $146 per month; natural gas
2. South Carolina: $143; nuclear
3. Connecticut: $142; natural gas
4. Maryland: $141; nuclear
5. Hawaii: $139; petroleum liquids

The five states where electricity is cheapest are:

1. New Mexico: $76; coal
2. Utah: $83; coal
3. Colorado: $84; coal
4. Maine: $86; other renewables
5. Montana: $89; coal

Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 20 of them depend on coal as their primary energy source, 19 use natural gas, five rely on hydropower, five depend on nuclear generation, while one relies on petroleum liquids and one on renewables.

See Hownuch.net for a map of monthly prices and fuel sources.

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