Which state had the largest electricity rate hike?

Electricity rates stayed flat nationally in January.

Which state had the largest electricity rate hike?

The monthly Choose Energy® Rate Report shows that electricity rates nationally remained level – 12.47 cents per kilowatt hour. But that doesn’t mean they stayed constant in every state. For example, rates in Georgia increased 15.2 percent to 10.7 cents/kWh.

That was the only double-digit rate increase in January, the most recent month for which prices are available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Rates increased in 19 states and stayed the same in one.

One more thing about Georgia – while it had the largest percentage rate increase among states, it by no means had expensive prices. The Georgia rate actually was the nation’s 16^th lowest.

Following are the 10 largest increases, their January rate (in cents/kWh), and the percentage hike over the previous month.

State	Latest rate	% increase
Georgia	10.7	15.2
Virginia	11.4	3.5
Connecticut	21.56	3.5
Arkansas	9.3	3.2
Iowa	11.43	3.2
Massachusetts	22.57	2.6
Texas	11.51	2.6
Maine	16.49	2.4
Alabama	11.85	2.0
North Carolina	10.99	1.9

Only one state had a double-digit decrease – Kansas, where rates were 10.29 cents/kWh. That was 14 percent lower than the previous month. Thirty states recorded decreases ranging from 0.1 percent to the aforementioned 14 percent.

Following are the 10 states with the largest decreases from the previous month:

State	Latest rate	% decrease
Kansas	10.29	-14.0
Pennsylvania	12.54	-7.7
Vermont	16.73	-7.4
Hawaii	32.09	-6.8
West Virginia	9.72	-6.6
California	18.32	-5.8
South Dakota	10.57	-4.3
North Dakota	9.16	-4.0
Missouri	9.28	-2.7
Oklahoma	8.8	-2.4

Where were the highest and lowest electricity rates?

The nation’s highest electricity rates in January were in Hawaii, where they 32.09 cents/kWh. As noted above, that was actually a 6.8 percent decrease from the previous month. Four of the next five highest rates were in the Northeast. Following are the states with the highest rates:

State	Jan-19	State	Jan-19
Hawaii	32.09	New Jersey	15.72
Rhode Island	22.67	Michigan	15
Massachusetts	22.57	Wisconsin	14
Alaska	21.74	Maryland	13.08
Connecticut	21.56	Minnesota	12.75
New Hampshire	19.91	Pennsylvania	12.54
California	18.32	Delaware	12.24
New York	17.29	Illinois	12.22
Vermont	16.73	Arizona	12.22
Maine	16.49	New Mexico	12.21

As for the lowest rates, Oklahoma prices were the nation’s lowest at 8.80 cents/kWh – more than 29 percent lower than the national average. Following are the nation’s lowest rates during that month:

State	Jan-19	State	Jan-19
Oklahoma	8.8	Kentucky	10.21
Louisiana	8.84	Kansas	10.29
North Dakota	9.16	Wyoming	10.56
Missouri	9.28	South Dakota	10.57
Arkansas	9.3	Oregon	10.61
Washington	9.31	Georgia	10.7
Nebraska	9.59	Tennesee	10.78
West Virginia	9.72	Montana	10.82
Idaho	9.83	Mississippi	10.96
Utah	10.01	North Carolina	10.99

How do states with lower rates generate most of their electricity?

Of the 20 states with the lowest electricity rates in January, nearly half generated most of their electricity by burning coal. But the two with the lowest rates, Oklahoma and Louisiana, burned natual gas for the largest percentage of their power.

Following are the 20 states with the lowest rates for electricity, the largest source of that power, and the percentage generated by that source:

State	Main source of electricity	% of power from that source
Oklahoma	natural gas	46.5
Louisiana	natural gas	70.6
North Dakota	coal	65.8
Missouri	coal	76.5
Arkansas	coal	47.1
Washington	hydroelectric	63.2
Nebraska	coal	60.5
West Virginia	coal	93.8
Idaho	hydroelectric	53.4
Utah	coal	69.6
Kentucky	coal	76.3
Kansas	wind	38.5
Wyoming	coal	86.1
South Dakota	hydroelectric	38.5
Oregon	hydroelectric	50.3
Georgia	natural gas	41.3
Tennesee	nuclear	48
Montana	coal	55.7
Mississippi	natural gas	69.1
North Carolina	nuclear	34.8

As for the states with the highest rates, natural gas also played a prominent role. Half of the 10 most expensive rates were in states where natural gas provided the largest source of electricity. Following are those states, the largest source of their electricity, and the percentage generated by that source:

State	Main source of electricity	% of power from that source
Hawaii	petroleum	70
Rhode Island	natural gas	89.9
Massachusetts	natural gas	65.7
Alaska	natural gas	55.2
Connecticut	natural gas	48.4
New Hampshire	nuclear	57.6
California	natural gas	52.3
New York	nuclear	34.8
Vermont	hydroelectric	61.7
Maine	hydroelectric	35.2

For complete rates by state information, including comparisons to the same month of 2018, see the Choose Energy Electricity Rates by State page. For more information about energy generation by various sources, including solar, wind, and nuclear, see the Choose Energy Data Center.

Arthur directs ChooseEnergy.com’s newsroom, taking advantage of nearly 30 years of newspaper and magazine experience. A native of Virginia, Arthur attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated with a bachelor’s in journalism. Reach out to us with any questions or concerns.

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