California electricity rates: what homes pay and why

A high price per kWh, an ordinary bill

California's residential price over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026) was 32.34¢ per kWh, the 2nd highest among the 50 states and DC and 14.30¢ per kWh more than the US average¹. That figure is average revenue per kWh: what homes paid in total, fixed charges and adjustments included, divided by the electricity they used. In the 2025 annual data the average was 31.35¢ per kWh, also 2nd highest⁴.

The monthly bill does not follow the price. The average California home used 494 kWh a month in 2025, the lowest among the states, against 874 kWh nationally. The result was an average bill of $154.73, 20th highest² in the country. Winters are mild: California averages 2,478 heating degree days a year (9th lowest⁵ among the states with data), and in EIA's 2020 household survey space heating took 4% of the electricity California homes used, tied for lowest⁶. In the Census Bureau's 2025 survey, 30.2% of California homes heated mainly with electricity, against 41.8%⁷ nationally.

Source: EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state; EIA-861 2025, average monthly bill by state. Each dot is a state (horizontal: Residential ¢/kWh, 12 months; vertical: kWh a month, 2025). Residential revenue divided by kilowatt-hours sold over the 12 months 2025-09 to 2026-08 (EIA-861M; months since January 2026 preliminary). Average revenue per kWh, all charges included; not a tariff. Period: September 2025 to August 2026. Residential kilowatt-hours per customer per month, 2025.

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State	Residential ¢/kWh, 12 months	kWh a month, 2025
North Dakota	12.35¢	1,070
Nebraska	12.74¢	973
Idaho	12.77¢	933
Louisiana	13.02¢	1,225
Utah	13.26¢	761
Nevada	13.45¢	868
Arkansas	13.57¢	1,076
Tennessee	13.61¢	1,180
Oklahoma	13.81¢	1,064
Kentucky	13.94¢	1,094
Montana	13.94¢	853
Missouri	13.97¢	1,038
Wyoming	14.01¢	835
Iowa	14.20¢	861
Washington	14.20¢	945
South Dakota	14.28¢	984
North Carolina	14.79¢	1,044
Mississippi	14.85¢	1,184
Kansas	15.13¢	876
Georgia	15.17¢	1,077
New Mexico	15.31¢	638
Arizona	15.39¢	1,030
Florida	15.41¢	1,103
Oregon	15.53¢	866
West Virginia	15.53¢	1,073
South Carolina	15.77¢	1,067
Texas	15.98¢	1,110
Minnesota	16.28¢	744
Alabama	16.44¢	1,145
Colorado	16.61¢	658
Virginia	16.64¢	1,067
Indiana	16.90¢	938
Delaware	17.98¢	920
Ohio	18.41¢	874
Wisconsin	18.79¢	667
Illinois	18.91¢	717
Pennsylvania	20.86¢	839
Maryland	21.18¢	945
Michigan	21.28¢	635
New Jersey	23.74¢	670
Vermont	23.90¢	592
District of Columbia	24.48¢	639
Alaska	26.94¢	564
New Hampshire	26.95¢	640
Connecticut	27.42¢	704
New York	28.60¢	586
Rhode Island	29.44¢	562
Maine	29.60¢	533
Massachusetts	30.39¢	596
California	32.34¢	494
Hawaii	44.27¢	515

Households' own figures land close to EIA's. In the Census Bureau's 2025 American Community Survey, California households paying for electricity reported a median bill of about $162 for the previous month, against $169 nationally; 28.7% reported $250 or more (±0.3 percentage points⁸). These are recalled bills, taxes included, and survey estimates.

Which utility delivers your power decides the price

California has 57 distribution utilities, and their averages are far apart. In 2025, bundled (full-service) residential customers of the state's investor-owned utilities paid 33.91¢ per kWh on average; customers of city utilities and public power districts paid 22.74¢ per kWh³. The California Legislative Analyst's Office reached the same conclusion in its January 2025 report on residential electricity rates: investor-owned utility rates are well above those of publicly owned utilities on average.

Three investor-owned companies carry most of the state. PG&E delivers to 35.6% of California's residential customers, Southern California Edison to 32.6%, and SDG&E to 9.7%. Their bundled customers paid 37.52¢ per kWh, 31.48¢ per kWh and 45.77¢ per kWh respectively in 2025. Among large US utilities (100,000 or more residential customers), SDG&E's average was the highest of 177 and PG&E's 3rd highest of 177. The two largest public utilities averaged less: 26.48¢ per kWh at LADWP, the Los Angeles city utility, and 18.93¢ per kWh³ at SMUD in Sacramento.

Turlock Irrigation District17.40¢

City of Santa Clara17.88¢

Imperial Irrigation District18.69¢

SMUD18.93¢

City of Redding18.97¢

Anaheim Public Utilities19.37¢

City of Azusa20.77¢

City of Roseville21.29¢

City of Palo Alto21.36¢

City of Burbank Water and Power21.50¢

Riverside Public Utilities21.94¢

City of Lodi22.78¢

City of Colton23.00¢

Modesto Irrigation District23.03¢

Alameda Municipal Power24.01¢

Merced Irrigation District24.15¢

PacifiCorp24.18¢

City of Pasadena25.11¢

LADWP26.48¢

Liberty Utilities27.65¢

California average31.35¢

Southern California Edison31.48¢

City of Glendale35.51¢

PG&E37.52¢

Bear Valley Electric Service41.12¢

SDG&E45.77¢

Source: EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final. Utilities with 10,000 or more bundled (full-service) residential customers. Revenue divided by kWh sold, all charges included, EIA-861 2025 final. Darker bars have their own page. In this state, customers who buy supply from a competitive supplier are not in these averages (they pay delivery to the utility and supply to the supplier).

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Utility	¢/kWh
Turlock Irrigation District	17.40¢
City of Santa Clara	17.88¢
Imperial Irrigation District	18.69¢
SMUD	18.93¢
City of Redding	18.97¢
Anaheim Public Utilities	19.37¢
City of Azusa	20.77¢
City of Roseville	21.29¢
City of Palo Alto	21.36¢
City of Burbank Water and Power	21.50¢
Riverside Public Utilities	21.94¢
City of Lodi	22.78¢
City of Colton	23.00¢
Modesto Irrigation District	23.03¢
Alameda Municipal Power	24.01¢
Merced Irrigation District	24.15¢
PacifiCorp	24.18¢
City of Pasadena	25.11¢
LADWP	26.48¢
Liberty Utilities	27.65¢
California average	31.35¢
Southern California Edison	31.48¢
City of Glendale	35.51¢
PG&E	37.52¢
Bear Valley Electric Service	41.12¢
SDG&E	45.77¢

Bills by utility show the same split with a twist. A PG&E bundled customer paid $173.95 a month in 2025 for 464 kWh; an SDG&E customer $167.87 for only 367 kWh. SMUD's customers used more, 663 kWh, and still paid less: $125.42³.

LADWP (CA)$124.20

SMUD (CA)$125.42

Southern California Edison (CA)$149.07

SDG&E (CA)$167.87

PG&E (CA)$173.95

Source: EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final. EIA-861 2025 final. Average revenue per kWh is all charges divided by kWh; it is not a tariff rate.

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Utility	average monthly residential bill
LADWP (CA)	$124.20
SMUD (CA)	$125.42
Southern California Edison (CA)	$149.07
SDG&E (CA)	$167.87
PG&E (CA)	$173.95

No one can switch distribution utility. In 48 of California's 58 counties two or more utilities report service, up to 11⁹ in San Bernardino County, so the county does not settle it either; each utility's own service map decides by address.

PG&E only (of these)Southern California Edison only (of these)SDG&E only (of these)LADWP only (of these)SMUD only (of these)Two or more of themOther utilities only

Source: EIA-861 2025, service territory; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties. Counties where each utility reports serving customers (EIA-861 service territory, 2025). A utility often serves only part of a county, and several can share one: the map shows where each one is present, not street-level boundaries. Point at a county for every utility listed there.

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County	Utilities reporting service
Alameda County	PG&E, Alameda Municipal Power, Port of Oakland, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Alpine County	PG&E, Liberty Utilities, Kirkwood Meadows PUD
Amador County	PG&E, Kirkwood Meadows PUD
Butte County	PG&E, City of Gridley, City of Biggs, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Calaveras County	PG&E, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Colusa County	PG&E, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Contra Costa County	PG&E, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Del Norte County	PacifiCorp
El Dorado County	PG&E, Liberty Utilities
Fresno County	PG&E, Southern California Edison, Kings River Conservation Dist, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Glenn County	PG&E, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Humboldt County	PG&E, Shelter Cove Resort Improvement Dist No. 1
Imperial County	Southern California Edison, Imperial Irrigation District, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Inyo County	Southern California Edison, LADWP, Valley Electric Association
Kern County	PG&E, Southern California Edison
Kings County	PG&E, Southern California Edison
Lake County	PG&E
Lassen County	PG&E, Lassen Municipal Utility District, Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative, Surprise Valley Electrification, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Los Angeles County	Southern California Edison, LADWP, City of Glendale, City of Pasadena, City of Burbank Water and Power, City of Azusa, City of Vernon
Madera County	PG&E, Southern California Edison, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Marin County	PG&E
Mariposa County	PG&E
Mendocino County	PG&E, City of Ukiah
Merced County	PG&E, Turlock Irrigation District, Merced Irrigation District, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Modoc County	PG&E, PacifiCorp, Surprise Valley Electrification, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Mono County	Southern California Edison, Liberty Utilities, Valley Electric Association
Monterey County	PG&E
Napa County	PG&E
Nevada County	PG&E, Liberty Utilities, Truckee Donner P U D, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Orange County	Southern California Edison, SDG&E, Anaheim Public Utilities
Placer County	PG&E, SMUD, City of Roseville, Liberty Utilities, Truckee Donner P U D, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Plumas County	PG&E, Liberty Utilities, Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative
Riverside County	Southern California Edison, Imperial Irrigation District, Riverside Public Utilities, City of Banning, City of Moreno Valley, Anza Electric Cooperative, City of Corona, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Sacramento County	PG&E, SMUD, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
San Benito County	PG&E
San Bernardino County	PG&E, Southern California Edison, Bear Valley Electric Service, City of Colton, Rancho Cucamonga Municipal Utility, City of Needles, Colorado River Indian Irr Proj, DOD USMC Marine Air Ground Combat, Aha Macav Power Service, City of Victorville, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
San Diego County	PG&E, Southern California Edison, SDG&E, Imperial Irrigation District, City of Escondido
San Francisco County	PG&E, City & County of San Francisco
San Joaquin County	PG&E, Modesto Irrigation District, City of Lodi, Lathrop Irrigation District, Port of Stockton, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
San Luis Obispo County	PG&E
San Mateo County	PG&E, City & County of San Francisco, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Santa Barbara County	PG&E, Southern California Edison, City of Lompoc
Santa Clara County	PG&E, City of Santa Clara, City of Palo Alto, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Santa Cruz County	PG&E
Shasta County	PG&E, City of Redding, PacifiCorp, City of Shasta Lake, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Sierra County	PG&E, Liberty Utilities, Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative
Siskiyou County	PG&E, PacifiCorp, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Solano County	PG&E, Pittsburg Power Company, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Sonoma County	PG&E, City of Healdsburg, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Stanislaus County	PG&E, Modesto Irrigation District, Turlock Irrigation District, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Sutter County	PG&E, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Tehama County	PG&E, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Trinity County	PG&E, Trinity Public Utilities Dist, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Tulare County	PG&E, Southern California Edison
Tuolumne County	PG&E, Southern California Edison, Turlock Irrigation District, Tuolumne County Pub Power Agny, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Ventura County	Southern California Edison
Yolo County	PG&E, SMUD, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Yuba County	PG&E, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration

Why California's rates are so high

In 2001 California homes paid an average of 12.09¢ per kWh¹¹; by 2025 it was 31.35¢ per kWh. The increase since 2010, 112.5%, is the highest among the states, against 49.3% for the US; since 2015 the rise of 84.5% is also the highest. The annual average went up in 20⁴ years since 2002.

CaliforniaUnited States

Source: EIA, Historical state data, annual sales, revenue and customers; EIA, Historical state data, monthly sales and revenue 1990-2009. Average revenue per kWh (all charges, nominal dollars), each calendar year: 2010 onward EIA-861 final annual data, 2001–2009 the sum of the monthly survey.

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Period	California (¢/kWh)	United States (¢/kWh)
2001	12.09¢	8.58¢
2002	12.64¢	8.44¢
2003	12.23¢	8.72¢
2004	12.20¢	8.95¢
2005	12.51¢	9.45¢
2006	14.33¢	10.40¢
2007	14.42¢	10.65¢
2008	13.81¢	11.26¢
2009	14.74¢	11.51¢
2010	14.75¢	11.54¢
2011	14.78¢	11.72¢
2012	15.34¢	11.88¢
2013	16.23¢	12.13¢
2014	16.25¢	12.52¢
2015	16.99¢	12.65¢
2016	17.39¢	12.55¢
2017	18.31¢	12.89¢
2018	18.84¢	12.87¢
2019	19.15¢	13.01¢
2020	20.45¢	13.15¢
2021	22.82¢	13.66¢
2022	25.84¢	15.04¢
2023	29.51¢	16.00¢
2024	31.97¢	16.48¢
2025	31.35¢	17.23¢

The Legislative Analyst's Office report lists the main reasons for the high rates, concentrated among investor-owned utility customers: the costs of utility-caused wildfires and of preventing them; fixed costs such as transmission and distribution, which do not vary with use but are recovered mostly through per-kWh charges; public purpose programs such as efficiency and low-income assistance funded through rates; the cost shifted to other customers by earlier rooftop-solar net metering rules; and the added cost of the move to cleaner electricity. The office notes that the share of each has not been precisely quantified.

The latest years are mixed. The 2025 annual average fell 1.9% from 2024, a change 3rd lowest⁴ among the states. The average bill fell 3.8%, while the US average bill rose 5.9%². The last 12 months ran 3.7% above the 12 before, against 6.5% nationally, and in August 2026 the residential price was −3.8% against the same month a year earlier (29.75¢ per kWh¹; monthly figures since January 2026 are preliminary).

Businesses pay among the highest prices too: over the same 12 months the commercial average was 27.00¢ per kWh (2nd highest) and the industrial average 21.28¢ per kWh (4th highest¹).

Community choice: who buys the power, who delivers it

Many California homes buy their electricity supply from a community choice aggregator (CCA) while PG&E, SCE or SDG&E delivers it; EIA records them as delivery-only customers of the utility. EIA counted 25 CCAs serving 5,526,517 residential customers in 2025. With other suppliers, 42.1% of the state's residential customers bought supply outside their utility, 4th highest among the states. The share varies by territory: 79.4% of SDG&E's residential customers, 65.6% of PG&E's and 29.5%³ of SCE's.

That changes how to read the utility averages above: they cover only bundled customers. PG&E's delivery-only customers paid the utility 24.60¢ per kWh for delivery in 2025, and statewide, CCA and supplier customers paid an average of 14.48¢ per kWh³ for supply alone. Those two numbers describe different parts of the bill and are not a like-for-like substitute for the bundled average. Public utilities such as LADWP and SMUD reported no delivery-only residential customers, so their averages cover all their homes. The California retail choice guide explains what can and cannot be chosen.

Utility full-service customers (default service): supply and delivery28.46¢

Competitive suppliers and CCAs: supply only14.48¢

Utility delivery for customers of a supplier: delivery only23.44¢

Source: EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final. Average revenue per kWh by service part, EIA-861 2025. Supply-only and delivery-only averages each cover only part of a bill and different groups of customers; adding them gives only a rough estimate of what a shopping customer paid in total.

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Part of the market	¢/kWh
Utility full-service customers (default service): supply and delivery	28.46¢
Competitive suppliers and CCAs: supply only	14.48¢
Utility delivery for customers of a supplier: delivery only	23.44¢

Rooftop solar, time-of-use and the summer peak

California had 2,241,381 residential net-metered solar installations in 2025, 156.0 per 1,000 residential customers, 2nd highest¹² among the states. EIA's kWh per home counts only electricity sold to customers, so rooftop output used on site does not appear in it. At the utility scale, solar generated 26.8% of the state's electricity in 2025, up from 7.5% in 2015 and 2nd highest among the states. Natural gas remained the largest source at 36.2%, down 22.8 percentage points since 2015, followed by hydropower at 13.7%. California's plants generated the equivalent of 84%¹³ of its retail sales in 2025: less than its customers use, with the difference coming from outside the state.

Natural gasCoalNuclearHydroWindSolarPetroleumOther

California, 2025

California, 2015

United States, 2025

Source: EIA, Net generation by state by type of producer by energy source. Share of net generation by all power plants located in the state (utilities and independent producers), by energy source. Electricity crosses state lines, so this is what the state produces, not exactly what its customers consume. Pumped storage is a net user of power and is left out.

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	Natural gas	Coal	Nuclear	Hydro	Wind	Solar	Petroleum	Other
California, 2025	36.2%	0.1%	8.6%	13.7%	7.4%	26.8%	0.0%	7.2%
California, 2015	59.0%	0.2%	9.4%	7.0%	6.2%	7.5%	0.0%	10.6%
United States, 2025	40.9%	16.6%	17.7%	5.5%	10.4%	6.8%	0.4%	1.7%

Time-of-use pricing is common: 35.9% of residential customers were on a time-varying rate in 2025, 7th highest among the states. Enrolment depends on the utility, from 97.0% at SMUD and 87.1% at SDG&E to 1.1%¹² at LADWP. Each utility publishes its own peak hours on its rate schedules.

Over the last 12 months, use per home peaked at 789 kWh in August 2026 and was lowest at 392 kWh in April 2026, a ratio of 2.0 times. The average price moved the other way, from 35.29¢ per kWh in April 2026 to 29.75¢ per kWh in August 2026. Part of that is arithmetic: fixed charges spread over more kWh lower the average per kWh in high-use months, even as the bill rises. In August 2026 the average residential bill was $234.85¹.

627Sep

448Oct

416Nov

469Dec

604Jan

420Feb

462Mar

392Apr

408May

474Jun

571Jul

789Aug

Source: EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state. Residential kWh sold per customer in each month. The table adds that month's average residential price. Monthly EIA data through August 2026 (released October 23, 2026); months since January 2026 are preliminary.

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Month	kWh per customer	Residential ¢/kWh
September 2025	627	31.89¢
October 2025	448	33.62¢
November 2025	416	32.03¢
December 2025	469	29.95¢
January 2026	604	30.29¢
February 2026	420	33.22¢
March 2026	462	33.28¢
April 2026	392	35.29¢
May 2026	408	33.25¢
June 2026	474	34.74¢
July 2026	571	33.61¢
August 2026	789	29.75¢

Outages and help paying

California customers averaged 345 minutes without power in 2025 counting major events and 135 minutes excluding them, with 1.27 interruptions per customer. At Southern California Edison the gap was wide: 545 minutes with major events and 116 minutes¹⁴ without. The power outages ranking puts these minutes beside the other states'.

The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) gave California $242.1 million for fiscal 2026 and $213.4 million in the first release for fiscal 2027. Spread across the state's homes, the fiscal 2026 amount comes to $17.42 per occupied home, 5th lowest¹⁵ among the states. The help paying your electric bill guide covers LIHEAP and the utilities' own discount programs.