CORE Electric Cooperative rates and average bill

Average price: near Colorado's, above most co-ops'

CORE Electric Cooperative is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative whose territory takes in parts of 11³ counties east, west and south of Denver; by its own description it is the largest electric distribution cooperative in Colorado, governed by a board its members elect. It buys wholesale power from several suppliers under long-term agreements and owns a share of a coal-fired unit at the Xcel-operated Comanche plant in Pueblo. It served 168,587 residential members in 2025, 6.7%¹ of Colorado's residential customers and the third-largest number after Xcel Energy and Colorado Springs Utilities.

Those members paid an average of 15.62¢ per kWh in 2025: average revenue per kWh, meaning everything billed to residential members divided by the kWh they used. That was 0.4% below the Colorado average and the 9th lowest of the 20 Colorado utilities with 10,000 or more residential customers. Nationally, cooperatives averaged 14.10¢ per kWh and investor-owned utilities 17.78¢ per kWh; CORE was 10.8% above the national average for electric cooperatives. Colorado's cooperatives as a group averaged 15.51¢ per kWh. Among the 177 US utilities with 100,000 or more residential customers, CORE ranked 79th highest of 177, close to their median of 15.07¢ per kWh¹.

The neighbouring cooperative north of Denver, United Power, averaged 16.50¢ per kWh in 2025; Xcel Energy averaged 15.90¢ per kWh. Colorado has no retail choice for homes (0.0%¹ of residential customers bought from a supplier in 2025), so the address decides which of them sends the bill.

Why CORE bills run higher than Xcel's

The price gap between CORE and Xcel is small; the bill gap is not. CORE's homes used 843 kWh a month on average in 2025, against 584 kWh on Xcel's system and 658 kWh across Colorado. At similar prices, that extra use produced an average bill of $131.72, against $92.91 for Xcel and $103.30⁴ statewide. United Power's members, who also use more than the state average, paid $131.45¹.

Xcel Energy (CO)$92.91

Colorado Springs Utilities (CO)$92.91

United Power (CO)$131.45

CORE Electric Cooperative (CO)$131.72

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
Xcel Energy (CO)	$92.91
Colorado Springs Utilities (CO)	$92.91
United Power (CO)	$131.45
CORE Electric Cooperative (CO)	$131.72

EIA's figures do not say why homes in one territory use more electricity than in another: house size, electric heat, electric vehicles and the share of rural properties can all play a part, and the survey does not break them out by utility. Use per home on CORE's system fell from 864 kWh⁵ in 2024, but remains the highest of the four.

July's peak

Over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026) the average CORE home used 694 kWh in April 2026 and 1,210 kWh in July 2026. The average bill rose from $121.95 to $201.05. United Power's homes swung further, from 600 kWh to 1,402 kWh², with July the peak month on both systems.

740Sep

711Oct

761Nov

902Dec

932Jan

755Feb

759Mar

694Apr

750May

897Jun

1,210Jul

1,067Aug

Source: EIA-861M monthly sales and revenue by utility. kWh per residential customer in each month (EIA-861M; months since January 2026 preliminary). The table adds the average bill and price for the month.

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Month	kWh per customer	Bill per customer	¢/kWh
September 2025	740	$123.43	16.69¢
October 2025	711	$118.86	16.72¢
November 2025	761	$125.07	16.43¢
December 2025	902	$152.69	16.93¢
January 2026	932	$154.06	16.52¢
February 2026	755	$127.71	16.90¢
March 2026	759	$136.80	18.02¢
April 2026	694	$121.95	17.56¢
May 2026	750	$134.43	17.91¢
June 2026	897	$161.49	18.00¢
July 2026	1,210	$201.05	16.62¢
August 2026	1,067	$180.84	16.95¢

Across the full 12 months the average was 849 kWh and $144.93² a month, well below the July figure.

Price changes: 2025, the last 12 months and 2027

From 2024 to 2025 CORE's residential average rose 3.9%, from 15.04¢ per kWh to 15.62¢ per kWh, less than Colorado's statewide rise of 5.2%⁶. Because use per home fell, the average bill rose less, from $129.93⁵ to $131.72 (+1.4%¹).

EIA's monthly sample shows a steeper climb since. The average over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026) was 17.08¢ per kWh, against Xcel's 16.82¢ per kWh and United Power's 17.94¢ per kWh. In August 2026⁷ alone CORE's average was 16.95¢ per kWh, +6.3%² against August 2025. The 2026 months are preliminary until EIA's annual survey, due August 2027.

CORE Electric CooperativeColorado average, all providers

Source: EIA-861M monthly sales and revenue by utility; EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state. Residential revenue divided by kWh in each month, as reported to EIA's monthly survey (EIA-861M; months since January 2026 preliminary).

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Month	CORE Electric Cooperative (¢/kWh)	kWh per customer	Bill per customer
January 2025	14.08¢	1,026	$144.50
February 2025	14.39¢	840	$120.86
March 2025	14.98¢	806	$120.78
April 2025	15.98¢	731	$116.81
May 2025	16.03¢	701	$112.36
June 2025	15.69¢	871	$136.68
July 2025	15.29¢	1,049	$160.35
August 2025	15.94¢	985	$157.04
September 2025	16.69¢	740	$123.43
October 2025	16.72¢	711	$118.86
November 2025	16.43¢	761	$125.07
December 2025	16.93¢	902	$152.69
January 2026	16.52¢	932	$154.06
February 2026	16.90¢	755	$127.71
March 2026	18.02¢	759	$136.80
April 2026	17.56¢	694	$121.95
May 2026	17.91¢	750	$134.43
June 2026	18.00¢	897	$161.49
July 2026	16.62¢	1,210	$201.05
August 2026	16.95¢	1,067	$180.84

Two sources of movement sit outside the base rates. CORE has billed a wholesale power cost adjustment since September 2021, a per-kWh rider usually recalculated each quarter to pass changes in power costs through to members. And CORE's rate changes page says its elected board approved higher rates beginning with January 2027 bills, citing distribution equipment, third-party transmission and power supply costs. As a cooperative, CORE's rates are set by that board; the cooperative publishes the current and 2027 charges on its rate schedules page. None of the EIA figures above include the 2027 change.

A demand charge instead of time-of-use

Advanced meters were installed at 100.0%⁸ of CORE's residential meters in 2025. CORE used them to move most members to a three-part rate: a monthly basic service charge, an energy charge per kWh and a demand charge per kW, applied to the member's highest one-hour use during the daily on-peak window in the late afternoon and evening. The demand charge page shows where that peak appears on the bill.

That makes the price per kWh on CORE's tariff a poor guide to the bill. Two homes using the same kWh can pay different amounts if one runs the oven, dryer and an electric vehicle charger at the same time inside the on-peak window. The averages on this page fold the basic service charge, the demand charge and the power cost adjustment into a single figure per kWh, which is why they sit above the energy charge on the rate schedule.

Optional time-of-use pricing barely registers: EIA counted 89 residential members enrolled in time-of-use pricing in 2025, 0.1% of the total. On Xcel's wires the share was 99.6%, on United Power's 3.5%⁸. The time-of-use guide explains how peak-based pricing changes a bill.

Rooftop solar

CORE reported 10,448 net-metered residential solar installations in 2025, with 59.1 megawatts of capacity: 62.0 per 1,000 residential members. United Power had 129.0 per 1,000 and Xcel 87.8⁸. Under a demand charge, panels lower the energy part of the bill more than the evening peak, since solar output falls off in the evening. The net metering guide covers how credits work.

Outages: most minutes on major event days

CORE's members averaged 381 minutes without power in 2025 counting all events, more than the Colorado average of 274 minutes, with 0.97 interruptions each. Excluding major event days, the unusually severe days the IEEE 1366 standard sets apart, the figure was 52 minutes, below Colorado's 118 minutes⁹ on the same basis. On ordinary days CORE's members lost less time than the state average; most of the year's outage minutes fell on major event days.

Colorado Springs Utilities (CO)41

United Power (CO)303

Xcel Energy (CO)360

CORE Electric Cooperative (CO)381

Source: EIA-861 2025, reliability. 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	outage minutes per customer (all events)
Colorado Springs Utilities (CO)	41
United Power (CO)	303
Xcel Energy (CO)	360
CORE Electric Cooperative (CO)	381

Service area: every county shared

EIA's territory records list CORE in 11 counties: Adams County, Arapahoe County, Chaffee County, Clear Creek County, Douglas County, El Paso County, Elbert County, Fremont County, Jefferson County, Park County and Teller County. In all 11³, at least one other distribution utility also reports customers, so a county or a city name does not settle which utility serves a home; CORE's service-area map decides by address. EIA publishes no price for a town or ZIP code.

CORE Electric Cooperative onlyCORE Electric Cooperative and other utilitiesOther utilities

Source: EIA-861 2025, service territory; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties. EIA-861 2025 service territory: 11 counties. Counts whole counties even where the utility serves only part of one; check the utility's own service-area map for an address.

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County	Other utilities reporting service
Adams County	Xcel Energy, United Power, Morgan County Rural Electric Association, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Arapahoe County	Xcel Energy, Mountain View Electric Association, Morgan County Rural Electric Association
Chaffee County	Xcel Energy, Sangre De Cristo Electric Association, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Clear Creek County	Xcel Energy, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Douglas County	Xcel Energy, Mountain View Electric Association, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
El Paso County	Xcel Energy, Colorado Springs Utilities, Black Hills Colorado Electric, Mountain View Electric Association, City of Fountain, Southeast Colorado Power Association, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Elbert County	Xcel Energy, Mountain View Electric Association
Fremont County	Xcel Energy, Black Hills Colorado Electric, San Isabel Electric Association, Sangre De Cristo Electric Association, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Jefferson County	Xcel Energy, United Power, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration
Park County	Xcel Energy
Teller County	Xcel Energy, Colorado Springs Utilities, Black Hills Colorado Electric

Commercial and industrial members

CORE's 14,396 commercial accounts paid an average of 12.67¢ per kWh in 2025, with a monthly bill of $629.92. Its 10 industrial accounts paid 9.46¢ per kWh. Across all 182,993 accounts the average was 14.52¢ per kWh¹.

Households behind on electric bills can apply for federal energy assistance: Colorado received $55.5 million¹¹ from LIHEAP for fiscal 2026, and the help paying guide lists the programs. For every utility in the state, see electricity in Colorado.