Delaware electricity rates and bills

Close to the US average, below the neighbors

Over the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026, Delaware's residential customers paid an average of 17.98¢ per kWh, against 18.04¢ per kWh for the United States: 0.06¢ per kWh less than the US average. That put Delaware 19th highest¹ among the 50 states and DC. The figure is average revenue per kWh, total residential revenue divided by the kilowatt-hours sold, so it already folds in fixed monthly charges and riders.

Over the same 12 months, 0 of Delaware's 3 neighbors had a lower residential average. Pennsylvania came closest at 20.86¢ per kWh, and New Jersey was highest at 23.74¢ per kWh¹.

New Jersey23.74¢

Maryland21.18¢

Pennsylvania20.86¢

United States18.04¢

Delaware17.98¢

Source: EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state. 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.

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Area	Residential ¢/kWh, 12 months
New Jersey	23.74¢
Maryland	21.18¢
Pennsylvania	20.86¢
United States	18.04¢
Delaware	17.98¢

The latest month shows a sharper rise. In August 2026 the residential average was 18.70¢ per kWh, +11.0% against 16.85¢ per kWh in August 2025, the 6th highest year-on-year increase among the states, while the US rose 3.4%. Monthly figures for 2026 are preliminary and one month is volatile; over the full 12 months Delaware's increase was +6.1%, against +6.5%¹ for the US.

Delmarva Power, the co-op and the towns

Two utilities deliver most of Delaware's electricity. Delmarva Power, an investor-owned utility that also serves part of Maryland, has 65.7% of the state's residential customers on its wires. Delaware Electric Cooperative, owned by its members, has 23.4%. Municipal utilities serve most of the rest: City of Dover (4.7%), City of Newark (2.6%) and Town of Middletown (2.0%³) are the largest.

The averages in 2025 differed by a wide margin. Among the 4 utilities with 10,000 or more residential customers, Delaware Electric Cooperative was lowest at 13.89¢ per kWh and City of Newark highest at 19.75¢ per kWh, a spread of 5.86¢ per kWh. Delmarva Power's full-service customers paid 18.16¢ per kWh, 5.9% above the Delaware average; the cooperative's 13.89¢ per kWh was 19.0% below the Delaware average. The 4 public power utilities together averaged 16.92¢ per kWh³.

Delaware Electric Cooperative13.89¢

City of Dover16.16¢

Delaware average17.15¢

Delmarva Power18.16¢

City of Newark19.75¢

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
Delaware Electric Cooperative	13.89¢
City of Dover	16.16¢
Delaware average	17.15¢
Delmarva Power	18.16¢
City of Newark	19.75¢

Price per kWh and the bill do not line up. Cooperative members used more electricity, 1,054 kWh a month against 890 kWh for Delmarva's customers in 2025, so the gap in their average bills was narrower: $146.37 against $161.72. From 2024 the average bill changed +6.2% at Delmarva and −0.2%³ at the cooperative.

Delmarva Power's rates and service are regulated by the Delaware Public Service Commission, which lists it as the state's regulated electric utility. The cooperative is governed by its members and the municipal utilities by their towns. EIA's territory records show two or more utilities in 3 of Delaware's 3 counties and 6⁴ in Kent County, so the county does not settle which company serves a home: the utility's own service map does.

Delmarva Power only (of these)Delaware Electric Cooperative 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
Kent County	Delmarva Power, Delaware Electric Cooperative, City of Dover, City of Milford, Town of Smyrna, Town of Clayton
New Castle County	Delmarva Power, City of Newark, Town of Middletown, Town of Smyrna, New Castle Municipal Serv Comm
Sussex County	Delmarva Power, Delaware Electric Cooperative, City of Milford, City of Seaford, City of Lewes

A decade of drift, then a steep climb

Delaware's price history has an unusual shape. The residential average was 8.61¢ per kWh⁶ in 2001 and had already reached 13.80¢ per kWh by 2010, well above the US figure of 11.54¢ per kWh that year. It then drifted down, to 12.56¢ per kWh in 2020, when it was below the national 13.15¢ per kWh. The annual average rose in 15 of the years since 2002 and last fell in 2021⁷.

From 2010 to 2025 Delaware's residential price rose 24.3%, the 2nd lowest increase among the states, against 49.3% for the US. The last five years reversed the pattern: from 2020 to 2025 it climbed 36.5%, 11th highest, to 17.15¢ per kWh, against 31.0%⁷ nationally.

DelawareUnited 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	Delaware (¢/kWh)	United States (¢/kWh)
2001	8.61¢	8.58¢
2002	8.70¢	8.44¢
2003	8.59¢	8.72¢
2004	8.78¢	8.95¢
2005	9.01¢	9.45¢
2006	11.85¢	10.40¢
2007	13.16¢	10.65¢
2008	13.93¢	11.26¢
2009	14.07¢	11.51¢
2010	13.80¢	11.54¢
2011	13.70¢	11.72¢
2012	13.58¢	11.88¢
2013	12.95¢	12.13¢
2014	13.29¢	12.52¢
2015	13.42¢	12.65¢
2016	13.42¢	12.55¢
2017	13.35¢	12.89¢
2018	12.53¢	12.87¢
2019	12.55¢	13.01¢
2020	12.56¢	13.15¢
2021	12.52¢	13.66¢
2022	13.71¢	15.04¢
2023	15.73¢	16.00¢
2024	16.57¢	16.48¢
2025	17.15¢	17.23¢

Delmarva Power and Delaware Electric Cooperative both report to EIA as part of the PJM³ region, the wholesale market and grid run by PJM Interconnection. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's 2026 review of retail prices reports that capacity costs added 0.9¢ per kWh to average PJM wholesale costs in 2025 and expects a further 0.6¢ per kWh⁸ in 2026, figures for the PJM region as a whole. The two large utilities moved alike in the latest month: in August 2026¹, Delmarva's residential average was +11.0% on a year earlier and the cooperative's +11.2%⁹ (both preliminary).

Businesses saw larger increases. Over the last 12 months the industrial average rose 17.5%, the 5th highest increase among the states, to 10.87¢ per kWh, 22.0% above the US average. In August 2026 the commercial average was +14.4% against a year earlier, 3rd highest¹.

DelawareUnited States

Residential17.98¢ 18.04¢

Commercial13.61¢ 13.87¢

Industrial10.87¢ 8.91¢

All sectors15.16¢ 14.15¢

Source: EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state. Average revenue per kWh: what each customer class paid in total divided by what it used. Industrial customers take power at higher voltage and in large, steady volumes, so their average is lower. Monthly EIA data through August 2026 (released October 23, 2026); months since January 2026 are preliminary.

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Sector	Delaware (¢/kWh)	United States (¢/kWh)
Residential	17.98¢	18.04¢
Commercial	13.61¢	13.87¢
Industrial	10.87¢	8.91¢
All sectors	15.16¢	14.15¢

What households say they pay

EIA's average residential bill was $157.80 a month in 2025, 15th highest among the states and $7.12 more a month than the US average, for an average of 920 kWh. It rose 4.6%² from $150.87¹⁰ in 2024. Over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026), the computed average was $166.73, against $157.84¹ for the US.

Delaware households report noticeably more. In the Census Bureau's 2025 American Community Survey, the median monthly electricity cost reported by Delaware households was about $194, the 4th highest among the states (US: $169). 34.1% reported $250 or more (margin of error ±1.6 percentage points), against 26.6% nationally, and only 16.2% reported less than $100. The share at $250 or more was +6.2 percentage points¹¹ on the 2024 survey, a difference between two estimates that is not tested for significance.

The two sources measure different things. EIA divides utility revenue by customer accounts and leaves out most taxes; the Census figure is a median of what households recall paying, taxes included, and comes with a margin of error.

Under $50$50–99$100–149$150–199$200–249$250 or more

Delaware

United States

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-year estimates, table B25132. Households charged for electricity, by the cost they reported for the previous month (American Community Survey 2025, 1-year). Interviews run all year, so this is a typical month, recalled by the household; households whose electricity is included in rent are left out.

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	Under $50	$50–99	$100–149	$150–199	$200–249	$250 or more
Delaware	2.9%	13.3%	18.2%	17.6%	13.9%	34.1%
United States	5.2%	17.9%	20.7%	16.7%	13.0%	26.6%

The February peak

Use per home peaked at 1,207 kWh in February 2026 and was lowest at 644 kWh in October 2025, over the 12 months to August 2026: the peak month used 1.9 times as much as the lowest. The price per kWh moved the other way: lowest in February 2026 at 16.27¢ per kWh, highest in May 2026 at 19.38¢ per kWh¹. Fixed charges spread over many winter kilowatt-hours lower the average per kWh in heavy months.

38.2%¹² of Delaware households heat mainly with electricity, according to the 2025 Census survey. The cooperative's members, in Kent County and Sussex County⁴, averaged 1,622 kWh in February 2026, against a low of 783 kWh in May 2026. Delmarva's customers peaked earlier and lower, at 1,169 kWh in December 2025⁹.

836Sep

644Oct

699Nov

1,118Dec

1,167Jan

1,207Feb

971Mar

706Apr

702May

889Jun

1,070Jul

1,121Aug

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	836	18.14¢
October 2025	644	18.33¢
November 2025	699	18.82¢
December 2025	1,118	17.16¢
January 2026	1,167	16.51¢
February 2026	1,207	16.27¢
March 2026	971	17.64¢
April 2026	706	18.79¢
May 2026	702	19.38¢
June 2026	889	19.29¢
July 2026	1,070	18.48¢
August 2026	1,121	18.70¢

Half the power comes from outside

Delaware's power plants generated 5.5 terawatt-hours in 2025, the equivalent of 47% of the state's retail electricity sales, the 4th lowest ratio in the country (US: 109%¹³). The rest arrives over the regional grid.

Most of what is generated in the state comes from natural gas: 86.1% in 2025, the 2nd highest share among the states, little changed from 85.6% in 2015. Coal fell from 7.7% to 4.6%, and solar rose from 0.6% to 3.1%. Delaware has no nuclear or hydroelectric generation; all renewables together made up 4.2%, 4th lowest¹³ among the states.

Natural gasCoalNuclearHydroWindSolarPetroleumOther

Delaware, 2025

Delaware, 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
Delaware, 2025	86.1%	4.6%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	3.1%	1.3%	4.8%
Delaware, 2015	85.6%	7.7%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.6%	2.0%	4.0%
United States, 2025	40.9%	16.6%	17.7%	5.5%	10.4%	6.8%	0.4%	1.7%

Standard Offer Service or a supplier

Since 1999 legislation restructured the industry, generation in Delaware has been deregulated and the Public Service Commission regulates distribution; the commission states that customers of Delmarva Power and Delaware Electric Cooperative may choose who supplies their electricity, while the utility keeps delivering it. Delmarva customers who do not choose stay on its Standard Offer Service. The commission's customer electric choice page lists the certified suppliers.

Few customers switch. In 2025, 26,978 residential customers, 5.6% of the state total, bought supply from one of 28 suppliers, against 15.1% nationally; in Delmarva's territory the share was 8.7%³.

The parts of the market are priced differently and cover different customers, so they are shown side by side, never added. In 2025, Delmarva's full-service residential customers paid an average of 18.16¢ per kWh for supply and delivery. Customers of suppliers paid them an average of 15.72¢ per kWh for supply alone, a past average across all their contracts rather than any offer, and Delmarva billed those customers 7.61¢ per kWh³ for delivery.

Utility full-service customers (default service): supply and delivery16.82¢

Competitive suppliers and CCAs: supply only15.72¢

Utility delivery for customers of a supplier: delivery only7.61¢

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	16.82¢
Competitive suppliers and CCAs: supply only	15.72¢
Utility delivery for customers of a supplier: delivery only	7.61¢

Meters, rebates, solar and outages

Smart meters are nearly universal: 94.3% of residential meters were advanced meters in 2025. 54.5% of residential customers were enrolled in time-varying pricing, the 3rd highest share among the states. Almost all of them were Delmarva customers: 262,638, or 86.0% of its residential base, and EIA records Delmarva's program as critical peak rebates: a credit for using less at called peak hours, not a price that changes by the hour. The cooperative reported 6¹⁴ customers on its time-of-use rate.

Delaware counted 15,186 residential net-metered solar installations in 2025, 31.5 per 1,000 residential customers, the 17th highest¹⁴ rate among the states.

Outages were short by national standards. Delaware customers averaged 99 minutes without power in 2025 including major storms, 4th lowest among the states, and 68 minutes excluding them, with 1.28 interruptions per customer. Delmarva's customers averaged 104 minutes and the cooperative's 111 minutes¹⁵, both above the state figure. The power outages ranking compares all states.

Help paying a Delaware electric bill

Delaware received $14.0 million from the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for fiscal 2026, $33.06 per occupied home, 26th highest among the states. The first fiscal 2027 allocation was $12.4 million¹⁶. The help paying your electric bill guide explains how LIHEAP works alongside utility payment plans.