Electricity rates and bills in the District of Columbia

What a kilowatt-hour costs in DC, period by period

Over the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026, residential customers in the District paid an average of 24.48¢ per kWh, 6.44¢ per kWh more than the US average and 10th highest¹ among the 50 states and DC. This is average revenue per kWh: total residential revenue, customer charges and riders included, divided by residential kWh sold. No tariff line carries this number.

The latest single month, August 2026, came in at 25.98¢ per kWh, +12.1% against August 2025 (23.18¢ per kWh); 2026 monthly figures are preliminary. For January to August 2026 the average was 24.86¢ per kWh¹, and the full 2025 average was 21.92¢ per kWh³.

The District borders two states. Over the same 12 months Maryland averaged 21.18¢ per kWh and Virginia 16.64¢ per kWh; 2¹ of the District's 2 neighbors had a lower residential price.

The fastest-rising prices in the country

DC's residential average rose 19.8% in the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before, ranking the highest among the 50 states and DC; the US average rose 6.5%. Year to date the story is the same: +17.2% for January to August 2026 against the same months of 2025, again ranked the highest¹.

District of Columbia+19.8%

New Hampshire+13.8%

Maryland+12.7%

Pennsylvania+12.3%

Washington+11.9%

Ohio+11.7%

Virginia+11.5%

New York+11.2%

Illinois+10.6%

New Jersey+10.2%

Idaho+9.8%

Maine+9.7%

United States+6.5%

Source: EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state. Change between the trailing 12-month average price and the 12 months before it. Period: September 2025 to August 2026.

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State	Residential change, 12 months
District of Columbia	+19.8%
New Hampshire	+13.8%
Maryland	+12.7%
Pennsylvania	+12.3%
Washington	+11.9%
Ohio	+11.7%
Virginia	+11.5%
New York	+11.2%
Illinois	+10.6%
New Jersey	+10.2%
Idaho	+9.8%
Maine	+9.7%
United States	+6.5%

The jump began earlier. The annual residential average went from 17.71¢ per kWh in 2024 to 21.92¢ per kWh in 2025, +23.8% (one-year increase ranked the highest in the country), against +4.6%³ for the US. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's 2026 review of retail prices reports the District's average retail price up 3.1¢ per kWh from 2024 to 2025, more than the 1.5¢ per kWh it reports for Maryland. It links the rise across the PJM grid region to capacity payments, which added 0.9¢ per kWh to average PJM wholesale costs in 2025, and to wholesale energy costs that rose 1.7¢ per kWh as fuel prices climbed; it expects capacity to add another 0.6¢ per kWh⁴ in 2026.

Delivery rose as well as supply. Pepco's delivery-only average, what it billed residential customers who buy their supply elsewhere, went from 5.66¢ per kWh⁵ in 2024 to 6.87¢ per kWh in 2025, +21.4%⁶.

Since 2001 the gap with the rest of the country has opened wide. DC homes paid 7.79¢ per kWh in 2001, less than the US average of 8.58¢ per kWh⁷. By 2025 the District's average was 181.4% higher, a rise that ranks the highest among the states, against 100.8% for the US. Since 2020 alone it has risen 73.6% (rank: the highest); the annual average last fell in 2020³.

District of ColumbiaUnited 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	District of Columbia (¢/kWh)	United States (¢/kWh)
2001	7.79¢	8.58¢
2002	7.98¢	8.44¢
2003	7.84¢	8.72¢
2004	8.00¢	8.95¢
2005	9.10¢	9.45¢
2006	9.88¢	10.40¢
2007	11.18¢	10.65¢
2008	12.78¢	11.26¢
2009	13.73¢	11.51¢
2010	14.01¢	11.54¢
2011	13.40¢	11.72¢
2012	12.28¢	11.88¢
2013	12.57¢	12.13¢
2014	12.74¢	12.52¢
2015	12.99¢	12.65¢
2016	12.29¢	12.55¢
2017	12.94¢	12.89¢
2018	12.84¢	12.87¢
2019	12.98¢	13.01¢
2020	12.63¢	13.15¢
2021	13.09¢	13.66¢
2022	14.18¢	15.04¢
2023	16.45¢	16.00¢
2024	17.71¢	16.48¢
2025	21.92¢	17.23¢

Low use, bills below the US average

The average residential customer used 639 kWh a month in 2025, 11th lowest among the states, against 874 kWh² nationally. Over the last 12 months use averaged 635 kWh against 875 kWh¹ for the US.

Low use offsets the high price. The 2025 average bill was $140.05, $10.63 less a month than the US average², and the computed average over the last 12 months was $155.44 against $157.84¹. A home in a state with cheaper power but heavier use can pay more each month than one in DC.

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

The bill still climbed quickly. The average rose from $113.23 in 2024 to $140.05 in 2025, +23.7%; among the states that increase ranked the highest. Use per home was 639 kWh⁸ in 2024 and 639 kWh² in 2025, so the higher price, not more consumption, accounts for the change.

Households describe low bills too. In the Census Bureau's 2025 American Community Survey, District households paying for electricity reported a median of about $116 a month (3rd lowest among the states, against $169 nationally), and 42.8% reported less than $100, the 3rd highest share. Only 13.1% reported $250 or more (margin of error ±1.3 percentage points), +2.7 percentage points on the 2024 survey, a difference between two estimates that is not tested for significance. Another 16.9%⁹ of households said electricity was included in the rent or another fee. These are recalled bills, taxes included.

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

District of Columbia

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
District of Columbia	11.9%	30.9%	22.0%	13.2%	8.9%	13.1%
United States	5.2%	17.9%	20.7%	16.7%	13.0%	26.6%

EIA's Residential Energy Consumption Survey, from 2020, a pandemic year, put the District's household electricity spending at $833 a year (ranked the lowest in the country) for 7,034 kWh a year¹⁰.

Summer sets the peak

Over the last 12 months use per home was highest at 827 kWh in July 2026 and lowest at 467 kWh in April 2026, a ratio of 1.8 times¹. Electricity is the main heating fuel in 51.5% of District homes (Census, 2025) against 41.8%¹¹ nationally. In RECS 2020, space heating took 12% of household electricity use and air conditioning 20%¹⁰.

The average price per kWh ran from 22.71¢ per kWh in November 2025 to 25.98¢ per kWh in August 2026¹. The highest month came just after a supply-price change: according to the DC Public Service Commission, new Standard Offer Service rates from Pepco's annual auction took effect on July 1, 2026.

For Pepco's full-service customers, the monthly average bill ran from $96.66 in November 2025 to $183.59 in July 2026. Use followed the same seasons, from 434 kWh in October 2025 to 772 kWh in July 2026¹².

495Sep

434Oct

451Nov

718Dec

747Jan

684Feb

619Mar

436Apr

467May

547Jun

772Jul

726Aug

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	495	$110.70	22.37¢
October 2025	434	$97.75	22.51¢
November 2025	451	$96.66	21.44¢
December 2025	718	$164.82	22.96¢
January 2026	747	$168.63	22.57¢
February 2026	684	$155.98	22.80¢
March 2026	619	$146.33	23.62¢
April 2026	436	$105.12	24.10¢
May 2026	467	$111.84	23.96¢
June 2026	547	$124.44	22.74¢
July 2026	772	$183.59	23.79¢
August 2026	726	$178.21	24.55¢

One wires company for the whole District

Every home in DC is connected to the same distribution utility, Pepco, the Potomac Electric Power Company. EIA counted 324,763 residential customers on its wires in 2025, 100.0%⁶ of the District. There are no cooperatives or municipal utilities, and EIA publishes no prices for neighborhoods or ZIP codes: within DC, the differences between bills come from use and from the choice of supply, not from the utility.

Pepco's 291,516 full-service residential customers paid an average of 20.77¢ per kWh in 2025, 16.8% above the national average for investor-owned utilities and 5.2% below the District of Columbia average⁶. The District-wide average also counts supplier customers, whom Pepco's full-service figure leaves out. Over the last 12 months Pepco's full-service average was 23.17¢ per kWh, with 24.55¢ per kWh in August 2026¹ (+11.7%¹² on a year earlier).

The same company also serves suburban Maryland, and the comparison shows how much use matters. In 2025, Pepco's Maryland full-service customers paid 21.74¢ per kWh and used 835 kWh a month, for an average bill of $181.58. Its District customers paid 20.77¢ per kWh, used 593 kWh and averaged $123.11⁶.

Pepco (DC)$123.11

Pepco (MD)$181.58

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
Pepco (DC)	$123.11
Pepco (MD)	$181.58

Pepco 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
District of Columbia	Pepco

Standard Offer Service or a supplier

Pepco delivers the power in every case; the supply can come from Pepco's default service or from a licensed supplier. The DC Public Service Commission calls the default Standard Offer Service (SOS), regulates Pepco as its administrator and says Pepco buys SOS electricity each year through competitive auctions. The Commission's retail choice page points to DC Power Connect for lists of approved suppliers and an offer comparison tool.

In 2025, EIA counted 28,660 residential customers buying supply from one of 30 suppliers, 10.3% of the total (10th highest among the states), against 15.1%⁶ nationally.

EIA reports three averages for 2025, each for a different group of customers or a different part of the bill, so they sit side by side here and are not summed. Homes on SOS paid Pepco 20.76¢ per kWh, generation and wires included. Homes with a supplier paid that supplier 20.87¢ per kWh for the electricity itself (a historical average over every plan sold, not a current offer) and paid Pepco 6.87¢ per kWh to carry it. On its own, the supply-only average was higher than the full-service SOS average. Shoppers were also larger users: Pepco's delivery-only residential customers averaged 1,038 kWh a month, against 593 kWh⁶ for its full-service customers.

Utility full-service customers (default service): supply and delivery20.76¢

Competitive suppliers and CCAs: supply only20.87¢

Utility delivery for customers of a supplier: delivery only6.87¢

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	20.76¢
Competitive suppliers and CCAs: supply only	20.87¢
Utility delivery for customers of a supplier: delivery only	6.87¢

Large business accounts, steep business increases

Commercial use per account ranked the highest among the states: 21,822 kWh a month in 2025 against 6,406 kWh nationally, for an average commercial bill of $4,457.16, which ranked the highest² as well. Over the last 12 months commercial customers paid an average of 22.92¢ per kWh, 65.2% above the US average, after a +20.3% change against the 12 months before, which ranked the highest¹.

The average industrial bill, $2,437,783.30 a month in 2025, ranked the highest² in the country. The industrial 12-month average was 18.97¢ per kWh, +44.1% against the previous 12 months. Single months swing much more: 18.53¢ per kWh in August 2026 against 8.10¢ per kWh¹ a year earlier.

District of ColumbiaUnited States

Residential24.48¢ 18.04¢

Commercial22.92¢ 13.87¢

Industrial18.97¢ 8.91¢

All sectors22.91¢ 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	District of Columbia (¢/kWh)	United States (¢/kWh)
Residential	24.48¢	18.04¢
Commercial	22.92¢	13.87¢
Industrial	18.97¢	8.91¢
All sectors	22.91¢	14.15¢

Across all sectors, the District's 12-month average was 22.91¢ per kWh, +20.6% against the 12 months before; that change ranked the highest¹ among the states.

Power generated almost entirely elsewhere

Power plants inside the District generated the equivalent of 2% of its retail electricity sales in 2025 (ratio ranked the lowest in the country), from 67 megawatts¹⁶ of capacity. Nearly all of DC's electricity arrives over the regional grid run by PJM Interconnection, the wholesale market in which Pepco operates. Of the 0.2 terawatt-hours generated locally, natural gas produced 56.5%, other sources 24.8% and solar 18.4%, the 3rd highest¹⁵ solar share among the states.

Rooftop solar is widespread: 21,479 residential net-metered installations in 2025, 66.1 per 1,000 customers (9th highest), against 38.1¹⁷ for the US.

Outages, smart meters and time-of-use rates

District customers averaged 50 minutes without power in 2025 including major events, and 34 minutes excluding them; both ranked the lowest among the states. They averaged 0.32 interruptions each, which also ranked the lowest¹⁸.

District of Columbia 50West Virginia 1,013

Source: EIA-861 2025, reliability. Each dot is a state. SAIDI including major event days, any reporting standard (EIA state total). Period: 2025.

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State	Outage minutes, 2025
West Virginia	1,013
Michigan	672
Nebraska	547
Alaska	541
Mississippi	501
Arkansas	464
Virginia	462
Pennsylvania	458
Kentucky	408
Washington	383
Alabama	372
Missouri	369
Maine	363
California	345
Indiana	345
Idaho	322
Montana	288
Oklahoma	286
Hawaii	282
Colorado	274
Georgia	270
South Dakota	269
Louisiana	267
Vermont	263
Wyoming	262
Oregon	256
New Hampshire	231
Wisconsin	230
Tennessee	230
Texas	225
Connecticut	211
Ohio	205
North Dakota	204
Kansas	197
North Carolina	196
Maryland	184
Rhode Island	183
Minnesota	182
New Mexico	172
New Jersey	155
Iowa	152
South Carolina	151
Illinois	144
Nevada	128
Massachusetts	122
Utah	116
New York	116
Delaware	99
Arizona	74
Florida	70
District of Columbia	50

Advanced (AMI) meters made up 99.7% of residential meters in 2025, a share that ranked the highest. Yet EIA records 0.0% of District residential customers on time-varying rates, against 11.3%¹⁷ nationally: the meters can record use hour by hour, but almost no home is billed by time of day.

Help paying a DC electric bill

Federal energy assistance for low-income households (LIHEAP) brought the District $12.7 million in fiscal 2026, or $37.98 for each occupied housing unit, which ranked 21st highest. The initial fiscal 2027 allocation is $11.1 million¹⁹. Our guide to help with electric bills covers how to apply and what Pepco offers alongside it.