Sawnee EMC electric rates and bills
Sawnee EMC's 182,849 residential customers in Georgia paid an average of 12.82¢ per kWh in 2025, for an average bill of $152.73 a month on 1,191 kWh.1
EIA-861 2025 final, released October 7, 2026; the next annual release is due in August 2027. Averages are revenue divided by kWh, all charges included: not the rate printed in a tariff.
7 of 159 Georgia counties served (EIA-861 2025)
Sawnee EMC's residential members paid an average of 12.82¢ per kWh in 2025, +11.1% on 2024: a steeper rise than at any of Georgia's six other utilities with 100,000 or more residential customers. The cooperative still sat 13.0% below the Georgia average, but its homes use more electricity than most in the state, so the average bill of $152.73 is now close to Georgia Power's $161.131.
What Sawnee EMC members paid per kWh
Sawnee EMC, registered with EIA as Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation, is an electric cooperative: owned by the members it serves, it buys the power, runs the lines and sends the bill. In 2025 it counted 182,849 residential members, 3.9% of Georgia's residential customers and the fourth-largest share in the state, and 203,5301 accounts of every kind.
Those residential members paid an average of 12.82¢ per kWh1 in 2025. That is average revenue per kWh: everything billed to homes divided by the kWh they used. A household that uses little pays more per kWh than this, because the fixed monthly charge is spread over fewer kWh; a heavy user pays less.
Where the 2025 average places the cooperative:
| Benchmark (2025) | Sawnee EMC |
|---|---|
| Georgia utilities with 10,000 or more residential customers | 7th lowest of 46 |
| Georgia average, all providers (14.74¢ per kWh2) | 13.0% below the Georgia average |
| All Georgia electric cooperatives (13.34¢ per kWh) | 12.82¢ per kWh at Sawnee |
| Electric cooperatives nationwide | 9.1% below the national average for electric cooperatives |
| US utilities with 100,000 or more residential customers | 30th lowest of 1771 |
Anyone looking for a 2026 price per kWh for Sawnee will not find an official one. Form EIA-861M, EIA's monthly survey, covers a sample of utilities, and Sawnee is not in it; the annual Form EIA-861 is the source of every Sawnee figure on this page. Statewide, Georgia homes paid 15.17¢ per kWh3 over the 12 months September 2025 to August 2026 (2026 months preliminary); that covers every Georgia provider, led by Georgia Power, and is not a Sawnee figure.
The 2025 increase, set against Georgia's other large utilities
From 2024 to 2025, Sawnee's residential average went from 11.54¢ per kWh4 to 12.82¢ per kWh, up 11.1%1. The statewide residential average rose 4.7%2 over the same two years. Among the seven Georgia utilities large enough for their own page, the change ranged widely:
| Utility | Average price, 2024 | Average price, 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sawnee EMC | 11.54¢ per kWh | 12.82¢ per kWh | +11.1% |
| Walton EMC | 12.99¢ per kWh | 14.10¢ per kWh | +8.5% |
| Georgia Power | 15.49¢ per kWh | 16.28¢ per kWh | +5.1% |
| Snapping Shoals EMC | 12.37¢ per kWh | 12.99¢ per kWh | +5.0% |
| Jackson EMC | 11.38¢ per kWh | 11.87¢ per kWh | +4.3% |
| GreyStone Power | 12.22¢ per kWh | 12.55¢ per kWh | +2.7% |
| Cobb EMC | 11.41¢ per kWh4 | 11.55¢ per kWh | +1.2%1 |
In 2024 Sawnee's average sat close to Cobb EMC's and Jackson EMC's; by 2025 it had moved above both and above GreyStone Power's. Even so, Sawnee members paid well under the 16.28¢ per kWh1 that Georgia Power's residential customers averaged.
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.
Show the numbers
| Utility | average residential price (bundled customers) |
|---|---|
| Cobb EMC (GA) | 11.55¢ |
| Jackson EMC (GA) | 11.87¢ |
| GreyStone Power (GA) | 12.55¢ |
| Sawnee EMC (GA) | 12.82¢ |
| Snapping Shoals EMC (GA) | 12.99¢ |
| Walton EMC (GA) | 14.10¢ |
| Georgia Power (GA) | 16.28¢ |
EIA's figures measure the size of the change, not its reason. The individual charges behind it, fixed and per kWh, appear in Sawnee's rate schedules and member communications, not in federal data. Georgia Power's rate cases go before the Georgia Public Service Commission; for Sawnee, the cooperative's published rate schedules are the record of what each charge is.
More kWh per home, larger bills
A Sawnee home used 1,191 kWh a month on average in 2025, against 1,077 kWh5 for Georgia as a whole and 990 kWh1 on Georgia Power's system. More kWh at a lower average price leaves the bills of the two utilities closer together than their prices.
The gap narrowed in 2025. Sawnee's average bill rose from $136.25 to $152.73 (+12.1%), a little faster than the price, because use per home also edged up, from 1,181 kWh to 1,191 kWh. Georgia Power's average bill went from $153.24 to $161.13, and Cobb EMC's, next door, from $128.404 to $128.801.
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.
Show the numbers
| Utility | average monthly residential bill |
|---|---|
| Cobb EMC (GA) | $128.80 |
| Jackson EMC (GA) | $143.77 |
| GreyStone Power (GA) | $149.26 |
| Sawnee EMC (GA) | $152.73 |
| Georgia Power (GA) | $161.13 |
| Snapping Shoals EMC (GA) | $167.24 |
| Walton EMC (GA) | $174.78 |
These are annual averages. Because Sawnee is outside EIA's monthly sample, there is no official month-by-month bill for its members. The statewide figures show how far one month can sit from the year: Georgia's residential average bill, all providers, was $233.87 in August 2026 (preliminary) against $163.923 over the 12 months September 2025 to August 2026.
Short outages by Georgia standards
Sawnee members averaged 66 minutes without power in 2025, counting major storms, fewer than the Georgia average of 270 minutes. Leaving out major event days, the figure was 31 minutes. The average member saw 1.136 interruptions over the year. All three measures follow IEEE 1366.
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.
Show the numbers
| Utility | outage minutes per customer (all events) |
|---|---|
| Cobb EMC (GA) | 48 |
| Sawnee EMC (GA) | 66 |
| Snapping Shoals EMC (GA) | 175 |
| Jackson EMC (GA) | 217 |
| GreyStone Power (GA) | 241 |
| Georgia Power (GA) | 287 |
| Walton EMC (GA) | 307 |
The small gap between Sawnee's two minute counts means storms added comparatively little outage time in 2025. At Jackson EMC, by contrast, the total was 217 minutes against 74 minutes on ordinary days; at Georgia Power, 287 minutes against 155 minutes6.
Forsyth County and the north metro: a shared territory
EIA's service-territory file lists Sawnee EMC in 7 counties: Cherokee County, Dawson County, Forsyth County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Hall County and Lumpkin County. In every one of them at least one other utility also reports customers. Fulton County has 97 distribution utilities, the most of any Georgia county. A county or a mailing address does not settle which utility serves a home; Sawnee's service-area map and its neighbors' maps decide street by street.
Source: EIA-861 2025, service territory; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties. EIA-861 2025 service territory: 7 counties. Counts whole counties even where the utility serves only part of one; check the utility's own service-area map for an address.
Show the numbers
| County | Other utilities reporting service |
|---|---|
| Cherokee County | Georgia Power, Cobb EMC, Amicalola Electric Membership Corporation |
| Dawson County | Georgia Power, Amicalola Electric Membership Corporation |
| Forsyth County | Georgia Power, Amicalola Electric Membership Corporation, City of Norcross |
| Fulton County | Georgia Power, Cobb EMC, GreyStone Power, Coweta-Fayette Electric Membership Corporation, City of East Point, City of College Park, City of Fairburn, City of Palmetto |
| Gwinnett County | Georgia Power, Jackson EMC, Walton EMC, City of Lawrenceville, City of Norcross, City of Buford |
| Hall County | Georgia Power, Jackson EMC, Habersham Electric Membership Corporation, City of Buford |
| Lumpkin County | Georgia Power, Jackson EMC, Amicalola Electric Membership Corporation, Habersham Electric Membership Corporation |
Smart meters, time-of-use and rooftop solar
Advanced meters were in place at 99.9% of Sawnee's residential meters in 2025. Few members used them for time-based pricing: 943 residential customers, 0.5% of the total, were enrolled in the cooperative's time-of-use and critical peak pricing options, against 1.8% at Cobb EMC and 2.9%9 at Georgia Power. Sawnee's rate schedules give the hours and prices; the time-of-use guide explains how such rates shift a bill.
Rooftop solar is uncommon: 630 net-metered residential systems, 3.4 per 1,000 residential customers, with 3.9 megawatts9 of capacity in 2025.
Business and industrial accounts
Sawnee's 20,571 commercial accounts paid an average of 11.78¢ per kWh in 2025, less per kWh than homes, with an average monthly bill of $475.58. Its 110 industrial accounts paid 7.64¢ per kWh. Across all customer classes the average was 12.25¢ per kWh1.
Members who cannot keep up with a bill can apply to Georgia's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program; the state's federal allocation for FY2026 was $96.1 million10. The Georgia electricity page compares Sawnee with the state's other cooperatives, municipal utilities and Georgia Power.
Sawnee EMC rates: questions members ask
What is Sawnee EMC's rate per kWh?
The latest official figure is an average, not a tariff line: residential members paid 12.82¢ per kWh1 in 2025, total residential revenue divided by residential kWh, so the fixed monthly charge and any adjustments are inside it. The per-kWh energy charges on Sawnee's rate schedule leave those out and look lower. EIA's monthly survey does not sample Sawnee, so no 2026 average exists yet.
Did Sawnee EMC raise rates?
EIA's annual data show the residential average rising 11.1%, from 11.54¢ per kWh4 in 2024 to 12.82¢ per kWh1 in 2025. Those figures record what was billed, not a board decision; the cooperative's own notices and rate schedules say which charges changed. The 2026 average will appear in EIA's August 2027 release.
How much is the average Sawnee EMC bill?
$152.73 a month in 2025 for 1,191 kWh, up from $136.254 in 2024 (+12.1%1). Georgia's residential average across all providers was $158.705 in 2025.
Can I buy electricity from someone other than Sawnee EMC?
No. Georgia has no residential retail choice: 0.0%1 of the state's residential customers bought from a supplier in 2025. The utility whose territory covers an address serves it.
Related pages
Sources
- EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final; table Sales_Ult_Cust_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA, Historical state data, annual sales, revenue and customers; table HS861 2010-.xlsx; 2010-2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state; table sales_revenue.xlsx (EPM Table 5.6.A); January 2001 to 2026-08; months since January 2026 preliminary; released October 23, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2024 final; table Sales_Ult_Cust_2024; 2024, final (file updated December 3, 2025); released December 3, 2025. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 2025, average monthly bill by state; table Average_Bill_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 2025, reliability; table Reliability_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 2025, service territory; table Service_Territory_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties; table cb_2025_us_county_5m; cb_2021_us_county_5m; 2025 (2021 for Connecticut). www.census.gov
- EIA-861 2025, advanced meters, dynamic pricing and net metering; table Advanced_Meters, Dynamic_Pricing, Net_Metering 2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- HHS, LIHEAP funding releases to states; table FY2027 first release; FY2026 final; FY2027 first release (October 9, 2026); FY2026 total; released October 9, 2026. acf.gov
How every figure is built: methodology. Found an error? Write to [email protected]; corrections are listed on the updates page.