Summer or winter: when electric bills peak, state by state
Nationally, summer costs more: over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026), electricity use per home peaked at 1,160 kWh in July 2026, against 678 kWh in April 20261. That national answer hides a split. In much of the Upper South, the Mid-Atlantic, the Northwest and the northern Plains, the heaviest month was January, and some of the largest single-month average bills among utilities EIA tracks monthly were winter bills.
Published November 14, 2026.
The answer depends on where you live
For the country as a whole, summer is the expensive season. Over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026), the average US home used 1,160 kWh in July 2026 and 678 kWh in April 2026, a spring month with little heating or cooling. In August 2026, the latest month EIA has published, the average residential bill was $209.23, against $157.841 a month averaged over the 12 months. Monthly figures since January 2026 are preliminary.
State by state, the picture splits. In the same 12 months, these states used the most electricity per home in winter:
- Virginia: 1,509 kWh in January 2026, against 748 kWh in April 2026.
- North Carolina: 1,351 kWh in January 2026.
- Kentucky: 1,464 kWh in January 2026.
- Tennessee: 1,602 kWh in February 2026.
- West Virginia: 1,622 kWh in January 2026, 2.4 times its lowest month.
- Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania: 1,317 kWh in January 2026, 1,207 kWh in February 2026 and 1,129 kWh in January 2026.
- Washington and Oregon: 1,269 kWh and 1,139 kWh, both in January 2026.
- North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming: 1,578 kWh, 1,269 kWh, 1,100 kWh and 1,113 kWh in January 20261.
In the Deep South, Texas, the Southwest, most of the Midwest, New York, New Jersey and southern New England, the peak came in July or August. Texas homes used 1,670 kWh in August 2026, Louisiana homes 1,763 kWh, and Arizona homes 1,789 kWh, 2.8 times what they used in February 2026. Nevada homes used 2.8 times as much in August 2026 as in February 20261.
What a winter-peaking bill looks like
Dominion Energy Virginia, which serves 66.5%2 of the state's residential customers (2025), shows the winter pattern. Its average residential customer used 1,481 kWh in January 2026 and paid $244.89; in October 2025 the same average customer used 710 kWh and paid $117.89. Over the 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026) the bill averaged $179.553. July and August were high too, so a Dominion customer sees two peaks a year. The table under the chart shows why they end up close in dollars: the average price per kWh was higher in the summer months, so July's bill nearly matched January's on fewer kWh.
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.
Show the numbers
| Month | kWh per customer | Bill per customer | ¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 830 | $140.94 | 16.98¢ |
| October 2025 | 710 | $117.89 | 16.60¢ |
| November 2025 | 859 | $137.40 | 16.00¢ |
| December 2025 | 1,337 | $208.34 | 15.58¢ |
| January 2026 | 1,481 | $244.89 | 16.54¢ |
| February 2026 | 1,253 | $208.90 | 16.68¢ |
| March 2026 | 856 | $151.74 | 17.72¢ |
| April 2026 | 746 | $130.97 | 17.55¢ |
| May 2026 | 807 | $142.55 | 17.67¢ |
| June 2026 | 1,070 | $196.28 | 18.34¢ |
| July 2026 | 1,290 | $241.36 | 18.71¢ |
| August 2026 | 1,236 | $232.64 | 18.82¢ |
Puget Sound Energy in Washington has a winter peak and no summer one to speak of: $227.88 on 1,153 kWh in January 2026, against $111.31 on 624 kWh in September 20253.
What a summer-peaking bill looks like
APS, which serves 40.7%2 of Arizona's residential customers (2025), runs the other way. Its average residential customer used 607 kWh in February 2026 and paid $105.50, then 1,727 kWh in August 2026 for $291.13. The 12-month average bill was $170.883, so the August bill was far above what the customer paid in a typical month, and the February bill far below it.
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.
Show the numbers
| Month | kWh per customer | Bill per customer | ¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 1,207 | $204.88 | 16.98¢ |
| October 2025 | 807 | $138.16 | 17.12¢ |
| November 2025 | 667 | $113.28 | 16.97¢ |
| December 2025 | 710 | $116.10 | 16.36¢ |
| January 2026 | 734 | $124.50 | 16.96¢ |
| February 2026 | 607 | $105.50 | 17.38¢ |
| March 2026 | 814 | $148.14 | 18.20¢ |
| April 2026 | 746 | $130.37 | 17.49¢ |
| May 2026 | 973 | $169.87 | 17.46¢ |
| June 2026 | 1,350 | $231.11 | 17.12¢ |
| July 2026 | 1,642 | $275.92 | 16.80¢ |
| August 2026 | 1,727 | $291.13 | 16.86¢ |
The widest swings in dollars
Among the utilities EIA samples every month, some of the largest gaps between the highest and lowest monthly bill over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026) came in winter and some in summer:
- SMECO (southern Maryland, winter peak): $426.94 in January 2026 on 1,773 kWh, against $144.24 in October 2025. Its 12-month average was $216.31.
- PSO (Oklahoma, summer peak): $322.59 in August 2026 on 1,751 kWh, against $91.20 in November 2025; 12-month average $163.99.
- Delmarva Power in Maryland (winter peak): $344.51 in January 2026, against $141.96 in October 2025.
- El Paso Electric (West Texas, summer peak): a smaller bill overall, but one of the steepest relative climbs, from $52.43 on 378 kWh in November 2025 to $224.35 on 1,383 kWh in July 20263.
These are averages over all residential customers of each utility, including homes with gas heat or rooftop solar. A home that heats with electricity in SMECO's area, or one with a large air-conditioned house in Oklahoma, can see a wider swing than the average.
What decides the season: heating or cooling load
Which season costs more depends on what a home's electricity has to do. Where homes cool for months and heat with gas or barely heat at all, summer wins. Where homes heat with electricity through a real winter, January can pass July.
EIA's Residential Energy Consumption Survey splits household electricity by end use. In 2020 (a pandemic year, the latest state data until spring 2027), space heating took 26% of household electricity in West Virginia and 26% in Washington, while air conditioning took 11% and 4%. In Arizona the split was reversed: 36% for air conditioning, 6% for heating. Nationally it was 19% and 12%4.
Source: EIA, Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020, state data. Each dot is a state (horizontal: Space heating share of household electricity, 2020; vertical: Air conditioning share of household electricity, 2020). Period: 2020. Period: 2020.
Show the numbers
| State | Space heating share of household electricity, 2020 | Air conditioning share of household electricity, 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| California | 4% | 18% |
| New Hampshire | 4% | 11% |
| Nevada | 5% | 31% |
| Arizona | 6% | 36% |
| Utah | 6% | 18% |
| Vermont | 6% | 7% |
| Florida | 7% | 30% |
| New Jersey | 7% | 20% |
| Rhode Island | 7% | 15% |
| Colorado | 8% | 13% |
| Maine | 8% | 8% |
| New Mexico | 8% | 18% |
| Michigan | 9% | 13% |
| Wisconsin | 9% | 11% |
| Kansas | 10% | 22% |
| Louisiana | 10% | 28% |
| Massachusetts | 10% | 15% |
| New York | 10% | 17% |
| Connecticut | 11% | 14% |
| Georgia | 11% | 22% |
| Illinois | 11% | 17% |
| Texas | 11% | 28% |
| District of Columbia | 12% | 20% |
| Minnesota | 13% | 10% |
| Virginia | 14% | 16% |
| Delaware | 15% | 16% |
| Idaho | 15% | 10% |
| Iowa | 15% | 14% |
| Mississippi | 15% | 24% |
| South Carolina | 15% | 21% |
| Alabama | 16% | 21% |
| Ohio | 16% | 14% |
| Oklahoma | 16% | 22% |
| Pennsylvania | 16% | 14% |
| Arkansas | 17% | 20% |
| Missouri | 17% | 18% |
| North Carolina | 17% | 18% |
| South Dakota | 17% | 11% |
| Maryland | 18% | 15% |
| Nebraska | 18% | 15% |
| Tennessee | 18% | 17% |
| Indiana | 19% | 14% |
| Oregon | 19% | 7% |
| Wyoming | 19% | 8% |
| Kentucky | 20% | 16% |
| Montana | 21% | 6% |
| North Dakota | 25% | 7% |
| Washington | 26% | 4% |
| West Virginia | 26% | 11% |
The share of homes with electric heat is not enough on its own. In the Census Bureau's 2025 American Community Survey, 60.8% of Arizona homes heated mainly with electricity, about as many as in Washington (60.6%5), yet Arizona peaks in summer: its winters are short and mild. NOAA's degree days show the difference. Arizona averaged 2,041 heating degree days a year over 2016–2025 and Washington 5,728; for cooling, Arizona averaged 2,655 and Washington 204. North Dakota, with 8,8036 heating degree days, used 1,578 kWh per home in January 2026, against 805 kWh in June 20261.
The price per kWh often moves the other way
A bigger month does not mean a higher price per kWh. EIA's average revenue per kWh (what customers paid in total divided by what they used) includes fixed monthly charges, and in a heavy month those charges are spread over more kWh.
- Arizona: the residential average was lowest in August 2026 (15.05¢ per kWh), the heaviest month, and highest in February 2026 (16.03¢ per kWh).
- North Dakota: lowest in January 2026 (10.92¢ per kWh), its heaviest month, and highest in June 2026 (14.12¢ per kWh).
- The US: highest in April 2026 (18.86¢ per kWh), the month of lightest use, and lowest in December 2025 (17.11¢ per kWh1).
Some utilities do the opposite on purpose, with seasonal tariffs that charge more per kWh in summer months. Whether yours does is in its tariff, not in EIA's averages. Either way, the bill follows kWh far more than it follows price: the swing in use between months is much larger than the swing in the average price.
Reading your own seasonal bill
- Compare with the same month a year earlier. A January bill set against October's will almost always look alarming in a winter-peaking area, and an August bill against April's in a summer-peaking one. EIA publishes state and utility figures for each month; your state's page shows its last 12 months.
- Use the 12-month average for a budget. For Dominion Energy Virginia that was $179.55 a month over September 2025 to August 2026, for APS $170.883. The bill calculator applies a state's 12-month average price to your own kWh.
- Look at kWh before price. If the kWh on your bill rose with the season and the price per kWh did not, the season explains it. If kWh is flat and the bill rose, see why is my electric bill so high.
- Help with heating and cooling costs. The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps eligible households with heating and cooling bills; allocations to states totaled $4.07 billion7 for fiscal year 2026.
Method
Use per home is residential kWh sold divided by residential customers in each month, from EIA-861M and Electric Power Monthly, for the 12 months September 2025 to August 2026; months since January 2026 are preliminary. "Peak" and "low" are the highest and lowest of those 12 months. Utility bills are residential revenue divided by customers in the month, for the utilities with pages that EIA samples every month (1523 of them); a monthly bill is an average over all customers, not one household's bill, and EIA counts accounts, not households. Prices are average revenue per kWh, not tariff rates. End-use shares are EIA RECS 2020 state estimates; electric-heat shares are ACS 2025 1-year estimates with margins of error; degree days are NOAA Climate Prediction Center population-weighted averages for 2016–2025. The next monthly release is due on November 24, 2026.
Summer and winter bills: questions
Are electric bills higher in summer or winter?
In most states, summer. Over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026), US use per home was highest in July 2026 (1,160 kWh). In states where many homes heat with electricity and summers are mild or moderate, such as Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Washington and North Dakota, the highest month was January 20261 or close to it.
Why is my electric bill so high in the winter?
Usually because electricity is heating the home or its water. At Dominion Energy Virginia, the average residential customer used 1,481 kWh in January 2026 and paid $244.89, against 710 kWh and $117.89 in October 20253 (EIA-861M, preliminary for 2026). Compare your bill with the same month a year earlier, not with the autumn.
Which month has the highest electric bill?
For the US as a whole, July 2026 or August: in August 2026 the average residential bill was $209.23, against a 12-month average of $157.841 (September 2025 to August 2026). For a winter-peaking utility it is January or February.
More insights
Sources
- 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, 2025 final; table Sales_Ult_Cust_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861M monthly sales and revenue by utility; table sales_ult_cust_2025 and _2026; released October 23, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA, Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020, state data; table CE4.1.EL.ST, CE5 state tables, state highlights; released June 28, 2023. www.eia.gov
- Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-year estimates, house heating fuel, table B25040; 2025; released October 29, 2026. data.census.gov
- NOAA, Climate Prediction Center population-weighted degree days by state; table daily state files, base 65°F; 2016-2025 annual sums; 1981-2010 CPC normals; released November 13, 2026. ftp.cpc.ncep.noaa.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
Margins of error (±) are at the 90% confidence level. A difference is called significant only when it passes the Census Bureau's test at that level. How every figure is built: methodology. Found an error? Write to [email protected]; corrections are listed on the updates page.