Lincoln Electric System (LES) rates and bills in Lincoln
Lincoln Electric System's 136,859 residential customers in Nebraska paid an average of 11.15¢ per kWh in 2025, for an average bill of $93.59 a month on 839 kWh.1 Over the last 12 months (Sep 2025–Aug 2026) the average was 11.67¢, and 12.21¢ in August 2026.2
EIA-861 2025 final (released October 7, 2026) and EIA's monthly utility survey through August 2026 (preliminary); next monthly update expected November 24, 2026. Averages are revenue divided by kWh, all charges included: not the rate printed in a tariff.
1 of 93 Nebraska counties served (EIA-861 2025)
Lincoln Electric System's residential customers paid an average of 11.15¢ per kWh in 2025, the 3rd lowest of 177 US utilities with 100,000 or more residential customers. Its bills are lowest in spring and highest in winter, not summer, and its average bill was $93.59 a month, well below OPPD's $120.781 in Omaha.
LES's price per kWh, period by period
Lincoln Electric System is the city of Lincoln's municipal utility: public power, owned by the city, with no shareholders. In 2025 it had 136,859 residential customers, 17.8%1 of all residential customers in Nebraska and the second largest number after OPPD.
What an LES home pays per kWh depends on the period asked about. For calendar 2025, EIA's annual survey of every utility (EIA-861) gives 11.15¢ per kWh1, up from 10.86¢ per kWh3 in 2024. EIA's monthly sample (EIA-861M) gives 11.67¢ per kWh for the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026) and 12.21¢ per kWh2 for August 20264 alone; the 2026 months are preliminary.
Each figure is average revenue per kWh: what LES billed its residential customers, divided by the kWh they used. It folds the fixed monthly customer charge into the per-kWh number, so it is not a price printed in LES's rate schedules, and a home that uses little electricity pays more per kWh than the average. The 12-month figure is the closest to a year of bills; a single month moves with the season.
Near the bottom of the national list
Of the 177 US utilities with 100,000 or more residential customers that report a full-service price, LES had the 3rd lowest of 177 average in 2025. Only Magic Valley Electric Cooperative (Texas) (10.51¢ per kWh) and Clark Public Utilities (Washington) (10.63¢ per kWh) averaged less. The median of the group was 15.07¢ per kWh, and LES was 23.1% below the national average for public power (14.49¢ per kWh1).
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) |
|---|---|
| Magic Valley Electric Cooperative (TX) | 10.51¢ |
| Clark Public Utilities (WA) | 10.63¢ |
| Lincoln Electric System (NE) | 11.15¢ |
| MidAmerican Energy (IA) | 11.21¢ |
| Tacoma Public Utilities (WA) | 11.45¢ |
Inside Nebraska, whose statewide average was the 3rd lowest5 among the states in 2025, the ranking looks different. Among the 11 Nebraska utilities with 10,000 or more residential customers, LES had the 6th highest average. Several averaged less, led by Southern Public Power District at 9.10¢ per kWh. Against the statewide average for all providers, LES was 7.5% below the Nebraska average1.
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.
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| Utility | ¢/kWh |
|---|---|
| Southern Public Power District | 9.10¢ |
| Norris Public Power District | 9.54¢ |
| City of Grand Island | 10.32¢ |
| Loup River Public Power Dist | 10.82¢ |
| Nebraska Public Power District | 10.95¢ |
| Lincoln Electric System | 11.15¢ |
| Dawson Power District | 11.32¢ |
| City of North Platte | 11.68¢ |
| City of Hastings | 11.83¢ |
| Nebraska average | 12.05¢ |
| City of Fremont | 12.27¢ |
| OPPD | 13.29¢ |
Lincoln and Omaha: two public utilities, two price levels
In EIA's 2025 data Nebraska has 0 investor-owned utilities and no retail choice: 0.0% of homes bought from a competitive supplier. Homes are served by public power districts, municipal utilities and cooperatives, and even the two largest of these differ in what their customers pay. In 2025, OPPD, the public power district serving the Omaha area, averaged 13.29¢ per kWh for its residential customers, against 11.15¢ per kWh1 at LES.
The gap widened between 2024 and 2025. LES's residential average rose 2.7%, OPPD's 7.5%1, and Nebraska's as a whole 4.5%5. Over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026) EIA's monthly sample puts LES at 11.67¢ per kWh and OPPD at 13.94¢ per kWh2.
Bills differ more than prices, because a Lincoln home also used less electricity: 839 kWh a month in 2025, against 909 kWh for an OPPD home and 973 kWh for the average Nebraska home. The average LES bill was $93.59, OPPD's $120.78 and Nebraska's $117.236. Across the Missouri River, MidAmerican Energy's Iowa residential customers, who paid 11.21¢ per kWh on average, had a bill close to Lincoln's: $92.85 for 828 kWh1 a month.
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 |
|---|---|
| MidAmerican Energy (IA) | $92.85 |
| Lincoln Electric System (NE) | $93.59 |
| OPPD (NE) | $120.78 |
These are averages over each utility's whole territory, not prices for a city or a neighborhood.
Highest bills in winter
OPPD's highest monthly bill in the last 12 months came in summer, in July 2026. At LES the peak came in winter. Over the 12 months to August 2026, use per home ranged from 588 kWh in April 2026 to 1,149 kWh in February 2026, and the average bill in those two months from $76.62 to $109.312.
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 | 771 | $100.73 | 13.06¢ |
| October 2025 | 659 | $78.84 | 11.97¢ |
| November 2025 | 624 | $74.29 | 11.91¢ |
| December 2025 | 950 | $97.39 | 10.25¢ |
| January 2026 | 767 | $84.97 | 11.08¢ |
| February 2026 | 1,149 | $109.31 | 9.52¢ |
| March 2026 | 625 | $78.52 | 12.57¢ |
| April 2026 | 588 | $76.62 | 13.04¢ |
| May 2026 | 653 | $82.80 | 12.68¢ |
| June 2026 | 950 | $116.08 | 12.22¢ |
| July 2026 | 1,121 | $128.83 | 11.49¢ |
| August 2026 | 1,034 | $126.22 | 12.21¢ |
The swing between the cheapest and the dearest month is narrower than OPPD's: OPPD's average bill ran from $80.86 to $209.61 over the same 12 months. A household budgeting on LES's 12-month average of $96.27 (825 kWh a month) will pay more than that in the coldest months and less in spring and fall. The price per kWh moves too: the August 20264 average of 12.21¢ per kWh2 was above the 12-month figure.
Rate changes in 2025, 2026 and 2027
LES's rates are proposed by its Administrative Board and go to the Lincoln City Council for a public hearing. According to LES's announcement of its 2026 rate proposal (September 19, 2025), it raised rates mid-year on July 1, 2025, its first mid-year change in nearly two decades, to help fund new generation resources. The same proposal set out a systemwide increase for January 1, 2026, which LES said was largely driven by rising power costs and transmission expenses.
The annual figures capture only half a year of the July 2025 change: LES's 2025 average bill rose +6.7%, from $87.70 to $93.59, faster than the price, because use per home also grew, from 808 kWh3 to 839 kWh1 a month. The 12-month average to August 2026, 11.67¢ per kWh, covers the 12 months after the July 2025 change, including January to August 2026, and sits above the calendar 2025 figure. In August 20264, the preliminary average was 12.21¢ per kWh, +2.3% on the same month a year earlier; OPPD's was +5.5%2 over the same comparison.
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).
Show the numbers
| Month | Lincoln Electric System (¢/kWh) | kWh per customer | Bill per customer |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | 8.97¢ | 1,096 | $98.32 |
| February 2025 | 9.55¢ | 876 | $83.67 |
| March 2025 | 10.62¢ | 823 | $87.33 |
| April 2025 | 12.25¢ | 569 | $69.65 |
| May 2025 | 12.22¢ | 614 | $75.10 |
| June 2025 | 11.84¢ | 865 | $102.43 |
| July 2025 | 11.07¢ | 1,180 | $130.67 |
| August 2025 | 11.93¢ | 1,045 | $124.61 |
| September 2025 | 13.06¢ | 771 | $100.73 |
| October 2025 | 11.97¢ | 659 | $78.84 |
| November 2025 | 11.91¢ | 624 | $74.29 |
| December 2025 | 10.25¢ | 950 | $97.39 |
| January 2026 | 11.08¢ | 767 | $84.97 |
| February 2026 | 9.52¢ | 1,149 | $109.31 |
| March 2026 | 12.57¢ | 625 | $78.52 |
| April 2026 | 13.04¢ | 588 | $76.62 |
| May 2026 | 12.68¢ | 653 | $82.80 |
| June 2026 | 12.22¢ | 950 | $116.08 |
| July 2026 | 11.49¢ | 1,121 | $128.83 |
| August 2026 | 12.21¢ | 1,034 | $126.22 |
For 2027, LES's Finance Committee proposed a further base rate adjustment on September 18, 2026, citing higher power supply and transmission costs and the cost of regional transmission investments. The proposal went to the Administrative Board and then to a public hearing before the Lincoln City Council; once adopted, new rates take effect on January 1, 2027, and EIA's monthly figures would show them from early 2027. The guide to rate increases explains how a percentage approved by a board reaches a bill.
Outages: short on ordinary days
LES customers averaged 18 minutes without power in 2025 excluding major event days, the days of unusually widespread outages that the IEEE 1366 standard sets apart. Nebraska's average on that basis was 116 minutes. Counting all events, LES's figure was 241 minutes, fewer than the Nebraska average of 547 minutes, so most of the year's outage time came on major event days. MidAmerican Energy's Iowa customers averaged 205 minutes on the same all-events basis. Customers had 0.74 interruptions each on average, counting all events, against 1.327 statewide.
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) |
|---|---|
| MidAmerican Energy (IA) | 205 |
| Lincoln Electric System (NE) | 241 |
| OPPD (NE) | 558 |
Lancaster County, meters and rooftop solar
EIA's 2025 territory records list LES in Lancaster County8 only, which it shares with other distribution utilities, including OPPD. A Lancaster County address outside Lincoln may be served by one of them; LES's service-area map decides.
Source: EIA-861 2025, service territory; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties. EIA-861 2025 service territory: 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Lancaster County | OPPD, Nebraska Public Power District, Norris Public Power District, City of Nebraska City |
LES reported 0.0% of its residential meters as advanced (AMI) meters in EIA's 2025 data; hourly-reading meters of that kind are what time-of-use pricing requires. Rooftop solar is small: 604 net-metered residential installations with 3.7 megawatts of capacity, 4.410 per 1,000 residential customers. LES belongs to the Southwest Power Pool (SPP1) wholesale market.
Businesses, and help with bills
LES's 18,025 commercial customers paid 8.93¢ per kWh on average in 2025, with an average monthly bill of $642.25; its 236 industrial accounts paid 7.73¢ per kWh. The all-customer figure, over 155,120 accounts, was 9.68¢ per kWh1.
Nebraska received $35.8 million11 in federal LIHEAP energy assistance for fiscal 2026; the help paying your electric bill guide explains how it works. The state's other utilities are compared on electricity in Nebraska.
LES rate and bill questions
What is the LES rate per kWh?
LES's residential customers paid an average of 11.15¢ per kWh1 in 2025 and 11.67¢ per kWh2 over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026, 2026 months preliminary). Both are averages, revenue divided by kWh, so they include the monthly customer charge; the energy charges per kWh are set out in LES's own rate schedules.
Did LES raise rates in 2026?
LES proposed a systemwide increase to take effect on January 1, 2026, after a mid-year increase on July 1, 2025. In EIA's preliminary August 20264 data, the residential average was 12.21¢ per kWh, +2.3%2 on the same month a year earlier.
What is the average LES electric bill?
$93.59 a month in 2025 for 839 kWh1, and $96.27 over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026). Over those 12 months the monthly average ranged from $74.29 in November 2025 to $128.83 in July 20262.
Is LES cheaper than OPPD?
On average, yes. In 2025 LES residential customers paid 11.15¢ per kWh and OPPD's 13.29¢ per kWh1. Nobody chooses between them, though: Nebraska has no retail choice, and each utility serves its own territory.
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-861M monthly sales and revenue by utility; table sales_ult_cust_2025 and _2026; 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, 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, Historical state data, annual sales, revenue and customers; table HS861 2010-.xlsx; 2010-2025, final; released October 7, 2026. 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.