South Central Power rates, bills and outages
South Central Power's 118,458 residential customers in Ohio paid an average of 15.39¢ per kWh in 2025, for an average bill of $172.78 a month on 1,123 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.
24 of 88 Ohio counties served (EIA-861 2025)
Homes on South Central Power, a member-owned cooperative, paid an average of 15.39¢ per kWh in 2025, well below AEP Ohio's 18.97¢ per kWh, yet its average bill of $172.78 was far above the Ohio average of $147.744 because each home used 1,123 kWh1 a month. Its members also spent more time without power than the Ohio average.
The 2025 average price, and what it measures
South Central Power Company is an electric cooperative, owned by the homes and businesses it serves, with 118,458 residential members across 242 Ohio counties in 2025, the one cooperative among the 7 Ohio utilities with 100,000 or more residential customers. It belongs to Ohio's distribution cooperatives supplied by Buckeye Power, the generation and transmission cooperative they own and govern, and its territory lies inside the PJM1 grid region.
In 2025 its residential members paid an average of 15.39¢ per kWh1. The figure is average revenue per kWh: everything billed to residential members, including fixed monthly charges and any adjustment riders, divided by the kWh they used. It is a full-service price, covering both the electricity and its delivery, and it excludes most taxes.
That average was 8.9% below the Ohio average (16.90¢ per kWh3 across all providers) and the 8th lowest of the 27 Ohio utilities with 10,000 or more full-service residential customers. Among the 177 US utilities of its size, it ranked 84th highest of 177, close to their median of 15.07¢ per kWh1.
Compared with other cooperatives, the picture reverses. Ohio's cooperatives as a group averaged 16.69¢ per kWh in 2025, so South Central Power sat below its in-state peers, but cooperatives nationally averaged 14.10¢ per kWh, and the cooperative was 9.1% above the national average for electric cooperatives1.
EIA's monthly survey does not include South Central Power, so 2025 is the latest year with a figure for this cooperative. The next annual release, with 2026 data for every utility, is due in August 2027.
Lower price than AEP Ohio, nearly the same bill
On AEP Ohio, the state's largest utility, full-service (default-service) residential customers paid an average of 18.97¢ per kWh in 2025. Duke Energy Ohio averaged 16.83¢ per kWh and AES Ohio 16.12¢ per kWh. All three figures are bundled prices for customers who buy supply and delivery from the utility, so they compare directly with South Central Power's 15.39¢ 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) |
|---|---|
| South Central Power (OH) | 15.39¢ |
| Ohio Edison (OH) | 16.01¢ |
| AES Ohio (OH) | 16.12¢ |
| Duke Energy Ohio (OH) | 16.83¢ |
| AEP Ohio (OH) | 18.97¢ |
Bills tell a different story. The average South Central Power home used 1,123 kWh a month in 2025, against 944 kWh for AEP Ohio's default-service homes and 874 kWh across Ohio. At the lower price, that extra use brought the cooperative's average bill to $172.78, close to AEP Ohio's $179.101 and well above the statewide $147.744.
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 |
|---|---|
| Ohio Edison (OH) | $131.45 |
| Duke Energy Ohio (OH) | $154.05 |
| AES Ohio (OH) | $158.08 |
| South Central Power (OH) | $172.78 |
| AEP Ohio (OH) | $179.10 |
EIA does not report why use differs between territories. House size, electric heating and electric vehicles all raise use per home, and the survey does not break them out by utility. Across Ohio, space heating took 16% of household electricity in EIA's 2020 household survey, against 14%5 for air conditioning. A fixed monthly charge also weighs less per kWh in a home that uses more, which pulls the average price down as use rises.
2024 to 2025: the bill rose faster than the price
The cooperative's residential average went from 14.87¢ per kWh6 in 2024 to 15.39¢ per kWh in 2025, a rise of 3.5%1. Ohio's residential average rose 5.7%3 over the same two years.
The average bill rose further, +8.2%, from $159.68 to $172.78, because use per home also grew, from 1,074 kWh6 to 1,123 kWh1 a month. Annual use moves with the winter: Ohio averages 5,271 heating degree days a year (2016 to 2025), 24th highest7 among the contiguous states, and a colder or milder year shifts bills in homes that heat with electricity.
For 2026, only statewide monthly data exist. Ohio's residential average over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026) was 18.41¢ per kWh, +11.7%8 on the 12 months before; those figures are preliminary and combine all of Ohio's utilities, so they do not measure South Central Power's own rates.
Outage minutes above Ohio's average
South Central Power's members averaged 298 minutes without power in 2025, counting all events including major event days (IEEE 1366 definition), more than the Ohio average of 205 minutes. Excluding major event days, the figure was 198 minutes, against 130 minutes statewide. Each member saw 2.83 interruptions on average, against 1.279 across Ohio.
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) |
|---|---|
| Toledo Edison (OH) | 110 |
| AES Ohio (OH) | 168 |
| Duke Energy Ohio (OH) | 178 |
| The Illuminating Company (OH) | 195 |
| AEP Ohio (OH) | 221 |
| Ohio Edison (OH) | 244 |
| South Central Power (OH) | 298 |
EIA's reliability data record how long and how often the power went out, not why. Among the large Ohio utilities in the chart, the cooperative's total stood above AEP Ohio's 221 minutes and Ohio Edison's 244 minutes9 in 2025. Advanced (AMI) meters, which report usage remotely and are needed for any time-based pricing, covered 100.0%10 of the cooperative's residential meters that year.
Which addresses it serves
EIA's service-territory records place South Central Power in 24 counties: Adams County, Belmont County, Brown County, Carroll County, Clermont County, Clinton County, Fairfield County, Fayette County, Franklin County, Harrison County, Highland County, Hocking County and 12 others. In all 242 of them at least one other utility also reports customers. A county or ZIP code therefore does not settle which utility serves a home; the cooperative's own service map and the address do.
Source: EIA-861 2025, service territory; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties. EIA-861 2025 service territory: 24 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 |
|---|---|
| Adams County | AEP Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio, Adams Rural Electric Cooperative |
| Belmont County | AEP Ohio, City of St Clairsville |
| Brown County | Duke Energy Ohio, AES Ohio, Adams Rural Electric Cooperative, Village of Georgetown, Village of Ripley, Village of Hamersville |
| Carroll County | AEP Ohio, Ohio Edison, Carroll Electric Cooperative |
| Clermont County | Duke Energy Ohio, Village of Bethel |
| Clinton County | Duke Energy Ohio, AES Ohio, Village of Blanchester |
| Fairfield County | AEP Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio |
| Fayette County | Ohio Edison, AES Ohio |
| Franklin County | AEP Ohio, Ohio Edison, Duke Energy Ohio, Licking Rural Electric, Consolidated Cooperative, City of Westerville, City of Columbus, Village of Obetz |
| Harrison County | AEP Ohio, Guernsey-Muskingum El Cooperative, Carroll Electric Cooperative |
| Highland County | Duke Energy Ohio, AES Ohio, Adams Rural Electric Cooperative |
| Hocking County | AEP Ohio |
| Jefferson County | AEP Ohio, Carroll Electric Cooperative |
| Licking County | AEP Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio, Licking Rural Electric, Consolidated Cooperative, Guernsey-Muskingum El Cooperative, Frontier Power Company |
| Madison County | Ohio Edison, Duke Energy Ohio, AES Ohio, Pioneer Rural Electric Cooperative |
| Monroe County | AEP Ohio, Washington Electric Cooperative, City of Woodsfield |
| Muskingum County | AEP Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio, Licking Rural Electric, Guernsey-Muskingum El Cooperative, Frontier Power Company |
| Noble County | AEP Ohio, Guernsey-Muskingum El Cooperative, Washington Electric Cooperative |
| Perry County | AEP Ohio, Licking Rural Electric, Guernsey-Muskingum El Cooperative |
| Pickaway County | Duke Energy Ohio, AES Ohio |
| Pike County | AEP Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio, Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative, Adams Rural Electric Cooperative, Ohio Valley Electric Corp |
| Ross County | Duke Energy Ohio, AES Ohio, Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative |
| Scioto County | AEP Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio, Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative, Adams Rural Electric Cooperative |
| Vinton County | Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative |
Business accounts
Commercial members paid an average of 14.92¢ per kWh in 2025, with an average monthly bill of $470.31 across 10,173 accounts. The cooperative's 298 industrial accounts averaged 10.42¢ per kWh. Across all 128,929 customers, the average was 13.83¢ per kWh1.
Households struggling with heating or electricity bills can apply for the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which allotted $181.2 million12 to Ohio for fiscal 2026. For prices across the state and its other utilities, see electricity in Ohio and AEP Ohio.
South Central Power questions
What is South Central Power's rate per kWh?
Residential members paid an average of 15.39¢ per kWh1 in 2025, the latest year EIA reports for the cooperative. That is average revenue per kWh: all residential charges, including fixed monthly charges and any adjustment riders, divided by the kWh used. It is not a tariff line; the cooperative's rate schedules list the individual charges.
What is the average South Central Power electric bill?
$172.78 a month in 2025 for 1,123 kWh1 of use, up from $159.686 in 2024. The Ohio average for all utilities was $147.744.
Did South Central Power raise rates in 2026?
EIA's monthly survey does not sample South Central Power, so there is no utility-specific figure for 2026 yet; its 2025 average rose 3.5%1 on 2024. EIA's 2026 annual data for every utility are due in August 2027. Statewide, Ohio's residential average over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026, preliminary) was 18.41¢ per kWh, +11.7%8 on the 12 months before; that figure covers all Ohio utilities, not the cooperative alone.
Can South Central Power members buy electricity from a supplier?
In EIA's 2025 data, every one of the cooperative's 118,458 residential customers bought both the electricity and its delivery from South Central Power; none was counted as buying supply from a competitive supplier. On AEP Ohio's wires, by contrast, 60.1%1 of residential customers on its wires bought supply from a supplier or an aggregation program that year.
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-861 2025, service territory; table Service_Territory_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-861 2025, average monthly bill by state; table Average_Bill_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 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
- 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
- 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
- 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 2025, reliability; table Reliability_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.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
- Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties; table cb_2025_us_county_5m; cb_2021_us_county_5m; 2025 (2021 for Connecticut). www.census.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.