Pacific Power in Washington: rates per kWh and bills

Three readings of the price per kWh

Pacific Power is the brand under which PacifiCorp, an investor-owned utility, serves Washington. What its homes pay per kWh depends on the period you look at:

Each figure is average revenue per kWh: everything residential customers were billed, including the basic charge and the adjustment schedules but not most taxes, divided by the kWh they used. It is not a line in the tariff, and a household that uses little electricity pays more per kWh than the average because the fixed charge is spread over fewer kWh.

In 2025, Pacific Power's average was the 5th highest among the 28 Washington utilities with 10,000 or more residential customers and 8.8% above the Washington average. Against the country it looks cheaper: 78th lowest of 177 large utilities, and 19.4% below the national average for investor-owned utilities¹.

Why the bill is the largest among Washington's big utilities

Puget Sound Energy customers paid more per kWh in 2025 (17.01¢ per kWh), but Pacific Power's average bill was higher: $166.84 a month against PSE's $146.74. The difference is use. A Pacific Power home used 1,164 kWh a month on average, against 945 kWh⁵ across Washington and 863 kWh¹ on PSE's system.

Seattle City Light (WA)$87.48

Clark Public Utilities (WA)$104.50

Tacoma Public Utilities (WA)$105.14

Snohomish County PUD (WA)$113.29

Avista (WA)$129.76

Puget Sound Energy (WA)$146.74

Pacific Power (WA)$166.84

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
Seattle City Light (WA)	$87.48
Clark Public Utilities (WA)	$104.50
Tacoma Public Utilities (WA)	$105.14
Snohomish County PUD (WA)	$113.29
Avista (WA)	$129.76
Puget Sound Energy (WA)	$146.74
Pacific Power (WA)	$166.84

A bigger bill at a middling price is a matter of how much electricity a home runs through, not of the tariff alone. Washington heats with electricity more than most states: the Census Bureau found that 60.6% of the state's households heated mainly with electricity in 2025 (8th highest⁶ among the states), and in EIA's 2020 household survey space heating took 26% of household electricity in Washington, tied for highest⁷ in the country. EIA does not publish heating figures by utility, so these state shares describe the setting, not Pacific Power's territory alone.

A 29.3% rise in 2025

From 2024 to 2025, the residential average went from 11.08¢ per kWh to 14.33¢ per kWh. Among Washington's seven large utilities that was the steepest increase: Avista rose +19.3%, Puget Sound Energy +16.3%, and the public utilities between +2.1% (Clark) and +5.9% (Tacoma). Use per home slipped from 1,181 kWh to 1,164 kWh a month, so the bill rose a little less than the price, from $130.84³ to $166.84 (+27.5%¹).

Pacific PowerWashington average, all providers

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).

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Month	Pacific Power (¢/kWh)	kWh per customer	Bill per customer
January 2025	11.92¢	1,797	$214.08
February 2025	13.10¢	1,562	$204.54
March 2025	12.92¢	1,122	$145.04
April 2025	13.43¢	831	$111.62
May 2025	15.05¢	750	$112.81
June 2025	13.72¢	994	$136.34
July 2025	15.42¢	1,219	$187.96
August 2025	14.83¢	1,132	$167.88
September 2025	14.45¢	926	$133.75
October 2025	16.80¢	950	$159.63
November 2025	16.35¢	1,211	$197.96
December 2025	15.60¢	1,475	$230.20
January 2026	15.51¢	1,699	$263.65
February 2026	13.66¢	1,304	$178.18
March 2026	15.81¢	1,079	$170.64
April 2026	13.01¢	811	$105.48
May 2026	16.28¢	809	$131.69
June 2026	15.63¢	917	$143.36
July 2026	16.35¢	1,162	$190.09
August 2026	14.81¢	1,135	$168.11

The increase follows a multi-year rate plan. On March 19, 2024, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) approved a settlement in PacifiCorp's general rate case with a first increase from March 2024 and a second from March 2025, covering power costs, clean energy investments and the cost of capital among other items. Calendar 2025 is the first year with the second step in place for most of its months. EIA's average also captures every adjustment schedule on the bill, so it shows the total change without separating its pieces.

The 12 months to August 2026 came in higher again, at 15.38¢ per kWh, while August 2026⁴ alone, at 14.81¢ per kWh, was −0.1%² against August 2025. Those 2026 figures are preliminary, and a single month reflects that month's mix of use.

The December 2025 power-cost decision

On December 22, 2025, the UTC approved updates to PacifiCorp's Washington tariff in a case limited to power costs. The commission reset the company's baseline power costs and approved, with conditions, the removal of coal from Washington rates, which an earlier order required by January 1, 2026. It also approved a new method for dividing PacifiCorp's costs among the states it serves, which the commission said lowers costs for Washington customers compared with the previous method. The filings are in the case docket. The guide to electric rate increases explains how such orders reach a bill.

Winter bills, May lows

EIA samples Pacific Power every month. Over September 2025 to August 2026, its homes used 1,123 kWh a month on average, for an average bill of $172.72. Use peaked at 1,699 kWh in January 2026, when the average bill was $263.65, and bottomed at 809 kWh in May 2026, with a bill of $131.69².

926Sep

950Oct

1,211Nov

1,475Dec

1,699Jan

1,304Feb

1,079Mar

811Apr

809May

917Jun

1,162Jul

1,135Aug

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	926	$133.75	14.45¢
October 2025	950	$159.63	16.80¢
November 2025	1,211	$197.96	16.35¢
December 2025	1,475	$230.20	15.60¢
January 2026	1,699	$263.65	15.51¢
February 2026	1,304	$178.18	13.66¢
March 2026	1,079	$170.64	15.81¢
April 2026	811	$105.48	13.01¢
May 2026	809	$131.69	16.28¢
June 2026	917	$143.36	15.63¢
July 2026	1,162	$190.09	16.35¢
August 2026	1,135	$168.11	14.81¢

Washington needs much more heating than cooling: 5,728 heating degree days a year in NOAA's 2016–2025 normals, against 204⁸ cooling degree days. A price change therefore adds the most dollars in the winter months.

Six counties, all shared with other utilities

EIA's service-territory records place Pacific Power in 6 Washington counties: Benton County, Columbia County, Cowlitz County, Garfield County, Walla Walla County and Yakima County. In none of them is it alone; in all 6⁹, at least one other utility also reports customers. In Benton County those include the Benton County PUD, the City of Richland and Benton Rural Electric Association; in Walla Walla and Columbia counties, Columbia Rural Electric Association and Inland Power & Light; in Cowlitz County, the Cowlitz County PUD; in Yakima County, Benton REA and the Klickitat County PUD among others.

PUD No 1 of Benton County (WA)9.13¢

PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County (WA)9.23¢

Inland Power & Light Company (WA)9.56¢

Benton Rural Electric Association (WA)9.67¢

City of Richland (WA)10.00¢

PUD No 1 of Klickitat County (WA)12.55¢

Pacific Power (WA)14.33¢

Columbia Rural Electric Association (WA)15.59¢

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 residential price (bundled customers)
PUD No 1 of Benton County (WA)	9.13¢
PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County (WA)	9.23¢
Inland Power & Light Company (WA)	9.56¢
Benton Rural Electric Association (WA)	9.67¢
City of Richland (WA)	10.00¢
PUD No 1 of Klickitat County (WA)	12.55¢
Pacific Power (WA)	14.33¢
Columbia Rural Electric Association (WA)	15.59¢

Most of those neighbors are public utility districts, municipal systems or cooperatives. Across Washington in 2025, public power averaged 11.06¢ per kWh for residential customers and cooperatives 10.68¢ per kWh, against 16.24¢ per kWh for the 3¹ investor-owned utilities. Not every consumer-owned neighbor is lower: Columbia REA's residential average was above Pacific Power's in 2025. Federal law gives public bodies and cooperatives preference and priority for power sold by the Bonneville Power Administration.

No household can switch between them: the address decides the utility, and 0.0%¹ of Washington's residential customers bought from a competitive supplier in 2025. Pacific Power's own service map settles a street.

Pacific Power onlyPacific Power and other utilitiesOther utilities

Source: EIA-861 2025, service territory; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties. EIA-861 2025 service territory: 6 counties. Counts whole counties even where the utility serves only part of one; check the utility's own service-area map for an address.

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County	Other utilities reporting service
Benton County	PUD No 1 of Benton County, City of Richland, Benton Rural Electric Association, PUD No 1 of Klickitat County, Bonneville Power Administration
Columbia County	Inland Power & Light Company, Columbia Rural Electric Association
Cowlitz County	PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County, PUD No 1 of Lewis County, Bonneville Power Administration
Garfield County	Inland Power & Light Company, Clearwater Power Company
Walla Walla County	Inland Power & Light Company, Columbia Rural Electric Association, Bonneville Power Administration
Yakima County	Benton Rural Electric Association, PUD No 1 of Klickitat County, Yakama Power, Bonneville Power Administration

PacifiCorp's other states

The same company serves Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, and each state's commission sets its own rates. In 2025, Pacific Power's Oregon homes paid 15.18¢ per kWh on average after a rise of 8.3%, Rocky Mountain Power's Utah homes 13.52¢ per kWh and its Wyoming homes 15.13¢ per kWh. Washington's 14.33¢ per kWh came after the largest jump of the four. Its homes also used more than Pacific Power's Oregon customers (877 kWh a month), so the Washington bill of $166.84 compares with $133.04¹ in Oregon. The PacifiCorp page lines up all four.

No smart meters, little time-of-use

Pacific Power reported 0.0% of its Washington residential meters as advanced (AMI) in 2025, against 75.1% across the state. Without interval meters, time-varying prices are rare: 96 homes (0.1%) were enrolled in a time-of-use rate, against 11.3%¹¹ of homes nationally on time-varying rates. The hours and prices of that option are in Pacific Power's Washington tariff on file with the UTC; the time-of-use guide explains how such a plan changes a bill.

Rooftop solar is more common than in Washington overall: 3,719 net-metered residential installations with 40.5 megawatts of capacity, or 32.3 per 1,000 customers, against 19.4 statewide and 38.1¹¹ nationally. The net metering guide covers how exported power is credited.

Fewer outage minutes than the state

Pacific Power's Washington customers averaged 103 minutes without power in 2025 including major event days, fewer than the Washington average of 383 minutes, and 58 minutes excluding them. They had 0.56 interruptions on average, against 1.45¹² statewide (IEEE 1366 definitions). One storm can change a year's total, so this describes 2025 rather than a lasting ranking.

Commercial accounts and help with bills

In 2025, 17,570 commercial accounts paid an average of 13.21¢ per kWh, a little below the residential figure, and 5,396 industrial accounts 11.24¢ per kWh. Taken together, its 137,964 customers of every kind averaged 13.24¢ per kWh¹.

Households behind on winter bills can apply for LIHEAP, the federal energy assistance program; Washington's allocation for fiscal year 2026 was $61.5 million¹³. The guide to help paying an electric bill lists what to ask the utility, and electricity in Washington has the statewide figures.