MGE electric rates and bills

MGE's average price, and the period behind it

Madison Gas and Electric Company, MGE, is an investor-owned utility based in Madison. It had 148,482 residential customers in 2025, 5.5% of Wisconsin's total, fifth by homes served among the 5¹ Wisconsin utilities with 100,000 or more residential customers.

Those homes paid an average of 21.11¢ per kWh in 2025, the latest full year in EIA's annual survey (EIA-861). That was the highest of the 20 Wisconsin utilities with 10,000 or more residential customers, 16.8% above the Wisconsin average and 18.7% above the national average for investor-owned utilities. Among the 177 utilities nationwide with 100,000 or more residential customers it ranked 29th highest of 177; their median was 15.07¢ per kWh¹.

EIA's monthly survey (EIA-861M) carries the series forward. Over the 12 months September 2025 to August 2026, MGE's residential average was 21.27¢ per kWh, and We Energies, the state's largest utility, averaged 21.27¢ per kWh. In August 2026³ alone MGE's figure was 21.02¢ per kWh². The months from January 2026 are preliminary.

All of these are average revenue per kWh: what MGE billed its homes in total, divided by the kWh they used. The fixed monthly customer charge, fuel costs and riders are inside the figure; most taxes are not. It is not the energy charge printed in MGE's rate schedule, and no household pays exactly this amount per kWh.

A high price on low use

Price is only half of a bill. The average MGE home used 505 kWh a month in 2025, against 667 kWh across Wisconsin, 640 kWh at We Energies and 726 kWh at Xcel Energy. Multiplied out, MGE's high price on that low use gave an average bill of $106.58¹, below the statewide residential average of $120.60⁴.

MGE (WI)505

Wisconsin Public Service (WI)616

We Energies (WI)640

Alliant Energy (WPL) (WI)694

Xcel Energy (WI)726

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 use
MGE (WI)	505
Wisconsin Public Service (WI)	616
We Energies (WI)	640
Alliant Energy (WPL) (WI)	694
Xcel Energy (WI)	726

The two numbers are linked. A fixed monthly charge spread over fewer kWh raises the average per kWh, so a utility whose homes use little will show a higher average price even if its per-kWh charges match a neighbor's. That is why the average bill is the better yardstick for comparing what MGE's homes pay with what homes elsewhere in the state pay:

The table shows averages per account. An MGE home that uses more than the average, such as a large or all-electric one, pays a larger bill than the one shown.

Rate changes in 2025 and 2026

MGE's residential average rose 3.8% from 2024 to 2025, from 20.34¢ per kWh to 21.11¢ per kWh; Wisconsin's residential average rose 5.2%⁵ over the same two years. The average MGE bill rose more, +7.8%, from $98.89 to $106.58, because use per home also grew, from 486 kWh⁶ to 505 kWh¹ a month.

MGEWisconsin 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	MGE (¢/kWh)	kWh per customer	Bill per customer
January 2025	20.66¢	523	$107.99
February 2025	21.12¢	475	$100.34
March 2025	21.81¢	450	$98.22
April 2025	21.95¢	398	$87.43
May 2025	21.84¢	427	$93.21
June 2025	21.00¢	539	$113.22
July 2025	20.34¢	708	$144.02
August 2025	20.81¢	591	$122.95
September 2025	21.16¢	485	$102.66
October 2025	20.99¢	415	$87.12
November 2025	21.02¢	466	$97.85
December 2025	21.00¢	526	$110.36
January 2026	21.04¢	528	$111.08
February 2026	21.73¢	448	$97.25
March 2026	22.08¢	444	$97.92
April 2026	22.36¢	362	$81.06
May 2026	21.92¢	458	$100.35
June 2026	21.36¢	519	$110.82
July 2026	20.50¢	726	$148.94
August 2026	21.02¢	596	$125.31

For 2026 the change was small. MGE's electric rates page reports that its overall electric rates rose on January 1, 2026, under a unanimous rate settlement for 2026 and 2027 that the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin reviewed and approved. The same page says the commission approved in July 2026 a one-time credit to electric customers, applied to October 2026 usage, because MGE's 2025 fuel costs for generation came in below forecast. The settlement's 2027 terms are described on MGE's rate-request page; the commission's order in its case file is the binding text.

EIA's preliminary data fit a modest change so far. In August 2026, MGE's residential average was 21.02¢ per kWh, +1.0% against August 2025, while the Wisconsin residential average was +5.3%³ over the same comparison. The 12 months to August 2026 averaged 21.27¢ per kWh², slightly above calendar 2025. The October credit falls after the latest month EIA has published, and the guide to rate increases explains how a rate case reaches the bill.

April lows, July highs

Over the 12 months September 2025 to August 2026, use per MGE home ranged from 362 kWh in April 2026 to 726 kWh in July 2026, and the average bill in those two months from $81.06 to $148.94². MGE's July figure sat below the statewide average for the same month, 906 kWh³ per home.

485Sep

415Oct

466Nov

526Dec

528Jan

448Feb

444Mar

362Apr

458May

519Jun

726Jul

596Aug

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	485	$102.66	21.16¢
October 2025	415	$87.12	20.99¢
November 2025	466	$97.85	21.02¢
December 2025	526	$110.36	21.00¢
January 2026	528	$111.08	21.04¢
February 2026	448	$97.25	21.73¢
March 2026	444	$97.92	22.08¢
April 2026	362	$81.06	22.36¢
May 2026	458	$100.35	21.92¢
June 2026	519	$110.82	21.36¢
July 2026	726	$148.94	20.50¢
August 2026	596	$125.31	21.02¢

A bill built on the annual average of $106.58¹ will therefore run short in midsummer and long in spring.

Outage minutes far below Wisconsin's average

MGE's customers were without power for 49 minutes on average in 2025 with major events included, fewer than the Wisconsin average of 230 minutes, and had 0.39 interruptions each, against 0.94 statewide. Leaving out major event days, the figure was 27 minutes; Wisconsin's was 84 minutes⁷.

MGE reports under IEEE 1366; Alliant Energy (WPL) uses another method, so its row is only roughly comparable. One year's figures can change sharply with the weather, so the figure without major event days is the steadier guide.

Few smart meters and few time-of-use customers

MGE stands apart on metering. EIA counted 26.3% of its residential meters as advanced meters in 2025, while We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Alliant and Xcel each reported nearly all of theirs. Time-based pricing depends on meters that record when power is used, and 862 MGE homes, 0.6% of the total, were on a time-of-use⁸ rate. The hours and prices of that rate are in MGE's tariff; the time-of-use guide works through when such a rate lowers a bill.

Rooftop solar is more common at MGE than at the other large Wisconsin utilities: 2,677 net-metered residential installations with 17.0 megawatts of capacity, 18.0 per 1,000 customers in 2025. Alliant Energy (WPL) reported 12.4 per 1,000, We Energies 6.6, Wisconsin Public Service 5.2 and Xcel 3.5⁸. What a panel owner receives for exported kWh is explained in the net metering guide.

One county, shared with other utilities

EIA's 2025 service-territory records list MGE in 1 county, Dane County, and it is not alone there: 11⁹ distribution utilities report customers in Dane County, more than in any other Wisconsin county, Alliant Energy (WPL) among them. A Dane County address, or even a Madison-area ZIP code, does not settle which utility serves a home; the commission's service territory maps do.

MGE onlyMGE and other utilitiesOther utilities

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.

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County	Other utilities reporting service
Dane County	We Energies, Alliant Energy (WPL), Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative, Sun Prairie Utilities, City of Stoughton, Rock Energy Cooperative, Village of Waunakee, Village of Mt. Horeb, Village of Black Earth, Village of Mazomanie

Business customers

Businesses pay MGE far less per kWh than homes. In 2025 its 19,936 commercial customers paid an average of 13.97¢ per kWh, with an average bill of $1,271.58 a month, and its 21 industrial accounts 8.87¢ per kWh. Over its whole customer base of 168,439 accounts the average was 15.74¢ per kWh¹. Business accounts use far more kWh each than homes, so fixed costs weigh less in their average.

Households behind on electric bills can apply for energy assistance; Wisconsin's federal LIHEAP allocation for fiscal year 2026 was $112.8 million¹¹, and the help paying guide lists the programs. The Wisconsin page covers the state's other utilities.