U.S. electricity - 19.6¢/kWh - and who's driving it up
National + all-state prices, capacity auctions, tariffs and the ledger · August 2026
- The average U.S. residential electricity price was 19.60¢/kWh in , +3.2% year over year (BLS).
- Electricity prices are +3.8% over the past year and +35.3% over five years (BLS electricity CPI).
- Since January 1990, electricity prices have risen 173% versus 163% for all consumer prices - electricity is outpacing overall inflation.
- PJM's 2028/2029 capacity auction cleared at $325/MW-day - 11.2× the 2024/2025 price; the grid operator's market monitor attributes most current capacity costs to data-center load. Details.
Where the fight is right now
- +$11.24/mo approved for 202617.6¢/kWh · +11.2% YoY
- +$7.90/mo transmission rider (Apr 2026)19.4¢/kWh · +11.9% YoY
- 9,885 MW approved, rates frozen to 202816.3¢/kWh · +4.6% YoY
- PJM capacity cleared at the $325 cap21.7¢/kWh · +11.3% YoY
- CUB warns up to +$70/mo by 202819.2¢/kWh · +11.6% YoY
- APS asks 14% (+$20/mo); decision late 202615.4¢/kWh · +0.3% YoY
Why your electric bill is rising
Electricity prices are climbing faster than overall inflation, and the fastest-growing new source of demand on the U.S. grid is data centers - the warehouses of servers behind AI and cloud computing. This site connects the price you pay to that demand with primary sources at every step: state-by-state prices and bills (EIA), capacity-auction results (PJM), the tariffs deciding who pays, and a ledger of the documented dollar shifts.
How data centers reach your bill → · Estimate YOUR bill's share → · Capacity auctions → · Tariff tracker → · The ledger → · Tax breaks → · On the 2026 ballot →
The other bill: water
Electricity is not the only thing a data center draws from the place it lands. Federal researchers put the water evaporated at the power plants supplying U.S. data centers at roughly twelve times the water the buildings themselves consume, which makes water an electricity story as much as a cooling one. Arizona is where that collides hardest with a shrinking supply: Reclamation's guidelines, issued August 21, 2026, take 760,000 acre-feet a year off the state's Colorado River apportionment.
Data-center water, direct and indirect → · Arizona and the Colorado River → · What individual facilities use →
Find your state
- Alabama16.4¢
- Alaska28.8¢
- Arizona15.4¢
- Arkansas14.3¢
- California33.6¢
- Colorado17.0¢
- Connecticut24.2¢
- Delaware18.5¢
- District of Columbia25.2¢
- Florida15.0¢
- Georgia16.3¢
- Hawaii48.0¢
- Idaho13.7¢
- Illinois19.2¢
- Indiana16.7¢
- Iowa16.0¢
- Kansas15.3¢
- Kentucky13.8¢
- Louisiana12.7¢
- Maine32.4¢
- Maryland21.4¢
- Massachusetts30.5¢
- Michigan23.1¢
- Minnesota17.4¢
- Mississippi14.5¢
- Missouri16.1¢
- Montana15.0¢
- Nebraska13.8¢
- Nevada12.8¢
- New Hampshire26.6¢
- New Jersey25.2¢
- New Mexico16.1¢
- New York29.9¢
- North Carolina15.2¢
- North Dakota13.4¢
- Ohio19.4¢
- Oklahoma14.3¢
- Oregon16.0¢
- Pennsylvania21.7¢
- Rhode Island28.3¢
- South Carolina15.5¢
- South Dakota15.4¢
- Tennessee13.7¢
- Texas15.9¢
- Utah13.1¢
- Vermont23.8¢
- Virginia17.6¢
- Washington14.7¢
- West Virginia15.8¢
- Wisconsin19.1¢
- Wyoming14.4¢
Amber-marked states have active data-center rate proceedings we track. State prices are EIA Form 861M, July 2026.