Why is my electric bill so high?

By Karsten Looks

Every electric bill is the kWh you used times the price per kWh, plus fixed monthly charges. So a high bill has one of two causes, or both: you used more kWh, or each kWh cost more. The second one has been common lately: the average U.S. residential price was 18.2¢ per kWh in Aug 2026, +3.4% on the same month a year earlier, and it was higher than a year before in 44 of 51 states.

Step 1: kWh or price? Check two numbers on your bill

1. kWh used. Compare this bill's kWh with the same month last year, not with last month; most bills show a 12-month usage chart. Summer and winter months are usually higher. If the kWh went up a lot, the cause is in your home (step 3 below).
2. Your real price. Divide the total bill by the kWh. That all-in price per kWh includes fixed charges, riders and taxes. If it is clearly higher than a year ago while kWh stayed about the same, the price went up: a rate increase, a new rider, a fuel adjustment or, in states with retail choice, a fixed-rate contract that ran out.

Then compare your price with your state in the table below, and with your utility on your state's page, and put your own kWh into the electric bill calculator.

Step 2: Did prices rise in your state?

Average residential price per kWh in Aug 2026 compared with the same month a year earlier:

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, average residential price by state (the latest months are preliminary). Same month compared to rule out seasonal summer rates.

U.S. average residential price per kWh, month by month.

Step 3: Heating and cooling explain most big swings

Homes with air conditioning used an average of 2,318 kWh a year to cool (plus 457 kWh for the blower of central systems); in hot-humid climates 4,173 kWh. Homes that heat with electricity used 2,484 kWh for heating. At the U.S. average price that is about $399 and $428 a year, and most of it falls into three or four months. A heat wave or a cold snap can therefore double a single month's bill without anything being wrong. Electric resistance heat (baseboards, space heaters, an electric furnace) uses two to three times as much electricity for the same heat as a heat pump; the heat pump vs furnace calculator shows the difference for your climate.

Big loads people forget

Average yearly use in homes that have them (EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020) and the cost at 17.2¢ per kWh:

A plug-in space heater is the other classic: 1,500 watts for 8 hours a day is about $63 a month at the average price (space heater cost by state).

Other reasons a bill jumps

• A longer billing period. Bills cover 28 to 35 days; a 35-day bill is 25% longer than a 28-day one. Check the number of days.
• An estimated reading, then a catch-up. If the meter was not read, the utility estimates; the next actual reading corrects it, sometimes all at once.
• Higher fixed charges or new riders. Customer charges and cost-recovery riders change through rate cases and adjustments. In Texas, for example, the delivery utility's charges are passed through on every plan (Texas delivery charges).
• A contract that ended. With a retail provider, an expired fixed-rate plan usually rolls into a variable or month-to-month rate.
• A new household member, working from home, a new appliance or an electric car.

What to do

1. Work out your all-in price (bill ÷ kWh) and compare it with the same month last year.
2. If the price rose: look up your utility's current rates and any optional plans such as time-of-use or budget billing; in a retail choice state, compare offers before your contract ends.
3. If the kWh rose: start with heating, cooling, water heating and the loads above. A plug-in meter shows what a single appliance uses.
4. Check what is normal for a home like yours: how many kWh a house uses in your state.