State electricity profile · 2024
Alabama Electricity
Residential electricity in Alabama runs 15.18¢/kWh, 7.9% below the US average. Commercial, industrial, and generation-mix detail below, all from EIA filings.
- 15.18¢/kWh
- Residential rate
- -7.9%
- vs US average
- 7%
- Renewable
- 2.4M
- Customers
Verify with EIA → · Methodology
The verdict · 2024
Alabama's residential electricity runs 15.18¢/kWh - 7.9% below the 16.48¢/kWh national average, cheaper than 39% of states, with 7% of its power from renewables.
Rate is the EIA state average across all 2.4M residential customers, a benchmark for comparing states, not the rate on any single bill. Source: EIA Form-861.
What Alabama's Electricity Data Tells Us
Alabama's residential rate stands at 15.18¢/kWh for 2024, covering 2.4M metered households in the state; compared with the national residential average of 16.48¢/kWh, that's 7.9% lower. Commercial power runs 13.64¢/kWh, and industrial customers are billed 7.25¢/kWh, reflecting the cost differentials that come from voltage level, load factor, and contract length across EIA Form-861 survey respondents. Over the year, residential customers drew 32.9M MWh, generating about $5.0B in utility revenue, a useful yardstick for sizing local demand against the grid mix that serves it.
46.2% of Alabama's in-state generation traces back to natural gas, the leading source; in second place is nuclear, at 31.8% and coal supplying 15.0%. Alabama's renewable share, spanning solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass, sits at 6.9% of total output, a figure that matters because each renewable megawatt-hour displaces fuel costs that otherwise flow through to retail bills. Legacy fuels still dominate here, which tends to tie retail rates to commodity cycles.
Looking back across EIA records, residential prices in Alabama moved from 11.99¢/kWh in 2016 to 15.18¢/kWh in 2024, a 26.6% shift over that window. For a peer comparison, West Virginia, Nevada, Texas land in the same price range. For anyone negotiating a supplier contract, weighing an energy-efficiency upgrade, or modeling a household budget, the combination of current rate, multi-year trend, and generation mix offers a sturdier footing than any single data point on its own.
-7.9%
vs the US residential average
39%
of states have higher residential rates
7%
renewable share, below the US mix
2.4M
residential customers served
How Alabama compares
Cents per kWh, EIA Form 861. Pick a benchmark above to compare Alabama against the US average or a peer state.
Residential Price History
| Year | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 15.18¢/kWh | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 14.63¢/kWh | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 14.25¢/kWh | +10.0% |
| 2021 | 12.96¢/kWh | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 12.57¢/kWh | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 12.53¢/kWh | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 12.18¢/kWh | -2.9% |
| 2017 | 12.55¢/kWh | +4.7% |
| 2016 | 11.99¢/kWh | - |
Energy Generation Mix
How Alabama generates its electricity. Renewable sources account for 6.9% of generation.
- Natural Gas46.2%
- Nuclear31.8%
- Coal15.0%
- Hydrorenewable6.0%
- Solarrenewable0.9%
Market Overview
Residential Revenue
$5.0B
Commercial Revenue
$3.1B
Residential Sales
32.9M MWh
Residential Customers
2.4M
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does electricity cost in Alabama? ▼
How much of Alabama's electricity is renewable? ▼
Are electricity prices going up in Alabama? ▼
What are commercial and industrial electricity rates in Alabama? ▼
What is the cheapest energy source in Alabama? ▼
Where does RateWatt's Alabama electricity data come from? ▼
States with Similar Electricity Prices
Using Alabama's numbers
This is the state average, use it as a benchmark, not a quote for your address.
- Alabama sits 7.9% below the national average, see exactly where it lands among all 50 states. See the rankings
- Check the multi-year trend before you judge the rate, a low price rising fast can cost more over a decade than a steady one. Alabama price trend
- Compare Alabama side by side with the US average and peer states using the tool above, then estimate your own bill from your monthly kWh. Cost calculator
Figures are EIA state averages by sector. Your actual rate depends on your utility, plan, and usage, see our disclaimer.
Energy Guides
Understanding Electricity Rates
What ¢/kWh means and how your bill is calculated
Why Prices Vary by State
Generation mix, regulation, and geography
US Energy Sources Explained
How each fuel source powers the grid
Renewable vs Fossil Fuel Costs
LCOE comparison and the cost crossover
Cheapest States for Electricity
Which states pay the least and why
Primary source data for Alabama
Every figure on this page traces to these official federal datasets.
- 📊 EIA State Energy Profile, Alabama State energy database
- ⚡ EIA Electric Power Monthly Generation and price statistics
- 🌿 EPA eGRID Power-grid emissions database
- ☀️ NREL solar resource maps Solar potential by location
- 💨 NREL wind resource maps Wind potential by location
- ⚛️ NRC reactor data Nuclear operating status
- ⚡ FERC market data Transmission and market prices
- 🏛️ NARUC commissions State public utility commissions
- 📖 EIA energy mapping system Interactive federal energy map
Related
Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Every figure on RateWatt is rendered directly from official U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, no number is typed in by an editor. State prices and generation mix are pulled directly from the EIA's published tables for this state. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-05-15.