State electricity profile · EIA monthly through May 2026
District of Columbia Electricity
As of May 2026, residential electricity in District of Columbia costs 25.40¢ per kWh (+24.3% vs May 2025). EIA publishes these figures monthly and this page follows them. District of Columbia's 2025 annual residential electricity rate is 21.94¢/kWh, 26.8% above the US average. That is an above-average rate on a grid already 83% renewable, so the price here is not waiting on more clean generation to arrive. The commercial, industrial and fuel-by-fuel figures below show where it does come from.
- 25.40¢
- May 2026 rate
- +24.3%
- year over year
- 21.94¢/kWh
- Residential rate
- +26.8%
- vs US average
- 83%
- Renewable
- 326.1K
- Customers
Verify with EIA → · Methodology
21.94¢/kWh residential, 20.41¢/kWh commercial
In the U.S. Energy Information Administration's 2025 annual-frequency retail-sales series, District of Columbia's residential average revenue per kWh is 21.94¢/kWh, with a commercial average of 20.41¢/kWh and an industrial average of 14.78¢/kWh; a separate EIA generation series for 2025 reports 83% of the state's generation from renewables.
- 26.8% above the US average vs national residential average
- 83% renewable generation
The verdict · 2025
District of Columbia's residential electricity runs 21.94¢/kWh - 26.8% above the 17.30¢/kWh national average, pricier than 78% of other states, with 83% of its power from renewables.
This is EIA state average revenue per kWh across 326.1K reported residential customers, a benchmark for comparing states, not the tariff on any single bill. Source: EIA retail-sales API, annual frequency.
Annual rate change
What changed in the 2025 annual EIA period
- District of Columbia's industrial average rose from 10.80¢/kWh to 14.78¢/kWh between the 2024 and 2025 annual-frequency EIA retail-sales periods, a change of +36.9%.
- District of Columbia's residential average rose from 17.71¢/kWh to 21.94¢/kWh between the 2024 and 2025 annual-frequency EIA retail-sales periods, a change of +23.9%.
- District of Columbia's commercial average rose from 17.07¢/kWh to 20.41¢/kWh between the 2024 and 2025 annual-frequency EIA retail-sales periods, a change of +19.6%.
Where District of Columbia's residential rate sits nationally
2025 average revenue per kWh across every reporting state
21.94¢/kWh 22nd affordability percentile More affordable than 22% of 50 other states
all reporting states, equal-width bands
Each bar spans 5¢/kWh. Taller bars contain more states; the dashed marker locates this state. Hover, focus or tap a bar for its exact count and share.
Source U.S. Energy Information Administration, retail-sales API · 2025 annual frequency
How District of Columbia compares
Average revenue per kWh, EIA retail-sales API. Pick a benchmark above to compare District of Columbia against the US average or a peer state.
Residential Price History
District of Columbia residential average revenue per kWh moved from 12.29¢/kWh in 2016 to 21.94¢/kWh in 2025 (78.5% over the window).
- District of Columbia residential avg
- 21.94¢/kWh 78.5% since 2016
- 2016 → 2025
- District of Columbia residential: 2016, 12.3¢
- District of Columbia residential: 2017, 12.9¢
- District of Columbia residential: 2018, 12.8¢
- District of Columbia residential: 2019, 13¢
- District of Columbia residential: 2020, 12.6¢
- District of Columbia residential: 2021, 13.1¢
- District of Columbia residential: 2022, 14.2¢
- District of Columbia residential: 2023, 16.5¢
- District of Columbia residential: 2024, 17.7¢
- District of Columbia residential: 2025, 21.9¢
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, retail-sales API · annual frequency. District of Columbia full trend →
District of Columbia Average Price by Sector and Year (¢/kWh)
The chart above tracks households only. In 2025, District of Columbia households paid 21.94¢/kWh while businesses paid 20.41¢/kWh, a 7.5% residential premium, an unusually narrow household-versus-business gap. Every year EIA has published is below, so a single year can be read across all three sectors rather than assembled from three separate EIA queries.
| Year | Residential | Commercial | Industrial |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 21.94¢/kWh | 20.41¢/kWh | 14.78¢/kWh |
| 2024 | 17.71¢/kWh | 17.07¢/kWh | 10.80¢/kWh |
| 2023 | 16.45¢/kWh | 16.94¢/kWh | 10.85¢/kWh |
| 2022 | 14.18¢/kWh | 15.60¢/kWh | 7.74¢/kWh |
| 2021 | 13.09¢/kWh | 13.00¢/kWh | 7.87¢/kWh |
| 2020 | 12.63¢/kWh | 11.85¢/kWh | 7.99¢/kWh |
| 2019 | 12.98¢/kWh | 12.26¢/kWh | 8.22¢/kWh |
| 2018 | 12.84¢/kWh | 11.97¢/kWh | 8.30¢/kWh |
| 2017 | 12.94¢/kWh | 11.66¢/kWh | 8.23¢/kWh |
| 2016 | 12.29¢/kWh | 11.72¢/kWh | 8.80¢/kWh |
Average revenue per kilowatt-hour, U.S. Energy Information Administration annual-frequency retail-sales series. Revenue per kWh is what customers in each sector actually paid on average, not an advertised tariff rate. Years with no EIA figure for a sector show —.
What District of Columbia's Electricity Data Tells Us
Residential customers in District of Columbia pay 21.94¢/kWh in 2025, across 326.1K metered households, placing the state 26.8% above the national residential average of 17.30¢/kWh. Commercial rates sit at 20.41¢/kWh while industrial buyers pay 14.78¢/kWh. These sector averages describe recorded revenue per kWh; this dataset alone does not establish why they differ. Annual residential sales total 2.5M MWh on roughly $546.2M in utility revenue. Sales and revenue are reported retail-series measures and should not be treated as a local load forecast.
District of Columbia prices its sectors in step: 12 of 51 residential against 9 industrial. A state this consistent is the exception rather than the rule, and it means the residential figure above is a fair proxy for how the whole grid is priced. Solar does not merely lead District of Columbia's grid, it accounts for 73.4% of everything generated in-state, leaving every other fuel a minor share (the nearest, natural gas, reaches 16.9%). It is the leading fuel in 2 states. Renewable fuels (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass) account for 83.1% of District of Columbia's electricity output. These shares describe in-state generation, not a utility-specific customer bill.
Looking back across EIA records, residential prices in District of Columbia moved from 12.29¢/kWh in 2016 to 21.94¢/kWh in 2025, a 78.5% shift over that window. States charging a similar rate include New Jersey, Vermont, Michigan, a useful peer set for a sanity check. Solar output peaks hours before household demand does, so District of Columbia's cost picture is shaped by what serves the evening rather than by a fuel price. The rate above therefore reflects storage, imports and peak capacity more than anything a fuel market did this year. At this level it matters what the figure is made of: it is total revenue divided by total kilowatt-hours, so delivery, taxes and fees are inside it but never broken out. In a state as dear as District of Columbia that hides which part of the bill a household could actually act on.
+26.8%
Much more expensive vs the US residential average
22%
of states have higher rates — Above-average cost
83%
Heavily renewable — above the 25% US mix
326.1K
residential customers served
Energy Generation Mix (2025)
How District of Columbia generates its electricity, from the EIA generation series for 2025 (separate from the 2025 retail-sales price figures above). Renewable sources account for 83.1% of generation.
- Solarrenewable73.4%
- Natural Gas16.9%
- Biomassrenewable9.6%
Who generates District of Columbia's electricity
District of Columbia has 25 operable generating units on EIA's inventory totalling 67 MW of net summer capacity. The largest single plant is Walt Bailey Bioenergy Facility , a other waste biomass station operated by DC Water , rated 12 MW.
The grid here is run by PJM Interconnection, LLC, the balancing authority that keeps supply and demand matched across the state.
Showing the 16 largest of 21 operable plants in District of Columbia by net summer capacity.
| Plant | Operator | Technology | County | MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walt Bailey Bioenergy Facility | DC Water | Other Waste Biomass | – | 12 |
| US GSA Heating and Transmission | US GSA Heating and Transmission | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | – | 9 |
| AOC, Capitol Power Plant | Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Power Plant | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | – | 8 |
| JBAB - Washington DC | JBAB Solar I, LLC. | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 6 |
| Ross Hall Central Utility Plant | The George Washington University | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | – | 4 |
| V Street Solar | V Street Solar, LLC | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 4 |
| DC Water Solar | Marbury Point Solar LLC | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 4 |
| CUA West Campus - North (CSG) | Standard Solar | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 3 |
| CUA West Campus - South (CSG) | Standard Solar | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 3 |
| Oxon Run CREF | Oxon Run Community Renewable Energy Facility | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 2 |
| Ridgecrest | Greenbacker Renewable Energy Corporation | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 2 |
| IGS CC, LLC | Greenbacker Renewable Energy Corporation | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 2 |
| Gallaudet Uni Community Solar | SMS DC CS01B, LLC | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 1 |
| DC Water | Azimuth 180 Solar Electric, LLC | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 1 |
| NCS Paradise LLC | New Columbia Solar | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 1 |
| WW-DC Solar 1, LLC | Altus Power America Management, LLC | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 1 |
| Operating company | Plants | Net summer MW |
|---|---|---|
| DC Water | 1 | 12 |
| US GSA Heating and Transmission | 1 | 9 |
| Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Power Plant | 1 | 8 |
| JBAB Solar I, LLC. | 1 | 6 |
| Standard Solar | 2 | 6 |
| The George Washington University | 1 | 4 |
| V Street Solar, LLC | 1 | 4 |
| Marbury Point Solar LLC | 1 | 4 |
| New Columbia Solar | 3 | 3 |
| Greenbacker Renewable Energy Corporation | 2 | 3 |
Operable units only, from EIA's generator inventory as reported for 2026-05. Capacity is net summer rating, which is what a unit can reliably deliver in peak conditions rather than its nameplate figure. Ownership and operatorship can differ; the company shown is the one EIA records as operating the unit.
Market Overview
Residential Revenue
$546.2M
Commercial Revenue
$1.5B
Residential Sales
2.5M MWh
Residential Customers
326.1K
States with Similar Electricity Prices
Other states led by solar
These grids also report solar as their largest generation share in the latest EIA mix — a different peer set from the price neighbors above.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does electricity cost in District of Columbia? ▼
Where does District of Columbia's residential electricity rate rank nationally? ▼
How much of District of Columbia's electricity is renewable? ▼
Are electricity prices going up in District of Columbia? ▼
What are commercial and industrial electricity rates in District of Columbia? ▼
Which energy sources generate the most electricity in District of Columbia? ▼
Where does RateWatt's District of Columbia electricity data come from? ▼
Using District of Columbia's numbers
A grid this renewable is close to the end of the supply-build phase, so District of Columbia's rate is increasingly set by what it costs to keep power available in the hours renewables do not cover, not by adding more of them.
- District of Columbia sits 26.8% above 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. District of Columbia price trend
- Compare District of Columbia 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, computed as revenue divided by sales, so delivery and taxes are inside them but not broken out. Your actual rate depends on your utility, plan, and usage, see our disclaimer.
Read with District of Columbia: why energy prices vary
Where District of Columbia's figures come from
Every price and generation figure on this page is drawn from the EIA series below, and from nothing else.
- 📊 EIA State Energy Profile, District of Columbia State energy database
- ⚡ EIA Electric Power Monthly The monthly and annual price series behind every rate here
- 🌿 EIA generation by source The in-state generation shares quoted above
- 📖 Our methodology Source-to-figure lineage, and further federal energy references
Utilities serving District of Columbia
The 4 utilities that reported bundled residential service in District of Columbia to EIA Form 861 (2024), largest first. Entity prices below are Form 861 averages for that release, not the same survey as the 2025 retail-sales statewide average above, and not a household tariff. What an individual household pays depends on which of these serves its address.
| Utility | Ownership | Customers | Avg ¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potomac Electric Power Co | Investor Owned | 285.9K | 16.58¢ |
| Tesla Inc. | Behind the Meter | 506 | 12.35¢ |
| Sunnova | Behind the Meter | 64 | 11.94¢ |
| Sunrun Inc. | Behind the Meter | 52 | 12.96¢ |
The 1 serving 100.0K+ residential customers link to a full profile. Presence in EIA Form 861 is not evidence that a utility is available at a given address or that a customer may choose it.
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. Statewide prices use the EIA retail-sales annual series (2025). Generation mix uses a separate EIA generation series (2025). Utility rows use Form EIA-861 (2024) and are not averaged into the statewide retail-sales figure. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2025.