State electricity profile · EIA monthly through May 2026
Idaho Electricity
As of May 2026, residential electricity in Idaho costs 12.35¢ per kWh (+4.0% vs May 2025). EIA publishes these figures monthly and this page follows them. Idaho's 2025 annual residential electricity rate is 11.82¢/kWh, 31.7% below the US average. That is a below-average rate alongside 72% renewable generation, the combination the national debate usually treats as a trade-off. The sector and fuel detail below shows how it is built.
- 12.35¢
- May 2026 rate
- +4.0%
- year over year
- 11.82¢/kWh
- Residential rate
- -31.7%
- vs US average
- 72%
- Renewable
- 897.7K
- Customers
Verify with EIA → · Methodology
11.82¢/kWh residential, 9.25¢/kWh commercial
In the U.S. Energy Information Administration's 2025 annual-frequency retail-sales series, Idaho's residential average revenue per kWh is 11.82¢/kWh, with a commercial average of 9.25¢/kWh and an industrial average of 7.98¢/kWh; a separate EIA generation series for 2025 reports 72% of the state's generation from renewables.
- 31.7% below the US average vs national residential average
- 72% renewable generation
The verdict · 2025
Idaho's residential electricity runs 11.82¢/kWh - 31.7% below the 17.30¢/kWh national average, cheaper than 98% of other states, with 72% of its power from renewables.
This is EIA state average revenue per kWh across 897.7K 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
- Idaho's industrial average rose from 7.69¢/kWh to 7.98¢/kWh between the 2024 and 2025 annual-frequency EIA retail-sales periods, a change of +3.8%.
- Idaho's residential average rose from 11.52¢/kWh to 11.82¢/kWh between the 2024 and 2025 annual-frequency EIA retail-sales periods, a change of +2.6%.
- Idaho's commercial average rose from 9.17¢/kWh to 9.25¢/kWh between the 2024 and 2025 annual-frequency EIA retail-sales periods, a change of +0.9%.
Energy Generation Mix (2025)
How Idaho generates its electricity, from the EIA generation series for 2025 (separate from the 2025 retail-sales price figures above). Renewable sources account for 72.2% of generation.
- Hydrorenewable47.2%
- Natural Gas27.7%
- Windrenewable15.1%
- Solarrenewable9.4%
- Geothermalrenewable0.4%
- Other0.1%
- Biomassrenewable0.1%
Who generates Idaho's electricity
Idaho has 260 operable generating units on EIA's inventory totalling 6,209 MW of net summer capacity. The largest single plant is Brownlee , a conventional hydroelectric station operated by Idaho Power Co , rated 702 MW.
Balancing authorities keep supply and demand matched on the grid; the largest here by capacity are Idaho Power Company, Bonneville Power Administration and PacifiCorp - East.
Showing the 16 largest of 151 operable plants in Idaho by net summer capacity.
| Plant | Operator | Technology | County | MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownlee | Idaho Power Co | Conventional Hydroelectric | – | 702 |
| Dworshak | USACE Northwestern Division | Conventional Hydroelectric | – | 465 |
| Langley Gulch Power Plant | Idaho Power Co | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | – | 303 |
| Cabinet Gorge | Avista Corp | Conventional Hydroelectric | – | 255 |
| Evander Andrews Power Complex | Idaho Power Co | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | – | 227 |
| Rathdrum Power LLC | Rathdrum Power LLC | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | – | 210 |
| Matrix Pleasant Valley | Pleasant Valley Solar, LLC | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 200 |
| Bennett Mountain | Idaho Power Co | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | – | 185 |
| Palisades Dam | U S Bureau of Reclamation | Conventional Hydroelectric | – | 176 |
| Cedar Creek Wind, LLC | Cedar Creek Wind, LLC | Onshore Wind Turbine | – | 160 |
| Kuna BESS | Kuna BESS, LLC | Batteries | – | 150 |
| Rathdrum | Avista Corp | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | – | 132 |
| Pleasant Valley Solar 2 Project | PVS 2, LLC | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 125 |
| Goshen Phase II | AE Power Services LLC | Onshore Wind Turbine | – | 125 |
| Jackpot Solar, LLC | Duke Energy Renewables Services | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 120 |
| Hemmingway BESS | Idaho Power Co | Batteries | – | 116 |
| Operating company | Plants | Net summer MW |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho Power Co | 26 | 2,201 |
| USACE Northwestern Division | 2 | 507 |
| Avista Corp | 3 | 398 |
| U S Bureau of Reclamation | 5 | 258 |
| Rathdrum Power LLC | 1 | 210 |
| Pleasant Valley Solar, LLC | 1 | 200 |
| Ridgeline Energy LLC | 2 | 195 |
| Idaho Wind Partners 1 LLC | 11 | 185 |
| Cedar Creek Wind, LLC | 1 | 160 |
| Kuna BESS, LLC | 1 | 150 |
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.
What Idaho's Electricity Data Tells Us
Residential customers in Idaho pay 11.82¢/kWh in 2025, across 897.7K metered households, placing the state 31.7% below the national residential average of 17.30¢/kWh. Commercial rates sit at 9.25¢/kWh while industrial buyers pay 7.98¢/kWh. These sector averages describe recorded revenue per kWh; this dataset alone does not establish why they differ. Annual residential sales total 9.9M MWh on roughly $1.2B in utility revenue. Sales and revenue are reported retail-series measures and should not be treated as a local load forecast.
The two ends of Idaho's market are priced very differently: 50 of 51 for households against 35 for industry. A gap this wide means a single statewide "electricity price" describes almost nothing, and the sector figures above should be read separately. No single fuel reaches half of Idaho's in-state generation. Hydro leads at 47.2%, with natural gas at 27.7% close enough behind that the mix reads as a balance rather than a clear lead. It is the leading fuel in 4 states. Renewable fuels (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass) account for 72.2% of Idaho's electricity output. These shares describe in-state generation, not a utility-specific customer bill.
Looking back across EIA records, residential prices in Idaho moved from 9.95¢/kWh in 2016 to 11.82¢/kWh in 2025, a 18.8% shift over that window. States charging a similar rate include North Dakota, Nebraska, Louisiana, a useful peer set for a sanity check. Hydro is the one leading fuel whose availability is weather, not a purchase. A dry year in Idaho means replacing water with something bought on a market, so the rate above is stable in ordinary years and carries a drought exposure no fuel contract can hedge. Read the number as a floor rather than a promise. A statewide average this far under the national figure is usually held down by a few large low-cost generators, and a household on the wrong side of a service-territory boundary in Idaho can pay well above it.
-31.7%
Much cheaper vs the US residential average
98%
of states have higher rates — Among the cheapest
72%
Significant renewable — above the 25% US mix
897.7K
residential customers served
Residential Price History
Idaho residential average revenue per kWh moved from 9.95¢/kWh in 2016 to 11.82¢/kWh in 2025 (18.8% over the window).
- Idaho residential avg
- 11.82¢/kWh 18.8% since 2016
- 2016 → 2025
- Idaho residential: 2016, 9.95¢
- Idaho residential: 2017, 10¢
- Idaho residential: 2018, 10.2¢
- Idaho residential: 2019, 9.89¢
- Idaho residential: 2020, 9.95¢
- Idaho residential: 2021, 10.2¢
- Idaho residential: 2022, 10.4¢
- Idaho residential: 2023, 11.1¢
- Idaho residential: 2024, 11.5¢
- Idaho residential: 2025, 11.8¢
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, retail-sales API · annual frequency. Idaho full trend →
Idaho Average Price by Sector and Year (¢/kWh)
The chart above tracks households only. In 2025, Idaho households paid 11.82¢/kWh while businesses paid 9.25¢/kWh, a 27.8% residential premium, a wider household-versus-business gap than most states. 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 | 11.82¢/kWh | 9.25¢/kWh | 7.98¢/kWh |
| 2024 | 11.52¢/kWh | 9.17¢/kWh | 7.69¢/kWh |
| 2023 | 11.05¢/kWh | 8.78¢/kWh | 7.17¢/kWh |
| 2022 | 10.37¢/kWh | 8.27¢/kWh | 6.71¢/kWh |
| 2021 | 10.16¢/kWh | 7.89¢/kWh | 6.39¢/kWh |
| 2020 | 9.95¢/kWh | 7.75¢/kWh | 6.23¢/kWh |
| 2019 | 9.89¢/kWh | 7.67¢/kWh | 6.08¢/kWh |
| 2018 | 10.15¢/kWh | 7.93¢/kWh | 6.47¢/kWh |
| 2017 | 10.04¢/kWh | 7.98¢/kWh | 6.66¢/kWh |
| 2016 | 9.95¢/kWh | 7.76¢/kWh | 6.55¢/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 —.
Where Idaho's residential rate sits nationally
2025 average revenue per kWh across every reporting state
11.82¢/kWh Top 4% most affordable More affordable than 98% 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 Idaho compares
Average revenue per kWh, EIA retail-sales API. Pick a benchmark above to compare Idaho against the US average or a peer state.
Market Overview
Residential Revenue
$1.2B
Commercial Revenue
$650.0M
Residential Sales
9.9M MWh
Residential Customers
897.7K
Using Idaho's numbers
A grid this renewable is close to the end of the supply-build phase, so Idaho'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.
- Idaho sits 31.7% 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. Idaho price trend
- Compare Idaho 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.
States with Similar Electricity Prices
Other states led by hydro
These grids also report hydro 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 Idaho? ▼
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Where does RateWatt's Idaho electricity data come from? ▼
Read with Idaho: cheapest states for electricity
Where Idaho's figures come from
Every price and generation figure on this page is drawn from the EIA series below, and from nothing else.
Utilities serving Idaho
The 14 utilities that reported bundled residential service in Idaho 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho Power Co | Investor Owned | 525.8K | 11.76¢ |
| Avista Corp | Investor Owned | 128.2K | 11.62¢ |
| PacifiCorp | Investor Owned | 74.2K | 12.11¢ |
| Kootenai Electric Cooperative | Cooperative | 30.4K | 12.21¢ |
| City of Idaho Falls - (ID) | Municipal | 28.1K | 9.25¢ |
| Northern Lights, Inc | Cooperative | 18.5K | 11.49¢ |
| Fall River Rural Elec Coop Inc | Cooperative | 15.4K | 11.11¢ |
| United Electric Co-op, Inc - (ID) | Cooperative | 5.1K | 7.89¢ |
| Salmon River Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 2.4K | 9.00¢ |
| Inland Power & Light Company | Cooperative | 2.1K | 8.92¢ |
| Lower Valley Energy Inc | Cooperative | 1.6K | 7.23¢ |
| Raft Rural Elec Coop Inc | Cooperative | 1.4K | 9.18¢ |
| Missoula Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 46 | 10.00¢ |
| Sunnova | Behind the Meter | 5 | 24.58¢ |
The 2 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.
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. 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.