State electricity profile · 2024
Pennsylvania Electricity
Residential electricity in Pennsylvania runs 17.77¢/kWh, 7.8% above the US average. Commercial, industrial, and generation-mix detail below, all from EIA filings.
- 17.77¢/kWh
- Residential rate
- +7.8%
- vs US average
- 4%
- Renewable
- 5.5M
- Customers
Verify with EIA → · Methodology
The verdict · 2024
Pennsylvania's residential electricity runs 17.77¢/kWh - 7.8% above the 16.48¢/kWh national average, pricier than 75% of states, with 4% of its power from renewables.
Rate is the EIA state average across all 5.5M residential customers, a benchmark for comparing states, not the rate on any single bill. Source: EIA Form-861.
What Pennsylvania's Electricity Data Tells Us
Households in Pennsylvania are billed 17.77¢/kWh on average for residential power, per 2024 EIA data, spread across 5.5M metered households; compared with the national residential average of 16.48¢/kWh, that's 7.8% higher. On the commercial side, the rate is 11.03¢/kWh while industrial buyers pay 7.87¢/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 54.3M MWh on roughly $9.6B in utility revenue, a useful yardstick for sizing local demand against the grid mix that serves it.
natural gas dominates Pennsylvania's generation mix, supplying 59.2% of in-state production; in second place is nuclear, at 31.0% and coal in third at 5.4%. Add up every renewable category, solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass, and you get 3.6% of Pennsylvania's generation, 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 Pennsylvania moved from 13.86¢/kWh in 2016 to 17.77¢/kWh in 2024, a 28.2% shift over that window. Looking for peers at a similar rate? District of Columbia, Maryland, Wisconsin are close matches. 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.
+7.8%
vs the US residential average
25%
of states have higher residential rates
4%
renewable share, below the US mix
5.5M
residential customers served
How Pennsylvania compares
Cents per kWh, EIA Form 861. Pick a benchmark above to compare Pennsylvania against the US average or a peer state.
Residential Price History
| Year | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 17.77¢/kWh | -1.8% |
| 2023 | 18.10¢/kWh | +13.6% |
| 2022 | 15.94¢/kWh | +15.8% |
| 2021 | 13.76¢/kWh | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 13.58¢/kWh | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 13.80¢/kWh | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 13.89¢/kWh | -2.4% |
| 2017 | 14.23¢/kWh | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 13.86¢/kWh | - |
Energy Generation Mix
How Pennsylvania generates its electricity. Renewable sources account for 3.6% of generation.
- Natural Gas59.2%
- Nuclear31.0%
- Coal5.4%
- Windrenewable1.3%
- Hydrorenewable1.1%
- Solarrenewable0.9%
- Pumped Storage0.4%
- Other0.4%
- Biomassrenewable0.3%
Market Overview
Residential Revenue
$9.6B
Commercial Revenue
$4.3B
Residential Sales
54.3M MWh
Residential Customers
5.5M
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does electricity cost in Pennsylvania? ▼
How much of Pennsylvania's electricity is renewable? ▼
Are electricity prices going up in Pennsylvania? ▼
What are commercial and industrial electricity rates in Pennsylvania? ▼
What is the cheapest energy source in Pennsylvania? ▼
Where does RateWatt's Pennsylvania electricity data come from? ▼
States with Similar Electricity Prices
Using Pennsylvania's numbers
This is the state average, use it as a benchmark, not a quote for your address.
- Pennsylvania sits 7.8% 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. Pennsylvania price trend
- Compare Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
Every figure on this page traces to these official federal datasets.
- 📊 EIA State Energy Profile, Pennsylvania 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.