State electricity profile · EIA monthly through May 2026
West Virginia Electricity
As of May 2026, residential electricity in West Virginia costs 16.80¢ per kWh (+3.8% vs May 2025). EIA publishes these figures monthly and this page follows them. West Virginia's 2025 annual residential electricity rate is 15.41¢/kWh, 10.9% below the US average. The rate runs below the national average on a mix that is still only 7% renewable. Commercial, industrial and generation-mix figures follow.
- 16.80¢
- May 2026 rate
- +3.8%
- year over year
- 15.41¢/kWh
- Residential rate
- -10.9%
- vs US average
- 7%
- Renewable
- 869.1K
- Customers
Verify with EIA → · Methodology
15.41¢/kWh residential, 11.75¢/kWh commercial
In the U.S. Energy Information Administration's 2025 annual-frequency retail-sales series, West Virginia's residential average revenue per kWh is 15.41¢/kWh, with a commercial average of 11.75¢/kWh and an industrial average of 8.11¢/kWh; a separate EIA generation series for 2025 reports 7% of the state's generation from renewables.
- 10.9% below the US average vs national residential average
- 7% renewable generation
The verdict · 2025
West Virginia's residential electricity runs 15.41¢/kWh - 10.9% below the 17.30¢/kWh national average, cheaper than 48% of other states, with 7% of its power from renewables.
This is EIA state average revenue per kWh across 869.1K 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
- West Virginia's industrial average rose from 7.81¢/kWh to 8.11¢/kWh between the 2024 and 2025 annual-frequency EIA retail-sales periods, a change of +3.8%.
- West Virginia's residential average rose from 15.07¢/kWh to 15.41¢/kWh between the 2024 and 2025 annual-frequency EIA retail-sales periods, a change of +2.3%.
- West Virginia's commercial average rose from 11.62¢/kWh to 11.75¢/kWh between the 2024 and 2025 annual-frequency EIA retail-sales periods, a change of +1.1%.
Who generates West Virginia's electricity
West Virginia has 92 operable generating units on EIA's inventory totalling 15,263 MW of net summer capacity. The largest single plant is John E Amos , a conventional steam coal station operated by Appalachian Power Co , rated 2,900 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 41 operable plants in West Virginia by net summer capacity.
| Plant | Operator | Technology | County | MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John E Amos | Appalachian Power Co | Conventional Steam Coal | – | 2,900 |
| FirstEnergy Harrison Power Station | Monongahela Power Co | Conventional Steam Coal | – | 1,954 |
| Mt Storm | Virginia Electric & Power Co | Conventional Steam Coal | – | 1,625 |
| Mitchell (WV) | Kentucky Power Co | Conventional Steam Coal | – | 1,560 |
| Mountaineer | Appalachian Power Co | Conventional Steam Coal | – | 1,299 |
| Pleasants Power Station | Omnis Pleasants, LLC | Conventional Steam Coal | – | 1,278 |
| FirstEnergy Fort Martin Power Station | Monongahela Power Co | Conventional Steam Coal | – | 1,098 |
| Longview Power Plant | Longview Power, LLC | Conventional Steam Coal | – | 710 |
| Ceredo Generating Station | Appalachian Power Co | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | – | 450 |
| Pleasants Energy LLC | Pleasants Energy LLC | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | – | 341 |
| Big Sandy Peaker Plant | Middle River Power II, LLC | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | – | 300 |
| NedPower Mount Storm | Clearway Energy Operating LLC | Onshore Wind Turbine | – | 264 |
| BHER Ravenswood Solar 1 | – | Solar Photovoltaic | – | 192 |
| Axiall Natrium Plant | Westlake Chemical Natrium Plant | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | – | 116 |
| Black Rock Wind | Black Rock Wind Force, LLC | Onshore Wind Turbine | – | 115 |
| New Creek Wind | New Creek Wind, LLC | Onshore Wind Turbine | – | 103 |
| Operating company | Plants | Net summer MW |
|---|---|---|
| Appalachian Power Co | 6 | 4,697 |
| Monongahela Power Co | 5 | 3,082 |
| Virginia Electric & Power Co | 1 | 1,625 |
| Kentucky Power Co | 1 | 1,560 |
| Omnis Pleasants, LLC | 1 | 1,278 |
| Longview Power, LLC | 1 | 710 |
| Pleasants Energy LLC | 1 | 341 |
| Middle River Power II, LLC | 1 | 300 |
| Clearway Energy Operating LLC | 1 | 264 |
| Invenergy Services LLC | 2 | 132 |
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
$1.7B
Commercial Revenue
$941.8M
Residential Sales
11.2M MWh
Residential Customers
869.1K
What West Virginia's Electricity Data Tells Us
Residential customers in West Virginia pay 15.41¢/kWh in 2025, across 869.1K metered households, placing the state 10.9% below the national residential average of 17.30¢/kWh. Commercial rates sit at 11.75¢/kWh while industrial buyers pay 8.11¢/kWh. These sector averages describe recorded revenue per kWh; this dataset alone does not establish why they differ. Annual residential sales total 11.2M MWh on roughly $1.7B in utility revenue. Sales and revenue are reported retail-series measures and should not be treated as a local load forecast.
West Virginia's industrial rate ranks 30 of 51 while its residential rate ranks 25, so the gap between what a factory and a household pay is narrower here than in most states. Coal does not merely lead West Virginia's grid, it accounts for 86.8% of everything generated in-state, leaving every other fuel a minor share (the nearest, natural gas, reaches 6.2%). It is the leading fuel in 9 states. Renewable fuels (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass) account for 6.7% of West Virginia's electricity output. These shares describe in-state generation, not a utility-specific customer bill.
Looking back across EIA records, residential prices in West Virginia moved from 11.44¢/kWh in 2016 to 15.41¢/kWh in 2025, a 34.7% shift over that window. States charging a similar rate include Oregon, Texas, Arizona, a useful peer set for a sanity check. A coal-led grid prices differently from a fuel-market-led one. West Virginia's generators buy under multi-year contracts and recover plant capital through the rate base, so the rate above tends to move in regulated steps rather than with any commodity price, and the live question is what retiring units get replaced with. A state average sitting modestly under the national one is the easiest kind to misread, because the spread between utilities inside West Virginia can be wider than the gap to the national figure it is being compared against.
-10.9%
Cheaper vs the US residential average
48%
of states have higher rates — Mid-range cost
7%
Low renewable share — below the 25% US mix
869.1K
residential customers served
Energy Generation Mix (2025)
How West Virginia generates its electricity, from the EIA generation series for 2025 (separate from the 2025 retail-sales price figures above). Renewable sources account for 6.7% of generation.
- Coal86.8%
- Natural Gas6.2%
- Windrenewable3.7%
- Hydrorenewable2.4%
- Solarrenewable0.6%
- Petroleum0.3%
Residential Price History
West Virginia residential average revenue per kWh moved from 11.44¢/kWh in 2016 to 15.41¢/kWh in 2025 (34.7% over the window).
- West Virginia residential avg
- 15.41¢/kWh 34.7% since 2016
- 2016 → 2025
- West Virginia residential: 2016, 11.4¢
- West Virginia residential: 2017, 11.6¢
- West Virginia residential: 2018, 11.2¢
- West Virginia residential: 2019, 11.3¢
- West Virginia residential: 2020, 11.8¢
- West Virginia residential: 2021, 12.2¢
- West Virginia residential: 2022, 13.2¢
- West Virginia residential: 2023, 14.1¢
- West Virginia residential: 2024, 15.1¢
- West Virginia residential: 2025, 15.4¢
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, retail-sales API · annual frequency. West Virginia full trend →
West Virginia Average Price by Sector and Year (¢/kWh)
The chart above tracks households only. In 2025, West Virginia households paid 15.41¢/kWh while businesses paid 11.75¢/kWh, a 31.1% 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 | 15.41¢/kWh | 11.75¢/kWh | 8.11¢/kWh |
| 2024 | 15.07¢/kWh | 11.62¢/kWh | 7.81¢/kWh |
| 2023 | 14.05¢/kWh | 11.03¢/kWh | 7.24¢/kWh |
| 2022 | 13.23¢/kWh | 10.42¢/kWh | 6.74¢/kWh |
| 2021 | 12.15¢/kWh | 9.50¢/kWh | 6.07¢/kWh |
| 2020 | 11.80¢/kWh | 9.40¢/kWh | 6.09¢/kWh |
| 2019 | 11.25¢/kWh | 9.16¢/kWh | 6.02¢/kWh |
| 2018 | 11.18¢/kWh | 9.24¢/kWh | 6.40¢/kWh |
| 2017 | 11.63¢/kWh | 9.58¢/kWh | 6.64¢/kWh |
| 2016 | 11.44¢/kWh | 9.35¢/kWh | 6.57¢/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 West Virginia's residential rate sits nationally
2025 average revenue per kWh across every reporting state
15.41¢/kWh 48th affordability percentile More affordable than 48% 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 West Virginia compares
Average revenue per kWh, EIA retail-sales API. Pick a benchmark above to compare West Virginia against the US average or a peer state.
States with Similar Electricity Prices
Other states led by coal
These grids also report coal as their largest generation share in the latest EIA mix — a different peer set from the price neighbors above.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using West Virginia's numbers
With renewables still a small share of generation here, the figures above describe a mix that has further to travel than most. Watch what West Virginia builds when its existing thermal capacity retires, because that is the decision the next decade of rates is made of.
- West Virginia sits 10.9% 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. West Virginia price trend
- Compare West Virginia 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 West Virginia: cheapest states for electricity
Where West Virginia'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, West Virginia 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 West Virginia
The 5 utilities that reported bundled residential service in West Virginia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian Power Co | Investor Owned | 348.9K | 16.77¢ |
| Monongahela Power Co | Investor Owned | 334.6K | 13.97¢ |
| The Potomac Edison Company | Investor Owned | 135.3K | 12.59¢ |
| Wheeling Power Co | Investor Owned | 34.4K | 17.41¢ |
| Black Diamond Power Co | Investor Owned | 3.5K | 15.35¢ |
The 3 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.