Average utility price (¢/kWh)
avg price = 100 × residential revenue ($000 × 1,000) ÷ residential sales (kWh), from each utility's
EIA-861 Sales to Ultimate Customers filing. Where a utility reports bundled service (supply + delivery together), only bundled
rows are used — the all-in consumer price. Delivery-only or energy-only respondents (e.g. competitive suppliers, solar lessors) are
excluded from utility tables and state averages because their prices cover only part of a bill. Utility id 99999 (state-level
adjustment rows) is excluded. State average = volume-weighted across bundled utilities (total revenue ÷ total sales).
$/yr savings figures
$/yr = (rate A − rate B, ¢/kWh) × 10,800 kWh ÷ 100. We use 10,800 kWh/yr — approximately the US
average annual residential consumption (EIA, ~900 kWh/month). County benchmarks compare each utility against the cheapest bundled
utility filing service territory in the same county; counties with a single utility are benchmarked against the cheapest in-state
distribution utility and flagged as such. Multiple utilities in a county = adjoining territories, not household choice.
$/MMBTU fuel comparison
Site-energy conversions: 1 kWh = 3,412 BTU · 1 therm = 100,000 BTU · heating oil (No. 2) = 138,500 BTU/gal · propane = 91,452 BTU/gal.
$/MMBTU = native price ÷ (BTU per native unit) × 1,000,000. These are fuel prices, not delivered-heat
prices: multiply by appliance efficiency (gas furnace ~80–97% AFUE; heat pump seasonal COP 2–3.5, i.e. effective cost ÷ COP;
electric resistance = 100%). Heating oil and propane are EIA SHOPP weekly winter-season surveys (October–March), available for
23 and 38 states respectively.
Source registry
| Source | What it provides | Vintage in current build |
|---|---|---|
| EIA Form 861 | Utility residential revenue, sales, customers, ownership, county service territory | 2023 & 2024 final |
| EIA API v2 — retail sales | Monthly average residential electricity price by state | through February 2026 |
| EIA API v2 — natural gas | Monthly residential natural gas price by state | through February 2026 |
| EIA SHOPP weekly survey | Residential heating oil & propane $/gal (heating season) | through Mar 30, 2026 |
| OpenEI Utility Rate Database | Tariff structures: fixed charges, energy rate tiers | pulled Jun 2026 |
| State utility commissions | Retail-choice status, price-to-compare, official shopping sites (linked on each state page) | reviewed Jun 2026 |
| NJ BGS auction | New Jersey default-supply (price-to-compare basis) clearing prices | February 2026 auction |
Known gaps and caveats
- EIA-861 is annual: 2024 is the newest utility-level vintage; monthly state prices are newer but not utility-level. Both are shown with their dates.
- Tariff snapshots (URDB) exist for major NY/NJ/CT/PA utilities only in this build; some URDB entries lag mergers (e.g. FirstEnergy Pennsylvania still files under pre-merger companies) or are stale — stale entries are flagged on the page.
- County service-territory detail comes from EIA-861 filings; competitive retail providers (notably in Texas) file none, and Connecticut now reports planning regions rather than counties.
- Average price ≠ your marginal rate: tiers, time-of-use, demand riders, and supplier contracts move individual bills.
- Heating oil/propane prices are winter-survey values; the most recent reading can be up to six months old in the off-season.
- County "savings" compare adjoining-territory utilities — households cannot switch wires companies; in choice states only the supply portion is shoppable.
Update cadence
- Monthly: state electricity and natural-gas prices (EIA monthly releases).
- Weekly, October–March: heating oil and propane (EIA SHOPP survey).
- Annually (~October): new EIA-861 vintage — utility rates, customers, territories; URDB re-pull.
- Semiannually: retail-choice registry review (NJ BGS auction each February).
Every page footer shows the exact vintage of each source used on that page.