Tennessee's average residential electricity price was 12.8¢/kWh in February 2026 —
the 7th-lowest price of the 51 states+DC (EIA). Across its major utilities in 2024, average all-in rates ranged from
11.8¢/kWh at Middle Tennessee E M C to
13.5¢/kWh at Nashville Electric Service — a spread worth about
$184/yr at typical usage (10,800 kWh/yr).
Tennessee is a fully regulated market: households cannot choose their electricity or gas supplier.
For home heating, utility natural gas was the cheapest fuel at
$12.65 per million BTU vs $37.57 for electric resistance heat.
Residential rates by utility (EIA-861, average all-in ¢/kWh)
| Utility | 2023 ¢/kWh | 2024 ¢/kWh | Customers (2024) | Ownership | vs state avg, $/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Bristol | 10.64 | 10.81 | 29,622 | Municipal | -$173 |
| Chickasaw Electric Coop, Inc | 10.89 | 11.00 | 19,576 | Co-op | -$153 |
| City of Dyersburg | 11.22 | 11.15 | 9,475 | Municipal | -$137 |
| Tullahoma Board-Public Utils | 11.03 | 11.18 | 9,278 | Municipal | -$134 |
| Maryville Utilities | 11.05 | 11.28 | 19,971 | Municipal | -$123 |
| City of Cookeville | 11.32 | 11.29 | 15,946 | Municipal | -$122 |
| Weakley County Mun Elec Sys | 11.08 | 11.29 | 15,315 | Municipal | -$122 |
| City of Union City | 11.37 | 11.31 | 5,203 | Municipal | -$120 |
| City of Shelbyville | 11.35 | 11.32 | 9,877 | Municipal | -$118 |
| Sevier County Electric System | 11.24 | 11.33 | 35,626 | Municipal | -$118 |
| Loudon Utilities Board | 11.39 | 11.45 | 12,698 | Municipal | -$105 |
| City of Springfield | 11.04 | 11.47 | 7,675 | Municipal | -$103 |
| Powell Valley Electric Coop | 11.35 | 11.49 | 21,147 | Co-op | -$100 |
| City of Paris | 11.52 | 11.55 | 16,263 | Municipal | -$94 |
| City of Sweetwater | 11.70 | 11.62 | 7,534 | Municipal | -$87 |
| City of Dickson | 11.53 | 11.65 | 30,808 | Municipal | -$83 |
| Middle Tennessee E M C | 11.35 | 11.76 | 307,370 | Co-op | -$71 |
| Athens Utility Board | 11.51 | 11.77 | 11,651 | Municipal | -$70 |
| City of Gallatin | 11.33 | 11.78 | 23,204 | Municipal | -$69 |
| City of Winchester | 11.75 | 11.81 | 5,292 | Municipal | -$66 |
| City of Elizabethton | 11.87 | 11.82 | 23,344 | Municipal | -$65 |
| McMinnville Electric System | 11.39 | 11.83 | 6,646 | Municipal | -$63 |
| City of Greeneville | 11.94 | 11.90 | 32,388 | Municipal | -$56 |
| Carroll County | 11.69 | 11.92 | 12,344 | Municipal | -$54 |
| City of Fayetteville | 11.93 | 11.93 | 16,667 | Municipal | -$53 |
| City of Lenoir | 11.85 | 11.95 | 62,455 | Municipal | -$50 |
| City of Jackson | 11.92 | 11.97 | 31,856 | Municipal | -$48 |
| City of Dayton | 11.84 | 11.98 | 9,053 | Municipal | -$48 |
| Columbia Power System | 11.91 | 12.00 | 31,166 | Municipal | -$45 |
| City of Lexington | 11.93 | 12.04 | 17,961 | Municipal | -$41 |
| City of Milan | 11.83 | 12.09 | 6,902 | Municipal | -$36 |
| Fort Loudoun Electric Coop | 12.04 | 12.11 | 30,527 | Co-op | -$33 |
| City of Memphis | 11.56 | 12.16 | 380,286 | Municipal | -$28 |
| Volunteer Electric Coop | 11.80 | 12.19 | 104,387 | Co-op | -$24 |
| City of Alcoa Utilities | 12.09 | 12.21 | 28,183 | Municipal | -$23 |
| City of Lawrenceburg | 11.83 | 12.22 | 18,076 | Municipal | -$21 |
| Town of Erwin | 12.15 | 12.23 | 7,618 | Municipal | -$20 |
| City of Chattanooga | 12.00 | 12.32 | 164,417 | Municipal | -$11 |
| Tri-County Elec Member Corp | 12.22 | 12.33 | 24,824 | Co-op | -$9 |
| Mountain Electric Coop, Inc | 12.07 | 12.34 | 12,539 | Co-op | -$8 |
| City of Ripley | 11.96 | 12.35 | 5,106 | Municipal | -$8 |
| Johnson City | 12.61 | 12.41 | 72,205 | Municipal | -$1 |
| Tennessee Valley Electric Coop | 12.52 | 12.41 | 16,804 | Co-op | -$1 |
| City of Oak Ridge | 12.54 | 12.47 | 15,497 | Municipal | +$5 |
| Duck River Elec Member Corp | 12.21 | 12.50 | 71,342 | Co-op | +$8 |
| City of Cleveland | 12.57 | 12.53 | 29,331 | Municipal | +$12 |
| Knoxville Utilities Board | 12.28 | 12.54 | 193,707 | Municipal | +$13 |
| Pickwick Electric Coop | 12.56 | 12.67 | 16,609 | Co-op | +$27 |
| City of Rockwood | 12.79 | 12.71 | 12,042 | Municipal | +$31 |
| City of Morristown | 12.67 | 12.74 | 13,459 | Municipal | +$35 |
| Upper Cumberland E M C | 12.36 | 12.77 | 45,560 | Co-op | +$38 |
| City of Clarksville | 12.39 | 12.77 | 75,953 | Municipal | +$38 |
| Kingsport Power Co | 13.78 | 12.84 | 43,159 | Investor-owned | +$45 |
| Caney Fork Electric Coop, Inc | 12.72 | 12.89 | 29,631 | Co-op | +$50 |
| Southwest Tennessee E M C | 12.58 | 12.90 | 43,750 | Co-op | +$52 |
| Appalachian Electric Coop | 12.80 | 12.93 | 43,709 | Co-op | +$55 |
| Sequachee Valley Electric Coop | 12.85 | 12.97 | 33,206 | Co-op | +$59 |
| City of Clinton | 12.68 | 12.99 | 26,230 | Municipal | +$62 |
| Cumberland Elec Member Corp | 12.68 | 12.99 | 100,585 | Co-op | +$62 |
| Gibson Electric Members Corp | 12.87 | 13.00 | 29,331 | Co-op | +$63 |
| Holston Electric Coop, Inc | 12.65 | 13.05 | 25,773 | Co-op | +$68 |
| Plateau Electric Cooperative | 12.90 | 13.21 | 14,331 | Co-op | +$85 |
| City of Pulaski | 13.09 | 13.31 | 12,432 | Municipal | +$96 |
| City of Harriman | 13.53 | 13.44 | 9,335 | Municipal | +$110 |
| Nashville Electric Service | 13.44 | 13.47 | 417,640 | Municipal | +$114 |
| Bolivar Energy Authority | 13.46 | 13.50 | 8,929 | Municipal | +$117 |
| City of LaFollette | 13.38 | 13.51 | 19,934 | Municipal | +$117 |
| Meriwether Lewis Electric Coop | 13.60 | 13.68 | 30,319 | Co-op | +$137 |
| City of Newport | 13.40 | 13.83 | 19,859 | Municipal | +$152 |
| Benton County | 13.64 | 13.88 | 8,775 | Municipal | +$158 |
| Forked Deer Electric Coop, Inc | 14.12 | 14.33 | 8,345 | Co-op | +$206 |
Average price = residential revenue ÷ residential sales from each utility's federal EIA-861 filing (bundled service — supply + delivery + riders, not a quoted tariff rate). State average = 12.42¢/kWh, volume-weighted across these utilities (2024). Your distribution utility is fixed by address; these gaps measure what households in different territories actually paid.
Can you choose your electric company in Tennessee?
Electric supply choice: no · Gas supply choice: no
Fully regulated (TVA distributors).
Official rate information: tn.gov/tpuc.html.
Heating: which fuel is cheapest per million BTU in Tennessee?
| Fuel | Native price | As of | $ per MMBTU |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility natural gas | $1.265 /therm | Feb 2026 | 12.65 |
| Propane | $3.248 /gal | Mar 30, 2026 | 35.52 |
| Electricity (resistance) | 12.82 ¢/kWh | Feb 2026 | 37.57 |
Utility natural gas is the cheapest residential energy per BTU in Tennessee at $12.65/MMBTU. Conversions: 1 kWh = 3,412 BTU; 1 therm = 100,000 BTU; heating oil 138,500 BTU/gal; propane 91,452 BTU/gal. Site-energy prices — appliance efficiency changes delivered-heat cost: a 95% AFUE gas furnace delivers heat near the gas figure, while a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5–3 cuts the effective electric figure by 60–70%. (No EIA weekly heating-oil survey price for Tennessee.)
Electricity price trend, last 12 months
Tennessee's average residential price went from 12.54¢/kWh in Feb '25 to 12.82¢/kWh in Feb '26 — up 2% year-over-year. The 12-month peak was 13.91¢ in Apr '25.
| Month | Feb '25 | Mar '25 | Apr '25 | May '25 | Jun '25 | Jul '25 | Aug '25 | Sep '25 | Oct '25 | Nov '25 | Dec '25 | Jan '26 | Feb '26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¢/kWh | 12.54 | 13.37 | 13.91 | 13.73 | 13.82 | 13.21 | 13.02 | 13.29 | 13.06 | 13.47 | 12.87 | 13.10 | 12.82 |
Head-to-head utility comparisons in Tennessee
- Nashville Electric Service vs Middle Tennessee E M C — who's cheaper?
- Nashville Electric Service vs Cumberland Elec Member Corp — who's cheaper?
- Nashville Electric Service vs Duck River Elec Member Corp — who's cheaper?
- Middle Tennessee E M C vs Duck River Elec Member Corp — who's cheaper?
- City of Chattanooga vs Volunteer Electric Coop — who's cheaper?
- Knoxville Utilities Board vs City of Lenoir — who's cheaper?
- City of Chattanooga vs Duck River Elec Member Corp — who's cheaper?
- Cumberland Elec Member Corp vs City of Clarksville — who's cheaper?
- Volunteer Electric Coop vs City of Lenoir — who's cheaper?
Questions people ask
- Who has the cheapest electricity in Tennessee?
- Middle Tennessee E M C, at an average 11.8 cents per kWh for 2024 among Tennessee utilities with at least 50,000 customers (EIA-861). The most expensive, Nashville Electric Service, averaged 13.5 cents — a difference of about $184 per year at 10,800 kWh.
- Can I choose my electric company in Tennessee?
- No. Tennessee is a regulated retail market: your utility is set by address and there is no residential supplier shopping. Rates are set in state utility-commission proceedings (tn.gov/tpuc.html).
- Is gas or electric heat cheaper in Tennessee?
- Per million BTU of site energy, utility natural gas was $12.65 (Feb 2026) versus $37.57 for electric resistance heat. A heat pump delivering 2.5-3 units of heat per unit of electricity brings electric heating to roughly $13-15 per MMBTU.
- What is the average electric bill in Tennessee?
- At Tennessee's February 2026 average price of 12.82 cents/kWh and typical usage of 900 kWh per month, a household pays about $115 per month ($1385 per year) for electricity. Actual bills vary with usage, utility territory, and tariff.
About these numbers. Rates shown are averages computed from federal regulatory filings (EIA Form 861)
and public tariff databases — confirm with your utility before making decisions; your actual rate depends on your tariff,
usage, and riders. Distribution utility is determined by address and generally cannot be chosen; in retail-choice states
you may choose your supplier for the supply portion of the bill. Savings figures use 10,800 kWh/yr
(US average residential usage) and are estimates, not quotes. EnergySavings is an independent data project by CertiHomes
and is not affiliated with any utility, supplier, or government agency.