Average Electric Bill in District of Columbia
Residential · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
That works out to about $1,865 a year. Among the 50 states and DC, District of Columbia has the 27th highest average residential bill.
Data current through August 2026 — the latest available from the U.S. EIA, which publishes monthly figures on a roughly two-month delay.
What makes up the bill
Price × usage = bill, exactly: 24.48¢/kWh × 635 kWh ≈ $155. A state can land high on either factor — District of Columbia pays well above the national rate but uses less power than average.
Compared with nearby states
| District of Columbia | $155 | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. average | $158 | |
| Maryland | $212 | |
| Virginia | $177 |
District of Columbia is $3 a month below (-1.8%) the U.S. average of $158. Neighboring states share fuel mixes, weather, and often a grid operator, which makes them a closer benchmark than the national average.
Trend since 2008
Each point is a trailing 12-month average, which strips out the summer/winter swing and leaves the underlying trend. Bills start in January 2008 because that is when EIA began reporting customer counts.
Seasonal swing
- Highest month
- $209
- July 2026
- Lowest month
- $108
- November 2025
- Swing
- $100
- peak minus low
- Latest month
- $206
- August 2026
Actual bills are far from flat: District of Columbia peaks in July 2026 and bottoms out in November 2025. The headline figure above is the average across all twelve months.
District of Columbia electricity bills in context
The average monthly electricity bill in the District of Columbia is $155, ranking 27th of the 50 states and DC from the most expensive. This bill is $3 below the national average of $158. The difference comes from two directions: the district pays 24.48¢/kWh, which is 6.41¢ higher per kilowatt-hour than the national average of 18.07¢/kWh, but homes use considerably less electricity, averaging 635 kWh per month against a national average of 876 kWh per month. The lower usage more than offsets the higher price, bringing the overall bill in line with the rest of the country.
Over the past year, the district's bill rose 18.4% from $131 to $155. Over the longer run, the picture is steeper: since August 2021 the bill has grown 69% from $92, and since December 2008 it has increased 65.4% from $94. Within the twelve-month window from September 2025 to August 2026, seasonality is pronounced. The peak arrives in July 2026 at $209, while November 2025 reaches the lowest point at $108, a swing of $101 between high and low months.
Compared with neighbouring jurisdictions, the district's bill sits well below both Maryland at $212 and Virginia at $177, paying less than either of its bordering states.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›How much is the average electric bill in District of Columbia?
›Is the electric bill in District of Columbia higher than the national average?
›Why is electricity expensive in District of Columbia?
›When is the electric bill highest in District of Columbia?
›How does District of Columbia compare with neighboring states?
How this is calculated
EIA’s retail-sales dataset reports, for every state and month, total residential revenue and the number of residential customers served. The average monthly bill is simply the first divided by the second — total spending across all households, spread evenly over all accounts.
bill = revenue ÷ customers · averaged over 12 months (September 2025 – August 2026)
Two caveats worth knowing. It is an average, so it blends apartments with large houses — a typical household in District of Columbia may pay well above or below $155. And it counts what was actually billed for electricity, including fixed service charges, so it is not the same as multiplying your own usage by the advertised rate.
Looking for the rate rather than the bill? See District of Columbia electricity prices by sector.