Average Electric Bill in Kentucky
Residential · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
That works out to about $1,865 a year. Among the 50 states and DC, Kentucky has the 28th 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: 13.99¢/kWh × 1,111 kWh ≈ $155. A state can land high on either factor — Kentucky pays below the national rate but uses much more power than average.
Compared with nearby states
| Kentucky | $155 | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. average | $158 | |
| Virginia | $177 | |
| West Virginia | $164 | |
| Tennessee | $163 | |
| Ohio | $160 | |
| Indiana | $159 | |
| Missouri | $147 | |
| Illinois | $132 |
Kentucky is $3 a month below (-1.9%) 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
- January 2026
- Lowest month
- $117
- October 2025
- Swing
- $92
- peak minus low
- Latest month
- $188
- August 2026
Actual bills are far from flat: Kentucky peaks in January 2026 and bottoms out in October 2025. The headline figure above is the average across all twelve months.
Kentucky electricity bills in context
Kentucky's average monthly electricity bill is $155, placing it 28th most expensive of the 50 states and DC. This sits $3 below the national average of $158. The state's price of 13.99¢/kWh is notably lower than the national figure of 18.07¢/kWh, but Kentucky homes use 1,111 kWh per month—235 kWh more than the national average of 876—which pulls the bill up and nearly wipes out the price advantage.
From September 2025 through August 2026, the monthly bill rose 7.4% compared with the prior year's average of $145, reaching an annual total of $1,860. Over the longer run, bills have grown substantially: since August 2021 the bill has climbed 27.4% from $122, and since December 2008 it has risen 64.2% from $95.
Seasonal swings are pronounced. January 2026 saw the peak at $209, while October 2025 brought the lowest at $117—a gap of $92. Among neighbouring states, Kentucky's bill ranks well below Virginia at $177 and West Virginia at $164, sits below Tennessee at $163, Ohio at $160, and Indiana at $159, and falls just above Missouri at $147 and Illinois at $132.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›How much is the average electric bill in Kentucky?
›Is the electric bill in Kentucky higher than the national average?
›Why is electricity relatively cheap in Kentucky?
›When is the electric bill highest in Kentucky?
›How does Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky electricity prices by sector.