Average Electric Bill in North Carolina
Residential · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
That works out to about $1,853 a year. Among the 50 states and DC, North Carolina has the 29th 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: 14.80¢/kWh × 1,043 kWh ≈ $154. A state can land high on either factor — North Carolina pays below the national rate but uses much more power than average.
Compared with nearby states
| North Carolina | $154 | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. average | $158 | |
| Virginia | $177 | |
| South Carolina | $169 | |
| Georgia | $164 | |
| Tennessee | $163 |
North Carolina is $4 a month below (-2.5%) 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
- $203
- July 2026
- Lowest month
- $119
- October 2025
- Swing
- $84
- peak minus low
- Latest month
- $196
- August 2026
Actual bills are far from flat: North Carolina peaks in July 2026 and bottoms out in October 2025. The headline figure above is the average across all twelve months.
North Carolina electricity bills in context
The average monthly residential electricity bill in North Carolina is $154, ranking 29th among the 50 states and DC. This is $4 below the national average of $158. North Carolina's homes use 167 kWh more per month than the national average, but pay 3.27¢/kWh less, and these two effects work in opposite directions on the bill — the higher usage pushes it up, while the lower rate pulls it down. The lower rate wins out, leaving the bill below the national figure.
Over the past year since September 2025, bills have risen 6.1%, from $146 to $154. Over the five years since August 2021, they have climbed 28.4%, from $120. Since December 2008, they have grown 44.9%, from $107. The seasonal range is wide: July 2026 reached $203 while October 2025 fell to $119, a swing of $84 around the twelve-month average.
Neighbouring states all carry higher bills. Virginia stands at $177, South Carolina at $169, Georgia at $164, and Tennessee at $163.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›How much is the average electric bill in North Carolina?
›Is the electric bill in North Carolina higher than the national average?
›Why is electricity relatively cheap in North Carolina?
›When is the electric bill highest in North Carolina?
›How does North Carolina 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 North Carolina may pay well above or below $154. 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 North Carolina electricity prices by sector.