Average Electric Bill in Pennsylvania
Residential · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
That works out to about $2,101 a year. Among the 50 states and DC, Pennsylvania has the 8th 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: 20.87¢/kWh × 839 kWh ≈ $175. A state can land high on either factor — Pennsylvania's bill is driven mainly by price, not consumption.
Compared with nearby states
| Pennsylvania | $175 | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. average | $158 | |
| Maryland | $212 | |
| New York | $168 | |
| Delaware | $167 | |
| West Virginia | $164 | |
| New Jersey | $160 | |
| Ohio | $160 |
Pennsylvania is $17 a month above (+10.5%) 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
- $229
- January 2026
- Lowest month
- $133
- October 2025
- Swing
- $96
- peak minus low
- Latest month
- $198
- August 2026
Actual bills are far from flat: Pennsylvania peaks in January 2026 and bottoms out in October 2025. The headline figure above is the average across all twelve months.
Pennsylvania electricity bills in context
Pennsylvania's average monthly residential electricity bill is $175, the 8th most expensive among the 50 states and DC. This sits $17 above the national average of $158, a difference of 10.5%. The state's price of 20.87¢/kWh runs 2.80¢/kWh higher than the national rate of 18.07¢/kWh, which pushes the bill up. Pennsylvania homes use 839 kWh per month on average, about 37 kWh less than the national average of 876 kWh, which pulls the bill down slightly. Over the past year, from September 2025 to August 2026, the bill has risen by 13.5% from $154 per month.
The longest trend shows steeper growth. Since December 2008, the bill has climbed 79.1%, from $98 to $175. Over five years, since August 2021, it has grown 52%, from $115. Seasonal variation is substantial: January 2026 brought the peak at $229, while October 2025 saw the lowest at $133, a swing of $96 across the year. The twelve-month average of $175 sits between these extremes.
Among neighbouring states, Maryland's bill of $212 runs noticeably higher. New York at $168 falls below Pennsylvania, as do Delaware at $167, West Virginia at $164, New Jersey at $160, and Ohio at $160. Pennsylvania ranks in the upper half nationally, more expensive than most of its immediate neighbors except Maryland.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›How much is the average electric bill in Pennsylvania?
›Is the electric bill in Pennsylvania higher than the national average?
›Why is electricity expensive in Pennsylvania?
›When is the electric bill highest in Pennsylvania?
›How does Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania may pay well above or below $175. 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 Pennsylvania electricity prices by sector.