Average Electric Bill in Virginia
Residential · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
That works out to about $2,129 a year. Among the 50 states and DC, Virginia has the 7th 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: 16.64¢/kWh × 1,066 kWh ≈ $177. A state can land high on either factor — Virginia pays below the national rate but uses much more power than average.
Compared with nearby states
| Virginia | $177 | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. average | $158 | |
| Maryland | $212 | |
| West Virginia | $164 | |
| Tennessee | $163 | |
| District of Columbia | $155 | |
| Kentucky | $155 | |
| North Carolina | $154 |
Virginia is $19 a month above (+12.0%) 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
- $240
- January 2026
- Lowest month
- $125
- October 2025
- Swing
- $114
- peak minus low
- Latest month
- $220
- August 2026
Actual bills are far from flat: Virginia peaks in January 2026 and bottoms out in October 2025. The headline figure above is the average across all twelve months.
Virginia electricity bills in context
Virginia's average monthly electricity bill is $177, the seventh highest among the 50 states and DC. This is $19 above the national average of $158. Virginia pays a lower rate per kilowatt-hour at 16.64¢/kWh against the national 18.07¢/kWh, but homes use more electricity — 1,066 kWh per month versus the national 876 kWh. The higher usage drives the bill above the national level.
Over the past year since September 2025, the bill has risen 12.7% from $157. Over the longer run, it has climbed 36.1% since August 2021 and 57.4% since December 2008. Seasonal swings are substantial: January 2026 saw the peak at $240, while October 2025 fell to $125, a swing of $115 around the twelve-month average.
Among bordering states, Maryland's bill is higher at $212, while West Virginia at $164, Tennessee at $163, and North Carolina at $154 all pay less. The District of Columbia and Kentucky each average $155.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›How much is the average electric bill in Virginia?
›Is the electric bill in Virginia higher than the national average?
›Why is electricity relatively cheap in Virginia?
›When is the electric bill highest in Virginia?
›How does Virginia 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 Virginia may pay well above or below $177. 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 Virginia electricity prices by sector.