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Colorado Electricity Prices

Average retail price by sector.

Residential
17.17¢ /kWh
▲ 4.9%vs. last year
Commercial
13.94¢ /kWh
▲ 5.3%vs. last year
Industrial
9.98¢ /kWh
▲ 3.3%vs. last year

Data current through August 2026 — the latest available from the U.S. EIA, which publishes monthly figures on a roughly two-month delay.

Average monthly bill

Full bill breakdown →
$114per month▲ 8.2% vs. the year before

16.67¢/kWh × 685 kWh a month. Residential revenue divided by residential customers, averaged over the 12 months to August 2026 — the 49th highest among the 50 states and DC.

EIA withheld residential sales for Colorado in May 2026, so usage for that month is calculated from EIA's revenue and price.

Compared with the U.S. and neighboring states

Average monthly residential electricity bill, in US dollars
Colorado
$114
U.S. average
$158
Arizona
$163
Oklahoma
$148
Kansas
$135
Nebraska
$123
Wyoming
$115
Utah
$105
New Mexico
$101

Colorado is $44 a month below (-27.9%) the U.S. average of $158. Average monthly bill, September 2025 – August 2026.

How Colorado makes its electricity

Fuel mix & trend since 2001 →Power plants →
Renewable
48.7%
Carbon-free
48.7%
Largest source
Natural gas 36%
Colorado electricity generation by source, September 2025 – August 2026
SourceShareGeneration
Natural gas35.6%19,597 GWh
Coal15.7%8,633 GWh
Nuclear0.0%0 GWh
Wind32.5%17,937 GWh
Solar12.4%6,845 GWh
Hydro3.6%1,974 GWh
Other0.3%139 GWh

55.1 TWh of net generation over the 12 months to August 2026. Generation, not consumption — power crosses state lines.

Colorado electricity prices in context

Colorado's residential electricity rate stood at 17.17¢/kWh in August 2026, ranking 22nd most expensive among the 50 states and DC. This rate runs 0.99¢/kWh below the national average of 18.16¢/kWh, a difference of 5.5%. Among bordering states, Colorado's rate exceeds New Mexico at 16.51¢/kWh but is higher than all others: Kansas at 15.47¢/kWh, Arizona at 15.05¢/kWh, Oklahoma at 14.82¢/kWh, Wyoming at 14.43¢/kWh, Nebraska at 13.54¢/kWh, and Utah at 13.31¢/kWh.

Over five years since August 2021, the rate has risen 27.2% from 13.50¢/kWh. Over twenty years since August 2006, it has climbed 84.8% from 9.29¢/kWh. Since records began in January 2001, the rate has increased 155.9% from 6.71¢/kWh, which marks the lowest on record; August 2026's rate of 17.17¢/kWh stands as the highest.

The average monthly residential bill reached $114 on consumption of 685 kWh per month. Against the national average of $158 per month on 876 kWh, Colorado's usage runs notably lower and its bill correspondingly smaller. Commercial rates averaged 13.94¢/kWh and industrial rates 9.98¢/kWh. The residential rate climbed 4.9% year over year.

Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.

12-month trend

ResidentialCommercialIndustrial
5¢10¢15¢20¢Sep '25Dec '25Mar '26May '26Aug '26ResidentialCommercialIndustrial

Price history since 2001

ResidentialCommercialIndustrial
0¢5¢10¢15¢20¢Jan '01Jun '07Nov '13Mar '20Aug '26ResidentialCommercialIndustrial

Average retail price in all three sectors, every month since January 2001.

Residential

Jan '01
6.71¢
Now
17.17¢
Change
▲ 155.9%
Range
6.71–17.17¢

Recent months

MonthResidentialCommercialIndustrial
August 202617.1713.949.98
July 202617.0013.819.54
June 202617.1314.1910.23
May 202616.1613.139.48
April 202616.5412.929.28
March 202616.7413.019.77
February 202616.7913.279.38
January 202616.4412.509.36
December 202516.1212.218.83
November 202516.3512.629.12
October 202516.2612.599.14
September 202516.7013.589.26

Prices in ¢/kWh.

Frequently asked questions

›How much does electricity cost in Colorado?
Residential electricity in Colorado costs 17.17¢ per kilowatt-hour as of August 2026, the 22nd highest rate among the 50 states and DC. Commercial customers pay 13.94¢ and industrial customers 9.98¢ per kilowatt-hour.
›Why is electricity relatively cheap in Colorado?
Colorado's residential rate of 17.17¢/kWh is -5.0% versus the U.S. average of 18.07¢/kWh. What a household actually pays also depends on how much it uses: the typical Colorado home consumes 685 kWh a month against a national average of 876 kWh, which is why its average bill comes to $114.
›Have electricity prices in Colorado gone up?
Residential electricity in Colorado has risen 155.9% since 2001, reaching 17.17¢/kWh in August 2026. Over the last year alone the change was +4.9%.
›Is electricity cheaper in states neighboring Colorado?
Of the states bordering Colorado, New Mexico has the lowest average monthly bill at $101 and Arizona the highest at $163. Colorado averages $114 a month, against a U.S. average of $158.