Electricity rates represent the cost per kWh charged by utilities to consumers. Rates differ by customer class: residential customers typically pay the highest rates because they consume smaller volumes at lower voltages, requiring more distribution infrastructure per kWh. Commercial rates are generally lower, and industrial rates are the lowest because large industrial consumers use power at higher voltages with more predictable demand patterns. Rates are set by state public utility commissions and reflect generation costs, transmission, distribution, and regulatory charges.
Electricity Rate
The price charged per kilowatt-hour of electricity, varying by customer class (residential, commercial, industrial).
Related Terms
Kilowatt-Hour (kWh)
A unit of energy equal to using 1,000 watts for one hour, the standard billing unit for electricity.
Tiered Pricing
A rate structure where the price per kWh increases as consumption rises above set thresholds.
Time-of-Use (TOU) Rates
Pricing that varies by time of day, with higher rates during peak demand hours and lower rates off-peak.
this entity is one of the U.S. state-level electricity rates and generation mix concepts that recurs across this site. The definition above is the technical answer; the paragraphs below add the practical context for how the concept connects to the the EIA Open Data API and State Electricity Profiles data behind every per-entity page on the site.
In the the EIA Open Data API and State Electricity Profiles data, this concept shapes one or more of the fields that drive the per-entity grades and rankings on this site. The methodology page describes which fields feed into which output; this glossary entry documents the underlying term.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2026.