Electric Consumer

Editor: Katerine G., Editor & Data Researcher · Research & publishing: Electric Consumer Editorial Team · Data retrieved · Sources named on this page: EIA-861, EIA retail sales, EIA-860/923, Census ACS, NOAA · How we got these numbers · Report an error

Cost to heat a home in Pennsylvania: electricity vs gas

With electricity at 19.30 cents per kWh and natural gas at $15.04 per Mcf in 2025, one MMBtu of heat costs $15.28 from a gas furnace, $18.85 from a heat pump and $56.56 from resistance heating in Pennsylvania.

In Pennsylvania many households choose their energy supplier. How to compare.

Your Pennsylvania heating cost

    Pennsylvania inputs: 19.3 ¢ per kWh, $15.04 per Mcf, fuel only; the need is an illustration. Method.

    The numbers

    Electricity 2025
    19.30 ¢/kWhrank 11 of 45 states by price
    Natural gas 2025
    $15.04 per Mcfrank 20 of 45 states by gas price
    Gas furnace
    $15.28 per MMBtu95% efficiency, rank 20 of 45
    Heat pump
    $18.85 per MMBturank 35 of 45 states, COP 3.0 assumed
    Electric resistance
    $56.56 per MMBtu3.7 times a furnace
    Break-even COP
    3.70a heat pump above it beats gas; rank 28 of 45
    Annual cost at 50 MMBtu
    $943 heat pumpfuel only
    Homes heated by electricity
    25%51% utility gas, 5% propane, 15% oil
    Electricity since 2024
    +8.6%
    Gas since 2024
    +10.4%
    2026 to date
    power +12.5%, gas +7.9%January to Jul against 2025
    Winter load
    +64% over spring and fallsummer +45%: a winter-peaking state
    Heating degree-days, normal year
    6,1101991 to 2020; 2025 had 5,729, rank 18 of 42 states by normal HDD
    Occupied homes in Pennsylvania (ACS 2023)
    5,235,3391,297,991 electric, 2,683,936 utility gas, 260,017 propane, 761,539 oil; 1 of 67 counties are over half electric
    Generating capacity in Pennsylvania
    53,042 MWEIA-860 2025; 310 MW under construction

    Pennsylvania charts

    One MMBtu of heat in Pennsylvania

    $15.28 gas, $18.85 heat pump, $56.56 resistance.

    $ per MMBtu

    • Electric resistance56.6
    • Heat pump, COP 3.018.9
    • Gas furnace, 95%15.3

    Pennsylvania, Cost of one MMBtu of heat in Pennsylvania: EIA retail sales and natural gas prices.

    CSV

    Prices since 2015, Pennsylvania

    Electricity $56.56 and gas $15 per MMBtu of energy in 2025.

    Fuel cost per MMBtu, Pennsylvania, 2015 to 2025: 11 rows
    YearPennsylvania electricityPennsylvania gas
    201540.010.7
    201640.69.8
    201741.711.0
    201840.710.9
    201940.411.3
    202039.811.1
    202140.311.6
    202246.714.4
    202353.014.9
    202452.113.1
    202556.614.5

    11 rows from EIA retail sales and natural gas prices.

    CSV

    How Pennsylvania heats

    25% electric.

    % of homes

    • Electricity24.8
    • Utility gas51.3
    • Propane5.0
    • Fuel oil14.5
    • Wood2.1

    Pennsylvania, How Pennsylvania homes are heated: Census ACS 2023, table B25040.

    CSV

    Break-even COP by month, Pennsylvania

    2.03 to 4.16 across the months shown.

    Break-even COP by month, Pennsylvania: 12 rows
    Month20252026
    Jan4.054.10
    Feb4.034.04
    Mar3.493.62
    Apr3.383.42
    May2.833.24
    Jun2.452.40
    Jul2.032.18
    Aug2.09No data
    Sep2.22No data
    Oct3.21No data
    Nov3.80No data
    Dec4.16No data

    12 rows from EIA retail sales.

    CSV

    How Pennsylvania homes heat

    Pennsylvania main fuelPennsylvania homesPennsylvania sharePennsylvania rank among states
    Electricity1,297,99124.8%31 of 45
    Utility gas2,683,93651.3%20 of 45
    Propane260,0175.0%25 of 45
    Fuel oil761,53914.5%6 of 45
    Wood111,7792.1%15 of 45

    Pennsylvania has 53,042 MW of operable generating capacity (EIA-860, 2025), largest in natural gas at 29,898 MW; 310 MW is under construction and 6,390 MW planned, which matters if heat pumps add winter load.

    14 Pennsylvania utilities report meters to EIA-861: 97.6% of 5,611,536 home meters are smart (AMI), 4 offer a home time-of-use rate and 6,324 homes are on dynamic pricing.

    Pennsylvania counties by electric heating

    Largest electric share first, then the smallest; 20 counties.

    Pennsylvania countyPennsylvania residentsPennsylvania electric heatPennsylvania utility gasPennsylvania propanePennsylvania median income
    Franklin County156,62651%18%5%$74,946
    Monroe County167,78446%10%11%$82,374
    Centre County158,04144%25%4%$72,748
    Lehigh County375,40841%34%4%$77,493
    Union County42,57040%11%8%$72,894
    Pike County59,69138%13%22%$79,318
    Dauphin County287,48437%39%4%$74,159
    Cumberland County264,42237%37%6%$85,634
    Lancaster County555,15135%33%9%$83,703
    Snyder County39,71134%13%7%$68,435
    Crawford County83,18913%47%16%$60,254
    Clarion County37,29712%72%5%$60,668
    Clearfield County78,90211%29%6%$60,181
    Erie County269,54411%78%5%$61,476
    Venango County50,09610%67%10%$61,626
    Armstrong County65,0699%75%4%$64,295
    Warren County38,1749%66%11%$59,013
    Jefferson County44,0998%68%8%$56,898
    Tioga County41,0788%67%7%$62,932
    McKean County40,1497%80%4%$61,705

    Pennsylvania month by month

    MonthPennsylvania electricity ¢/kWhPennsylvania gas $/McfHeat pump $/MMBtuGas furnace $/MMBtuPennsylvania break-even COP
    Jul 202621.72$28.73$21.2$29.22.18
    Jun 202621.73$26.08$21.2$26.52.40
    May 202621.55$19.17$21.1$19.53.24
    Apr 202621.47$18.13$21.0$18.43.42
    Mar 202620.92$16.67$20.4$16.93.62
    Feb 202620.30$14.49$19.8$14.74.04
    Jan 202620.19$14.21$19.7$14.44.10
    Dec 202520.08$13.91$19.6$14.14.16
    Nov 202520.16$15.31$19.7$15.63.80
    Oct 202520.49$18.42$20.0$18.73.21
    Sep 202520.46$26.59$20.0$27.02.22
    Aug 202519.93$27.47$19.5$27.92.09
    Jul 202519.51$27.74$19.1$28.22.03
    Jun 202519.69$23.20$19.2$23.62.45
    May 202519.29$19.67$18.8$20.02.83
    Apr 202518.96$16.18$18.5$16.43.38
    Mar 202518.42$15.24$18.0$15.53.49
    Feb 202518.00$12.87$17.6$13.14.03
    Jan 202517.56$12.51$17.2$12.74.05

    Heating season

    A normal year in Pennsylvania brings 6,110 heating degree-days and 598 cooling degree-days (1991 to 2020). Months above 300 heating degree-days in a normal year: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec. 2025 had 5,729, 6% below normal; the highest of 2015 to 2025 was 5,760 in 2018.

    Pennsylvania degree-days by year

    Heating and cooling degree-days, Pennsylvania, 2015 to 2025: 11 rows
    Pennsylvania yearHeating (HDD)Cooling (CDD)Normal HDDNormal CDD
    201557057906110598
    201653759146110598
    201752536676110598
    201857608936110598
    201955908176110598
    202051868446110598
    202152318446110598
    202257078096110598
    202349526566110598
    202449888656110598
    202557297876110598

    NOAA nClimDiv degree-days for Pennsylvania, 2015 to 2025, pulled 2 Oct 2026.

    CSV

    Heating degree-days by month

    Heating degree-days by month, Pennsylvania: 12 rows
    Month2025Normal
    Jan12711175
    Feb9651027
    Mar640850
    Apr400495
    May188213
    Jun1035
    Jul06
    Aug2117
    Sep56101
    Oct363406
    Nov698719
    Dec11171066

    NOAA nClimDiv degree-days for Pennsylvania by month, 2025.

    CSV
    Pennsylvania, 2025 by month: 12 rows
    MonthHDD 2025HDD normalCDD 2025CDD normal
    Jan1,2711,17500
    Feb9651,02700
    Mar64085000
    Apr40049500
    May1882133129
    Jun1035177114
    Jul06345223
    Aug2117143177
    Sep561018852
    Oct36340633
    Nov69871900
    Dec1,1171,06600

    NOAA nClimDiv degree-days for Pennsylvania, 2025 by month.

    CSV

    Analyst note

    Fuel oil stands out in Pennsylvania: 761,539 homes, 14.5%, rank 6 of 45. Main heating fuel in Pennsylvania is utility gas (51% of homes); electricity heats 25% and utility gas 51%. Since 2024 electricity moved +8.6% and gas +10.4%; in 2026 to date power is +12.5% and gas +7.9% on a year earlier. A COP 3.0 heat pump trails a furnace here by $3.57 per MMBtu; the break-even COP of 3.70 ranks 28 of 45. The most electric counties of Pennsylvania with 20,000+ residents are led by Franklin County at 51% of homes. A normal Pennsylvania year has 6,110 heating degree-days, and 2025 had 5,729, so heating demand ran 6% below the 1991 to 2020 normal.

    States with a similar break-even

    State near PennsylvaniaBreak-even COP near PennsylvaniaGas, $ per MMBtuHeat pump, $ per MMBtu
    Utah3.70$10.35$12.77
    Iowa3.73$10.78$13.40
    Vermont3.67$18.29$22.39
    District of Columbia3.79$16.95$21.43
    New Hampshire3.81$18.91$23.99
    North Dakota3.59$9.65$11.54

    Questions on heating in Pennsylvania

    How many Pennsylvania homes heat with fuel oil?

    761,539 of 5,235,339 homes, 14.5%, ranks 6 of 45 states; oil is not priced in this comparison.

    Is a heat pump cheaper than gas in Pennsylvania?

    No on fuel cost: $18.85 per MMBtu against $15.28 for gas, break-even COP 3.70.

    Which Pennsylvania county has the most electric heating?

    Franklin County: 51% of 63,028 homes among counties with 20,000+ residents, median income $74,946.

    What share of Pennsylvania homes heat with electricity?

    25% of 5,235,339 occupied homes in ACS 2023, against 51% with utility gas.

    Where does Pennsylvania rank on heat pump cost?

    35 of 45 at $18.85 per MMBtu; North Dakota is lowest at $11.54.

    Is Pennsylvania a winter or summer electricity state?

    Winter use runs +64% over spring and fall, summer +45%: heating drives the load.

    Did gas or electricity get more expensive in Pennsylvania in 2026?

    January to Jul: electricity +12.5%, gas +7.9% on a year earlier.

    How much generating capacity does Pennsylvania have?

    53,042 MW operable in 2025, 310 MW under construction, 6,390 MW planned (EIA-860).

    How many Pennsylvania homes have smart meters?

    97.6% of 5,611,536 home meters, 4 of 14 reporting utilities offer time-of-use.

    More on Pennsylvania

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    With electricity at 19.30 cents per kWh and natural gas at $15.04 per Mcf in 2025, one MMBtu of heat costs $15.28 from a gas furnace, $18.85 from a heat pump and $56.56…