District of Columbia residential electricity rates

Analyst note

The D.C. residential price sat above the U.S. average in 4 of 10 years; the gap was +0.34 ¢ in 2015 and +1.23 ¢ in 2024. In the 2024 ranking D.C. sits between Pennsylvania (17.77 ¢) one place above and Wisconsin (17.18 ¢) one place below; the top of the list is 25.15 ¢ away and the bottom 6.20 ¢. D.C. was 17th in 2015 with 12.99 ¢ and is 15th now; a rise in the table. D.C. residential prices rose in 6 of 9 years. The largest rise was +16.0% in 2023, and the largest fall -5.4% in 2016. The D.C. price peaked at 17.71 ¢ in 2024 and bottomed at 12.29 ¢ in 2016; 2024 is the peak and +44.1% from the low. Compounded, that is +3.50% a year in D.C., +0.52 points against the U.S. D.C. buys 0.16% of all U.S. residential electricity with 0.22% of the accounts, so the average D.C. account uses 0.74 times the national average.

A middle price: 17.71 ¢/kWh for District of Columbia residential accounts, rank 15 of 51, +7.5% against the U.S. D.C.: +36.3% over nine years, or +3.5% a year, beating the national +30.3% by 6.1 points; 2023 was the biggest single move (+16.0%) and 2024 the high.

Last year's change in D.C. was +7.7% and still rising. Against the commercial price of 17.07 ¢ the gap is 0.64 ¢. Residential sales are 24.1% of District of Columbia electricity sold, and an average D.C. account used 639 kWh a month, an implied bill near $113.

Counting revenue instead of kWh, D.C. residential accounts bring in 25.8% of District of Columbia sector revenue on 24.9% of the kWh, a premium of 0.9 points that comes from the price level: 17.71 ¢ here against 17.07 ¢ for commercial and 10.80 ¢ for industrial accounts. The average D.C. residential account uses 639 kWh a month, 41 of 51 among states on that measure; a commercial account uses 34.07 times as much and a industrial account 24434.10 times. Residential accounts are 92.05% of the 346,302 accounts in D.C..