Electricity Prices Price History
1960–2025 · U.S. Energy Information Administration
Electricity is one of those costs that sneaks up on you — nobody tracks it the way they watch gas prices, but it adds up fast. This dataset covers the average residential electricity price per kilowatt-hour in the U.S. from 1960 to 2025. For about two decades, prices actually fell in real terms as utilities built out massive coal and nuclear capacity. Then the oil crises of the '70s flipped the script, and costs have been grinding higher ever since, with the 2022-2025 period delivering some of the sharpest jumps in recent memory.
Price in 1960
$0.03
Price in 2025
$0.17
Total Change
+569.2%
Years Tracked
65
Electricity Prices Over Time
Compare to inflation: The chart above shows nominal (not inflation-adjusted) prices. Use the toggle to switch to inflation-adjusted values when available, or try the inflation calculator to convert any amount between years.
Key Insights
- Electricity actually got cheaper through the 1960s, dropping from $0.026/kWh in 1960 to $0.022/kWh by 1970, thanks to economies of scale in power generation and cheap fuel.
- The oil crises triggered a dramatic reversal — prices more than tripled from $0.022/kWh in 1970 to $0.072/kWh by 1983 as utilities scrambled to pass along soaring fuel costs.
- There was a remarkably flat stretch from 1990 to 2005 where prices barely moved, hovering between $0.084 and $0.095/kWh, partly due to deregulation efforts and cheap natural gas.
- The 2020s brought a sharp acceleration: electricity jumped from $0.131/kWh in 2020 to $0.174/kWh in 2025, a 33% increase driven by grid upgrades, renewable transition costs, and higher natural gas prices.
Year-by-Year Data
| Year | Price (USD per kWh) | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | $0.03 | — |
| 1961 | $0.03 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | $0.03 | -3.8% |
| 1963 | $0.03 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | $0.02 | -4.0% |
| 1965 | $0.02 | -4.2% |
| 1966 | $0.02 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | $0.02 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | $0.02 | -4.3% |
| 1969 | $0.02 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | $0.02 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | $0.02 | +4.5% |
| 1972 | $0.02 | +4.3% |
| 1973 | $0.03 | +4.2% |
| 1974 | $0.03 | +20.0% |
| 1975 | $0.04 | +16.7% |
| 1976 | $0.04 | +5.7% |
| 1977 | $0.04 | +10.8% |
| 1978 | $0.04 | +4.9% |
| 1979 | $0.05 | +9.3% |
| 1980 | $0.06 | +17.0% |
| 1981 | $0.06 | +14.5% |
| 1982 | $0.07 | +7.9% |
| 1983 | $0.07 | +5.9% |
| 1984 | $0.08 | +4.2% |
| 1985 | $0.08 | +4.0% |
| 1986 | $0.08 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | $0.08 | +1.3% |
| 1988 | $0.08 | +1.3% |
| 1989 | $0.08 | +2.5% |
| 1990 | $0.08 | +2.4% |
| 1991 | $0.09 | +3.6% |
| 1992 | $0.09 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | $0.09 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | $0.09 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | $0.09 | -1.1% |
| 1996 | $0.09 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | $0.09 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | $0.08 | -2.3% |
| 1999 | $0.08 | -1.2% |
| 2000 | $0.08 | +1.2% |
| 2001 | $0.09 | +6.0% |
| 2002 | $0.09 | -2.2% |
| 2003 | $0.09 | +2.3% |
| 2004 | $0.09 | +1.1% |
| 2005 | $0.10 | +5.6% |
| 2006 | $0.11 | +12.6% |
| 2007 | $0.11 | +0.9% |
| 2008 | $0.11 | +5.6% |
| 2009 | $0.12 | +2.6% |
| 2010 | $0.12 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | $0.12 | +0.9% |
| 2012 | $0.12 | +0.8% |
| 2013 | $0.12 | +4.2% |
| 2014 | $0.13 | +0.8% |
| 2015 | $0.13 | +0.8% |
| 2016 | $0.13 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | $0.13 | +2.4% |
| 2018 | $0.13 | -0.8% |
| 2019 | $0.13 | +3.1% |
| 2020 | $0.13 | -0.8% |
| 2021 | $0.14 | +4.6% |
| 2022 | $0.16 | +13.1% |
| 2023 | $0.17 | +6.5% |
| 2024 | $0.17 | +3.0% |
| 2025 | $0.17 | +2.4% |
Sources & Methodology
EIA Electric Power Monthly data, covering the average retail price of electricity to residential customers as annual averages. Original figures are reported in cents per kilowatt-hour and converted here to dollars per kWh for consistency with other pricing datasets.
Primary source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
For a full explanation of how we collect and adjust data, see our methodology page.