How Much Is Electricity?: What You Get For a Penny
About the only thing of value you can still get for a penny is electricity. The cost of electricity, for the value you receive in return, is about as good as it gets.
Let’s say the average rate for a kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity is 10 cents. Put another way, if you use 1,000 watts of electricity for 60 minutes, that would cost a dime; and 100 watts of electricity would cost you just a single penny. That is enough to power a 9-watt LED light bulb, the equivalent of a 60-watt incandescent bulb, for 11 hours, all for only a penny. Where else can you get that kind of value?
How many eggs will a penny buy? How much milk, bread, coffee or medicine? How far would you get with a penny of gas?
And what about your smartphone? Using an average 10 cents per kWh, you can fully charge your iPhone more than 18 times for a penny. That means you can charge it once every day of the year for about 20 cents total.
How Much Electricity Does the U.S. Use in a Year?
We are fortunate electricity is such an excellent value because we have a huge appetite for it. Electricity is not expensive. It’s that we use it for so many different things: lighting, heating, cooking, cooling, refrigeration, cleaning, washing, working, entertainment, communications and transportation.
Despite energy efficiency advancements, the average household uses more electronic gadgets and needs more power to operate them yearly. And with growing power demand from data centers, manufacturing and the electrification of transportation and buildings, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected power demand will rise to 4,101 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2024 and 4,185 billion kWh in 2025.
How Much Does Electricity Cost Per Month?
According to the EIA, in 2023, the average monthly electric bill for U.S. residential customers was $136.84, with an average monthly consumption of 855 kilowatt-hours (kWh) and an average electricity rate of 16.00 cents per kWh.
Clearly, our appetite for electricity shows no signs of slowing down. So, the next time you flip a switch, turn on your television or run your washing machine, remember the value electricity holds. It's also important to know that employees at your local electric cooperative are looking out for you by working together to keep electric bills affordable, controlling costs through innovation, and putting you, our members, first.
Learn more about the value of your cooperative membership!
Value of Electricity podcast
The most common question homeowners ask today concerns the price of their electric bill. Listen to expert guest Travis Mathes talk about the value of electricity versus the cost of other products we consume, plus ways members can lower their bill: Value of Electricity podcast.