Skyrocketing California electricity costs among highest in US

A new analysis found Californians pay the highest electricity prices in the whole country — more than double the national average.

The Institute for Energy Research and Always on Energy Research created a website called Blue States, High Rates, featuring a nationwide map that shows California second for the most expensive electricity prices.

California’s average price was 27.63 cents per kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2025, which was 103% higher than the national average of 13.63 cents.

“The state’s trajectory is alarming: since 2018, the average retail price of electricity rose 11.05 cents per kWh, the largest absolute increase of any state, and California collapsed from 7th to 2nd-most expensive,” the website wrote.

“After adjusting for inflation, California’s prices rose 29.9% since 2018. States that adopted aggressive mandates later are catching up. California, having adopted them first, is showing the rest of the US where those mandates lead,” they added on.

The interactive map breaks down all 50 states –– including the District of Columbia –– and 10 regional transmission organizations (RTO). RTOs are independent, nonprofit groups that operate and manage multi-state electric power grids and wholesale electricity markets.

Six criteria including access to natural gas and the state’s net-zero goals for greenhouse gas emissions were used to create the map.

Hawaii was ranked first with 35.72 cents per kWh while North Dakota was last with 8.2 cents per kWh.

“Eighty-six percent of continental states with electricity prices above the national average voted Democratic in both 2020 and 2024, while 90 percent of the ten cheapest states voted Republican in both elections,” the CEO of Always on Energy Research Amy Cooke said.

“Blue States, High Rates captures what we’ve been saying for years: Bad energy policy leads to higher electricity rates,” Cooke continued.

When asked by the San Diego Union-Tribune for a response, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s team directed comments to an exchange between the US Energy Secretary and the governor back in March.

With over 39 million people calling California their home, the Golden State has had electricity rates at least 10% higher than the rest of the country since the late 1980s, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

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