While pondering the latest electricity bill from your Oklahoma utility, you might be interested to know that as of June, electricity rates across the nation jumped an average of 6.6% over last year.
But some states saw increases nearly quadruple that average. In Maine, rates soared an average of 25.5%, and in the District of Columbia the average hike was 23.3%. That’s according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Using EIA data, GOBankingRates calculated each state’s average monthly electric bill. Additional factors analyzed included average monthly power consumption and the difference in percentage from the national monthly average. All data was collected on, and was up to date as of, Feb. 19, 2025.
According to GOBankingRates:
• The average monthly electric bill in Oklahoma was $129.10; average monthly usage was 1,068.73 kilowatt hours; and the Sooner State’s difference from the national average was 5.7% lower.
• The average monthly electric bill in Texas was $165.82; average monthly consumption was 1,146.36 kWh; and the Lone Star State’s difference from the national average was 21.2% higher.
Residential customers experienced the biggest increases nationwide, the EIA found. They were followed by transportation, which went up 6.1%, and the industrial sector at 5.1%.
A report by Utility Dive attributed some of the blame to increasing natural gas prices. It noted that the EIA expects gas prices to rise to $4/MMBtu this year from $2.20/MMBtu last year.
GOBankingRates offered some suggestions for lowering residential electric bills.
• A television uses an average of 5 to 150 watts, costing its owners $4 to $112 per year.
“If you leave your TV on 24/7, you’ll spend an average of $223 per year powering it. Unplug any TVs you don’t regularly use, such as one in a guest bedroom. You should also adjust the power setting on your TV. Consider disabling your TV’s ‘quick start’ setting to save on energy.”
• A desktop computer uses an average of 60 to 300 watts and costs a user $89 or more per year.
“Your computer doesn’t draw a ton of power, even when it’s on, with a typical desktop costing you about a penny an hour,” GOBankingRates reports. “However, even pennies can add up.”
Plug your computer, monitor, printer, computer speakers and other computer accessories into a single power strip that can be turned off when not in use. “Let your computer go to sleep after a maximum of 30 minutes of inactivity and turn your computer off whenever you’ve finished using it.”
• A modem uses an average of 10 watts and costs a user approximately $15 annually. “Unplug your modem before going to bed. You don’t need internet access when you’re asleep.”
• A cellphone charger uses an average of 5 watts and costs its user about $7 per year. “Leaving that charger plugged into an outlet all day still uses 0.1 to 0.5 watts per hour. That is not a lot, but it’s pure waste. If you have a charger plugged in 24/7, you’re costing yourself money.”
• Video game consoles are “another common energy vampire,” GOBankingRates reports. The games consume an average of 90 watts and cost users $22 or more per year.
“These devices often remain connected to the network even when they are not in use and are set to be in default ‘instant on’ mode. Unplug game consoles when not in use and disable the ‘instant on’ mode if you don’t need it.”