Ohio electricity rates
As of May 2026, the average residential electricity rate in Ohio is 19.52 cents per kilowatt-hour, 5.9% above the U.S. average of 18.44¢. That is the 18th highest rate of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- Year over year
- ▲ +14.2% from 17.09¢ in May 2025
- Vs. U.S. average
- +5.9% U.S. average 18.44¢
- National rank
- #18 of 51 · #34 cheapest
- Supply market
- PJM Retail choice statewide
Why Ohio pays what it pays
Ohio spent most of the past two decades as a low-rate state. It sits on cheap Appalachian gas, kept a large coal fleet running longer than most of its neighbours, and restructured early enough that generation costs were exposed to competition rather than locked into rate base.
The increase now showing up is a supply-side event, not a delivery one. Ohio utilities buy default generation service through competitive auctions, and those auctions clear against PJM prices. When PJM's capacity auction cleared at record levels for the 2025/2026 delivery year, the cost passed straight into Ohio's standard service offer. Data-centre load growth, fossil retirements and a queue of new generation that has not connected fast enough all pushed that auction higher.
Ohio is itself one of the fastest-growing data-centre markets in the country. Central Ohio's load growth is a meaningful part of why the regional reserve margin tightened in the first place.
Where Ohio power comes from
Ohio generated 147 TWh in 2025, the 6th largest output of any state. Natural gas supplied 54.7% of it, enough that the price of that fuel largely sets the price of electricity here. Renewables accounted for 7.8%, against 23.8% nationally, which ranks Ohio #43 of 51.
- Natural gas 54.7% 81 TWh
- Coal 24.3% 36 TWh
- Nuclear 11.6% 17 TWh
- Solar 5.4% 8 TWh
- Wind 2% 3 TWh
- Other 1.5% 2 TWh
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Operational Data, net generation, all sectors. Net generation across all sectors. Nuclear counts as carbon-free but not renewable, so the two shares differ.
How Ohio compares
Ohio ranks #18 of 51 jurisdictions by residential price, making it the 34th cheapest. Within the East North Central division, 1 of 4 neighbouring states are cheaper.
| State | ¢/kWh | YoY | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 18.15 | +7.4% | #20 |
| Ohio | 19.52 | +14.2% | #18 |
| Wisconsin | 19.74 | +4.2% | #17 |
| Michigan | 22.01 | +8.8% | #14 |
| Illinois | 23.85 | +28.4% | #12 |
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State. Data period May 2026. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
What Ohio households actually pay
Ohio looks cheaper on paper than it is in practice. It has the 34th cheapest rate in the country but only the 23rd highest bill from the bottom, because households there use 878 kWh a month against a national average of 871. See how every state compares on bills.
Estimate your Ohio bill
Multiply your own usage by the May 2026 state average. Enter the kilowatt-hours from your last statement. This is a supply-and-delivery blended average, not a utility quote.
Rate used: …. U.S. average 18.44¢/kWh, May 2026. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A.
Heating in Ohio: gas, heat pump or resistance
Residential natural gas in Ohio averaged $13.77 per thousand cubic feet in 2024, about $1.33 per therm, against a national average of $14.50. Put on the same scale as the state's electricity rate, the cost of delivering one million BTU of heat works out as follows.
In Ohio, gas remains cheaper to run than a heat pump by about $4.31 per million BTU at these assumptions, roughly $259 over a 60 million BTU season. A heat pump can still be the better purchase once cooling, equipment age and incentives are counted, but not on heating cost alone.
Gas price: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Natural Gas Prices, price delivered to residential consumers, 2024. Assumptions are adjustable in the heating cost guide, and every state is compared on the gas price page.
What each Ohio utility charges
The statewide average hides a wide spread. Across the 35 Ohio utilities reporting to the EIA, rates run from 9.12¢ at City of Celina to 19.90¢ at Buckeye Rural Elec Coop, Inc . Together they serve 2.0 million residential customers.
| Utility | ¢/kWh | Bill | kWh | Customers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Power Co | 19.33 | $174 | 898 | 550,768 |
| Duke Energy Ohio Inc | 15.00 | $133 | 888 | 294,084 |
| Ohio Edison Co | 16.18 | $127 | 786 | 251,751 |
| Dayton Power & Light Co | 15.32 | $140 | 915 | 132,522 |
| Cleveland Electric Illum Co | 16.76 | $103 | 616 | 131,370 |
| South Central Power Company | 14.87 | $160 | 1,074 | 117,469 |
| The Toledo Edison Co | 16.64 | $123 | 740 | 79,007 |
| City of Cleveland | 14.87 | $73 | 493 | 64,914 |
| City of Hamilton | 15.44 | $120 | 777 | 26,964 |
| Licking Rural Electric Inc | 16.88 | $178 | 1,053 | 25,820 |
| City of Cuyahoga Falls | 13.02 | $80 | 612 | 24,349 |
| Consolidated Cooperative | 16.11 | $205 | 1,270 | 16,897 |
| Buckeye Rural Elec Coop, Inc | 19.90 | $208 | 1,045 | 16,349 |
| Pioneer Rural Elec Coop, Inc | 16.18 | $208 | 1,284 | 16,310 |
| City of Westerville | 13.19 | $122 | 923 | 15,713 |
| City of Columbus | 11.32 | $62 | 551 | 15,510 |
| Guernsey-Muskingum El Coop Inc | 18.00 | $165 | 919 | 15,289 |
| Lorain-Medina R E C, Inc | 17.26 | $201 | 1,163 | 15,234 |
| Holmes-Wayne Electric Coop Inc | 16.52 | $166 | 1,007 | 14,714 |
| City of Bowling Green | 15.36 | $97 | 630 | 13,068 |
| City of Wadsworth | 11.99 | $93 | 776 | 12,180 |
| City of Niles | 9.31 | $52 | 553 | 11,882 |
| Union Rural Electric Coop, Inc | 15.67 | $183 | 1,165 | 11,812 |
| Butler Rural Electric Coop Inc | 18.16 | $241 | 1,327 | 11,374 |
| Hancock-Wood Electric Coop Inc | 17.05 | $185 | 1,083 | 11,307 |
Showing the 25 largest of 35. Utilities with fewer than 1,000 residential customers are not published.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2024.
Who sells electricity in Ohio
AEP Ohio serves Columbus and much of the centre and southeast. FirstEnergy's Ohio Edison, Cleveland Electric Illuminating and Toledo Edison cover the north. Duke Energy Ohio serves Cincinnati and AES Ohio serves Dayton. None of them generate the power they deliver to residential customers.
Ohio has full retail choice plus an active governmental aggregation market, and many counties and municipalities negotiate supply on behalf of residents who do not opt out. The state operates the Apples to Apples comparison chart, listing every certified supplier's offer against each utility's price to compare.
Ohio sits in The PJM region. The wholesale market whose capacity auction repriced and pushed residential rates up across nine jurisdictions in a single year. Read the regional analysis.
What you can actually do about it
Check whether your municipality runs an aggregation programme before you shop individually. Aggregations buy in volume and have generally delivered better residential outcomes than door-to-door switching.
Ohio's price to compare resets on a utility-specific schedule, usually in late spring or early summer. A fixed-price contract signed before a reset only helps if it runs longer than the reset interval. A six-month fix ahead of a June reset just moves the exposure.
Closest states by price
These jurisdictions charge within a fraction of a cent of Ohio, which is useful if you are comparing a move or a multi-state operating cost.
Ohio electricity rates: common questions
What is the average electricity rate in Ohio?
The average residential electricity rate in Ohio is 19.52 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That is +5.9% relative to the national average of 18.44¢/kWh.
How much is the average monthly electric bill in Ohio?
The average Ohio household paid $157 a month across the twelve months to May 2026, using an average of 878 kWh. That is +1.0% against the U.S. average bill of $155, and it ranks 23rd highest of the 51 jurisdictions. Your own bill depends on the size of your home, your heating and cooling equipment and your rate schedule.
Why is the Ohio bill ranking different from its rate ranking?
A bill is the rate multiplied by usage, and usage varies between states more than price does. Ohio ranks #18 of 51 on price but 23rd on the actual bill, because households there use about 878 kWh a month against a national average of 871. Climate and heating fuel drive most of that difference.
Have electricity rates in Ohio gone up?
Ohio rates rose 14.2% over the year to May 2026, from 17.09¢ in May 2025 to 19.52¢.
Can I choose my electricity supplier in Ohio?
Retail choice statewide. Residential customers in Ohio can buy supply from a competitive provider while the local utility continues to deliver it and maintain the wires.