City of Columbus electricity rates
City of Columbus charges an average of 11.32 cents per kilowatt-hour to residential customers, and the average household on its system paid $62 a month using 551 kilowatt-hours, according to its 2024 filing with the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Municipal utility PJM Ohio
Where City of Columbus sits
It is a smaller system, serving 15,510 residential customers, which means its fixed costs are spread across a narrow base. At 11.32¢ per kilowatt-hour it is one of the cheaper places to buy electricity in Ohio, 42% under the statewide average of 19.52¢.
Its customers use very little electricity by national standards, 551 kilowatt-hours a month against 871 nationally. Dense housing, a mild climate or heating that runs on gas rather than electricity all push consumption down, and any of them can leave a household with a modest bill despite a high rate.
Owned by the city it serves and governed by a local board rather than the state commission. No shareholder return is built into the rate. That matters because a bill is not only the cost of generating electricity: it also carries the cost of the network, and who owns that network changes how it is paid for.
| Rate | Monthly bill | Monthly kWh | |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Columbus | 11.32¢ | $62 | 551 |
| Ohio average | 19.52¢ | $157 | 878 |
| United States average | 18.44¢ | $155 | 871 |
Utility figures: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2024. State and national figures: Electric Power Monthly, May 2026. Methodology
Where City of Columbus delivers
Its service territory covers one county in Ohio.
- Franklin
How often the power goes out
In 2024 the average City of Columbus customer went 245 minutes without electricity across 2.17 interruptions. The median across the 941 utilities that report this is 185 minutes.
That is worse than typical. Overhead lines through wooded or storm-exposed terrain are the usual explanation, and the fix is vegetation management and circuit automation, both of which are recovered through rates.
Other Ohio utilities
| Utility | Rate | Bill | Customers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Power Co | 19.33¢ | $174 | 550,768 |
| Duke Energy Ohio Inc | 15.00¢ | $133 | 294,084 |
| City of Westerville | 13.19¢ | $122 | 15,713 |
| Guernsey-Muskingum El Coop Inc | 18.00¢ | $165 | 15,289 |
| Lorain-Medina R E C, Inc | 17.26¢ | $201 | 15,234 |
City of Columbus rates: common questions
How much does City of Columbus charge per kilowatt-hour?
An average of 11.32 cents per kilowatt-hour across its residential customers in 2024. That is -42.0% against the Ohio average of 19.52¢ and -38.6% against the national average of 18.44¢. It is an all-in average across every residential rate schedule the utility offers, not a specific tariff.
What is the average City of Columbus bill?
$62 a month, based on total residential revenue divided by residential customers over the 2024 survey year, at an average of 551 kWh a month. The national average bill is $155 at 871 kWh.
Who owns City of Columbus?
It is classified by the EIA as a municipal utility. Owned by the city it serves and governed by a local board rather than the state commission. No shareholder return is built into the rate.
Is City of Columbus expensive compared with other Ohio utilities?
It ranks #31 of the 35 Ohio utilities covered here, counting from the most expensive. Nationally it ranks #1158 of 1369.