PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County electricity rates
PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County charges an average of 8.80 cents per kilowatt-hour to residential customers, and the average household on its system paid $117 a month using 1,327 kilowatt-hours, according to its 2024 filing with the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Public power district BPAT Washington
Where PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County sits
It serves 48,267 residential customers in Washington. At 8.80¢ per kilowatt-hour it is one of the cheaper places to buy electricity in Washington, 41.1% under the statewide average of 14.95¢.
Consumption here is high, 1,327 kilowatt-hours a month against a national average of 871. Long cooling seasons, large detached homes and electric resistance heating are the usual causes, and together they matter more to the bill than the rate does.
A public body created by the state or county, governed by an elected or appointed board rather than by shareholders. 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County | 8.80¢ | $117 | 1,327 |
| Washington average | 14.95¢ | $130 | 936 |
| 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 PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County delivers
Its service territory covers one county in Washington.
- Cowlitz
How often the power goes out
In 2024 the average PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County customer went 263 minutes without electricity across 1.72 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.
Rooftop solar on this system
536 residential customers had net-metered solar in 2024, totalling 4.95 megawatts. That works out to 11.1 installations per thousand customers, against a median of 8 across the utilities reporting it.
Adoption is above the national median, which generally tracks the retail rate more closely than it tracks sunshine. What exports are actually worth.
Other Washington utilities
| Utility | Rate | Bill | Customers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puget Sound Energy Inc | 14.63¢ | $128 | 1.1 million |
| City of Seattle | 14.09¢ | $85 | 459,964 |
| PUD No 1 of Benton County | 8.81¢ | $108 | 50,072 |
| PUD No 2 of Grant County | 6.01¢ | $100 | 42,485 |
| Inland Power & Light Company | 8.98¢ | $128 | 41,684 |
PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County rates: common questions
How much does PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County charge per kilowatt-hour?
An average of 8.80 cents per kilowatt-hour across its residential customers in 2024. That is -41.1% against the Washington average of 14.95¢ and -52.3% 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 PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County bill?
$117 a month, based on total residential revenue divided by residential customers over the 2024 survey year, at an average of 1,327 kWh a month. The national average bill is $155 at 871 kWh.
Who owns PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County?
It is classified by the EIA as a public power district. A public body created by the state or county, governed by an elected or appointed board rather than by shareholders.
Is PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County expensive compared with other Washington utilities?
It ranks #30 of the 34 Washington utilities covered here, counting from the most expensive. Nationally it ranks #1332 of 1369.