How to Find Your Electricity Rate on a U.S. Utility Bill

Your electricity rate is the amount your utility charges for each kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity. You need this number to estimate what an appliance costs to run.

The most useful rate for an appliance estimate is usually the variable electricity charge, not the total amount of your bill divided by your usage. Fixed monthly charges usually stay the same whether you run one appliance or not.

Where to find electricity usage on your bill

Look for the section that shows your electricity usage. It may be labelled:

• Energy use

• Electricity usage

• Usage this month

• kWh used

• Metered usage

You should see a number followed by kWh, such as 650 kWh or 900 kWh. This is the amount of electricity used during the billing period.

Your bill may also show the number of days in the billing period. This matters when comparing one bill with another because a 35-day bill will normally show more usage than a 28-day bill.

How to find the electricity rate

The rate may appear under different names depending on your utility and state. Look for terms such as:

• Supply charge

• Generation charge

• Energy charge

• Delivery charge

• Distribution charge

• Electricity charge

• Price per kWh

Some utilities show one combined price. Others separate the supply and delivery portions.

If your bill lists multiple variable charges, add them together before entering the rate into a calculator.

Example:

Supply charge: 15 cents per kWh
Delivery charge: 5 cents per kWh
Variable electricity rate: 20 cents per kWh

In this example, enter 20 cents/kWh in the WattBasis calculator.

Cents per kWh versus dollars per kWh

Your utility may show the rate in either cents or dollars.

• 20 cents/kWh = $0.20/kWh

• 15 cents/kWh = $0.15/kWh

• 8.5 cents/kWh = $0.085/kWh

WattBasis lets you enter the rate in either format. Make sure you select the matching unit before calculating.

Should you use your total bill divided by kWh?

You can calculate an effective average rate by dividing the total bill by the electricity used:

Effective rate = Total bill ÷ kWh used

For example, suppose a bill is $198 and shows 900 kWh of usage:

$198 ÷ 900 kWh = $0.22/kWh

The effective rate is 22 cents/kWh.

However, this number may include fixed service charges, taxes, fees, credits, or other items that do not change when you run an appliance. For estimating the additional cost of using one appliance, the variable supply and delivery charges are usually more useful.

When the effective rate is useful

The effective rate can still be helpful when you want to understand the average cost of all electricity on your bill. It is also useful when comparing the overall cost of one month with another.

For appliance estimates, remember that a calculator normally estimates the extra electricity cost. It does not reproduce your complete utility bill unless you add fixed charges separately.

Time-of-use electricity rates

Some utilities charge different rates depending on the time of day. Your bill or rate plan may show:

• On-peak rate

• Off-peak rate

• Overnight rate

• Weekend rate

• Seasonal rate

If you know when the appliance operates, use the rate that applies during those hours. If the appliance runs at different times, calculate separate scenarios or use a reasonable weighted average.

A simple appliance cost example

Suppose an appliance uses 1,500 watts for two hours per day. Your variable electricity rate is 20 cents/kWh.

Daily energy use:

1,500 watts ÷ 1,000 × 2 hours = 3 kWh per day

Thirty-day energy use:

3 kWh × 30 days = 90 kWh

Estimated electricity cost:

90 kWh × $0.20 = $18.00

This estimate excludes fixed monthly charges because those charges normally apply whether or not this appliance is running.

Common mistakes to avoid

Do not confuse watts with kilowatt-hours. Watts describe power; kWh describes energy used over time.

Do not enter the total dollar amount printed on an EnergyGuide label as if it were kWh. The calculator needs the annual energy figure in kWh.

Do not use a neighbour’s rate as your own. Electricity prices vary by utility, state, plan, and season.

Do not assume that the number on one bill applies all year. Check whether your plan has seasonal or time-of-use pricing.

The bottom line

To estimate an appliance’s running cost, find your usage in kWh, identify the variable supply and delivery charges, add those charges together, and enter the resulting rate into the WattBasis calculator.

If your bill is difficult to interpret, calculate both a variable-rate estimate and an effective-rate estimate. Comparing the two results shows how fixed charges and other bill items affect the total.