Arkansas had third lowest residential electricity price in 2016

Arkansas had the third lowest residential electricity prices in the United States at 9.9 cents per kilowatt hour in 2016, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The U.S. average was 12.5 cents per kilowatt hour, and Hawaii had the highest average price at 27.5 cents per kilowatt hour.

Louisiana had the lowest residential electricity price at 9.3 cents per kilowatt hour, while Washington had the second lowest price at 9.5 cents.

Across the United States, the average household spent an average of $1,351 on electricity in 2016, according to the EIA. South Carolina households spent $1,753 on electricity that year, nearly $100 more than Hawaii households. New Mexico households spent $911 on electricity, the lowest average amount of any state.

The amount of money residential customers spend on electricity depends on price and how much they use, and together, they comprise of retail sales, according to the EIA. States with varying price and usage levels can have similar expenditure levels. Maryland’s and Hawaii’s expenditures were similar, but the price in Hawaii was nearly twice as much as the price in Maryland. However, residential customers in Maryland used almost twice as much electricity as those in Hawaii.

The average U.S. household used 10,800 kilowatt hours of electricity in 2016, according to the EIA. Residential customers in the southeastern part of the United States use the most electricity on average as nearly all homes there have air conditioning equipment and use it more than in any other areas of the country. Homes there also are most likely to use electric space heating, water heating and cooking, compared to the U.S. average. On average, Louisiana households used 14,881 kilowatt hours, the most of any other state. Hawaii households used the least, at 6,601 kilowatt hours.

“States with the least residential electricity usage, such as Hawaii and California, generally have mild climates that do not require significant space heating or air conditioning,” according to the EIA. “Hawaii and California in particular have also had high adoption levels of solar photovoltaic systems in the residential sector, lowering the amount of electricity sold to homes.” Also, households in the northeast have low electricity usage as they are more likely to use natural gas or distillate fuel oil for space heating and water heating equipment.