Investor-owned utilities charge 23% more for electricity than public providers

What happened

A new analysis of US government data shows that investor-owned utilities charge homes more per unit of electricity than public utilities and co-ops. In 2025, the average home paid 17.8 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to an investor-owned utility, 14.5 cents to a public utility, and 14.1 cents to a co-op. A kilowatt-hour is the basic unit of electricity use that appears on a power bill.

Key numbers

• Investor-owned price in 2025: 17.8 cents per kWh, up 34% since 2020.
• Public utility price in 2025: 14.5 cents per kWh, up 19% since 2020.
• Co-op price in 2025: 14.1 cents per kWh, up 19% since 2020.
• Overall inflation from 2020 to 2025: 24%.
• Investor-owned monthly bill in 2025: about $146, compared with $130 for public and $159 for co-ops.

Who these utilities are

Investor-owned utilities are companies that sell shares to investors and aim to make profits. Public utilities are run by local or state governments. Co-ops (cooperatives) are owned by the customers they serve. The article uses these groups to compare prices.

Why it matters

Many families pay for electricity every month, so higher prices hit their budgets hard. The gap is not fully explained by where people live. Even after accounting for location, investor-owned prices were about 17% to 26% higher than public and co-op prices, depending on how the comparison was made.

What to watch

• Whether investor-owned prices keep rising faster than inflation.
• State decisions on utility rates, which control what homes pay.
• Changes in how much power each group of utilities buys and delivers.