Ownership › Municipal utilities
Ownership type · Form EIA-861, 2024
Municipal utilities
Municipal utilities are owned by a city or town and governed by the council or a utility board. Most are small distribution systems that buy power wholesale; a few, such as those of Los Angeles, San Antonio and Austin, are among the largest utilities in the country.
440 respondents classed by EIA as municipal utilities reported at least 1,000 residential customers for 2024, 13,225,289 residential customers between them.
The median average residential price among the 440 with bundled service was 12.45¢ per kilowatthour, with the middle half between 11.45¢ and 13.82¢; the median across all ownership types was 13.33¢ and the customer-weighted US average 16.48¢. The median bill was $113.02 a month.
The 285 that filed reliability data reported a median SAIDI of 64.4 minutes per customer including major event days and 40.3 minutes excluding them; the medians across all types were 184.5 and 99.8.
Average price is revenue divided by sales for the sector and year; it is not a tariff rate. Reliability figures are as reported by utilities to EIA on Form 861 and may use different calculation methods. Group figures are medians across utilities from the final 2024 file.
Against all utilities
| Median, 2024 | Municipal utilities | All ownership types | US average (customer-weighted) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average residential price per kWh | 12.45¢ | 13.33¢ | 16.48¢ |
| Average monthly residential bill | $113.02 | $134.12 | $142.26 |
| Average monthly use, kWh | 905 | — | 863 |
| SAIDI, all events (minutes) | 64.4 | 184.5 | — |
| SAIDI, without major event days | 40.3 | 99.8 | — |
| Residential customers per utility | 11,498 | — | — |
Median price by year
Municipal utilities, medianUS average
Largest by residential customers
| Utility | State | Residential customers | ¢ per kWh | Monthly bill | SAIDI, all events | SAIDI, no major events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Department of Water & Power | CA | 1,410,191 | 23.84¢ | $115.63 | 111.2 | 111.2 |
| City of San Antonio | TX | 865,914 | 12.43¢ | $133.09 | 73.8 | 61.8 |
| Austin Energy | TX | 507,291 | 12.58¢ | $104.85 | 92.1 | 76.0 |
| JEA | FL | 470,564 | 12.43¢ | $132.51 | 74.8 | 74.8 |
| City of Seattle | WA | 459,964 | 14.09¢ | $84.68 | 323.6 | 110.8 |
| Nashville Electric Service | TN | 417,640 | 13.47¢ | $137.51 | 0.0 | 86.6 |
| City of Memphis | TN | 380,286 | 12.16¢ | $138.50 | 327.2 | 280.8 |
| Orlando Utilities Comm | FL | 248,683 | 15.24¢ | $149.91 | 54.8 | 37.6 |
| City of Colorado Springs | CO | 216,771 | 14.45¢ | $89.51 | 62.7 | 44.8 |
| City of Huntsville | AL | 197,537 | 11.45¢ | $134.29 | 119.8 | 119.8 |
| Knoxville Utilities Board | TN | 193,707 | 12.54¢ | $137.06 | 352.0 | 193.0 |
| City of Tacoma | WA | 180,357 | 10.81¢ | $98.06 | 170.8 | 80.5 |
| City of Chattanooga | TN | 174,783 | 12.32¢ | $137.25 | 194.4 | 72.1 |
| Lincoln Electric System | NE | 134,912 | 10.86¢ | $87.70 | 187.1 | 19.3 |
| City of Lakeland | FL | 121,604 | 11.40¢ | $133.94 | 77.9 | 64.0 |
| City of Tallahassee | FL | 106,946 | 13.60¢ | $125.98 | 149.0 | — |
| City of Anaheim | CA | 105,839 | 17.11¢ | $79.86 | 46.3 | 46.3 |
| City Utilities of Springfield | MO | 105,029 | 11.47¢ | $96.00 | 65.3 | 65.3 |
| City of Riverside | CA | 100,450 | 20.20¢ | $128.68 | 76.6 | 76.6 |
| Gainesville Regional Utilities | FL | 92,968 | 14.87¢ | $115.91 | 744.0 | 56.1 |
| City of Eugene | OR | 89,582 | 13.07¢ | $115.11 | 65.3 | 65.3 |
| City of Lansing | MI | 87,301 | 19.78¢ | $101.76 | 91.9 | 91.9 |
| Kissimmee Utility Authority | FL | 79,281 | 13.22¢ | $148.59 | 26.1 | 26.1 |
| City of Glendale | CA | 77,563 | 33.81¢ | $139.11 | 159.9 | 159.9 |
| Fayetteville Public Works Commission | NC | 75,987 | 12.21¢ | $118.52 | 129.3 | 70.9 |
| City of Clarksville | TN | 75,953 | 12.77¢ | $143.20 | 205.1 | 99.5 |
| Johnson City | TN | 72,205 | 12.41¢ | $143.48 | 658.5 | 152.2 |
| City of Fort Collins | CO | 70,803 | 13.21¢ | $82.07 | 11.1 | 11.1 |
| City of Garland | TX | 69,421 | 13.48¢ | $146.98 | 9.2 | — |
| Greenville Utilities Comm | NC | 65,731 | 11.97¢ | $118.91 | 33.3 | 33.3 |
| City of Cleveland | OH | 64,914 | 14.87¢ | $73.28 | 170.4 | 170.4 |
| City of Roseville | CA | 63,052 | 18.66¢ | $134.32 | 23.2 | 21.5 |
| City of Lenoir | TN | 62,455 | 11.95¢ | $145.92 | — | — |
| City of Kansas City | KS | 61,475 | 15.36¢ | $119.16 | 362.1 | 181.4 |
| City of Lafayette | LA | 59,961 | 10.12¢ | $120.55 | 166.6 | 33.0 |
| City of Springfield | IL | 59,621 | 11.95¢ | $99.19 | 83.2 | 83.2 |
| City of Denton | TX | 58,941 | 12.81¢ | $127.99 | 80.9 | 22.6 |
| City of Pasadena | CA | 58,551 | 25.98¢ | $123.59 | 42.9 | 42.9 |
| City of Bryan | TX | 58,284 | 11.38¢ | $128.41 | 39.0 | — |
| City of Naperville | IL | 56,117 | 12.98¢ | $98.85 | 24.8 | — |
By state
| State | Filings | Residential customers | Share of state's reported customers | Median ¢ per kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 60 | 2,089,242 | 66% | 11.98¢ |
| California | 19 | 2,083,347 | 10.7% | 20.44¢ |
| Texas | 17 | 1,842,200 | 14.8% | 12.69¢ |
| Florida | 17 | 1,373,930 | 13.2% | 12.61¢ |
| Washington | 6 | 693,196 | 21% | 10.14¢ |
| Alabama | 22 | 497,283 | 21.3% | 12.19¢ |
| North Carolina | 21 | 463,976 | 9.4% | 12.13¢ |
| Colorado | 6 | 388,677 | 15.6% | 13.48¢ |
| Missouri | 12 | 268,680 | 9.8% | 12.19¢ |
| Massachusetts | 16 | 259,553 | 5.9% | 15.89¢ |
| Ohio | 15 | 236,464 | 3% | 12.75¢ |
| Wisconsin | 45 | 216,071 | 8.1% | 12.42¢ |
| Georgia | 20 | 211,826 | 4.5% | 13.04¢ |
| Michigan | 16 | 208,785 | 4.7% | 15.49¢ |
| Nebraska | 7 | 204,337 | 27% | 11.32¢ |
| Minnesota | 16 | 193,448 | 8.3% | 13.74¢ |
| Arkansas | 10 | 179,974 | 12.4% | 9.89¢ |
| Utah | 8 | 168,198 | 14.3% | 11.40¢ |
| Illinois | 7 | 159,477 | 2.4% | 12.98¢ |
| Kentucky | 17 | 147,792 | 7.2% | 13.11¢ |
| Oregon | 4 | 147,023 | 8.2% | 9.02¢ |
| Indiana | 12 | 146,083 | 5% | 12.31¢ |
| South Carolina | 6 | 115,863 | 4.6% | 12.47¢ |
| Louisiana | 5 | 107,854 | 5.1% | 10.12¢ |
| Kansas | 6 | 94,919 | 8.5% | 13.36¢ |
| Virginia | 5 | 94,748 | 2.6% | 11.63¢ |
| Oklahoma | 5 | 92,984 | 5.2% | 12.93¢ |
| Mississippi | 15 | 85,562 | 6.6% | 12.08¢ |
| New York | 6 | 67,014 | 0.8% | 6.59¢ |
| Iowa | 6 | 58,919 | 4.7% | 12.89¢ |
| Connecticut | 4 | 54,993 | 3% | 19.02¢ |
| Delaware | 4 | 49,729 | 10.3% | 16.32¢ |
| New Mexico | 2 | 43,732 | 4.9% | 13.42¢ |
| South Dakota | 5 | 32,180 | 9.3% | 11.12¢ |
| Idaho | 1 | 28,142 | 3.4% | 9.25¢ |
| Maryland | 2 | 23,689 | 0.9% | 10.42¢ |
| New Jersey | 1 | 22,774 | 0.6% | 17.84¢ |
| Vermont | 1 | 17,861 | 6.4% | 18.88¢ |
| Arizona | 1 | 15,331 | 0.5% | 16.93¢ |
| Wyoming | 1 | 13,990 | 5.7% | 12.62¢ |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 9,914 | 0.1% | 11.95¢ |
| Nevada | 1 | 7,145 | 0.5% | 10.37¢ |
| Alaska | 1 | 6,561 | 2.4% | 12.48¢ |
| Maine | 2 | 6,320 | 0.8% | 13.56¢ |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 4,373 | 0.8% | 16.52¢ |
Questions and answers
How many municipal utilities are there?
440 respondents of this type reported at least 1,000 residential customers on Form EIA-861 for 2024, with 13,225,289 residential customers in total. Smaller ones are not counted here.
What do municipal utilities charge?
The median average residential price was 12.45¢ per kilowatthour in 2024, against a median of 13.33¢ across all types. The middle half ranged from 11.45¢ to 13.82¢.
How reliable are municipal utilities?
The median SAIDI reported was 64.4 minutes per customer including major event days and 40.3 excluding them, from 285 filings. Territory matters: long rural lines are exposed to more weather per customer than compact urban systems.
Provenance
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861, 2024 final release; ownership class as assigned by EIA. Medians computed on this site over utilities with at least 1,000 residential customers. US average from the Form EIA-861M workbook. Public domain.