States › Montana
State · 2024 annual, monthly to Jul 2026
Montana electricity prices and utilities
Households in Montana paid an average of 12.66¢ per kilowatthour for electricity in 2024, 23% below the US average of 16.48¢. That ranks 41st highest of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The average residential bill was $107.91 a month on 852 kWh of monthly use (US: $142.26 on 863 kWh), the 47th highest bill. Residential sales came to 4,980 kWh per resident over the year.
In July 2026, the latest month EIA has published, the residential average was 14.99¢, up 5.0% on July 2025; the US figure for the month was 18.31¢. Monthly figures are preliminary until EIA finalises the year.
14 respondents reported residential customers in Montana on the full Form EIA-861 for 2024, and 21 smaller utilities filed the short form, which has no residential breakdown. Investor-owned utilities account for 72.6% of the residential customers reported.
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. State averages are EIA's own, from Forms EIA-861 and EIA-861M.
Residential price by month
MontanaUnited States
Monthly pages:Jul 2026Jun 2026May 2026Apr 2026Mar 2026Feb 2026Jan 2026Dec 2025Nov 2025Oct 2025Sep 2025Aug 2025Jul 2025Jun 2025May 2025Apr 2025Mar 2025Feb 2025Jan 2025Dec 2024Nov 2024Oct 2024Sep 2024Aug 2024
Year by year
| Year | Residential ¢ | US ¢ | Commercial ¢ | Industrial ¢ | Monthly bill | kWh a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 to Jul 2026 | 13.95¢ | 18.19¢ | 12.77¢ | 6.83¢ | $119.42 | 856 |
| 2025 preliminary | 12.98¢ | 17.30¢ | 11.88¢ | 7.02¢ | $110.68 | 853 |
| 2024 | 12.66¢ | 16.48¢ | 11.87¢ | 7.59¢ | $107.91 | 852 |
| 2023 | 12.54¢ | 16.00¢ | 12.11¢ | 7.80¢ | $109.50 | 873 |
| 2022 | 11.33¢ | 15.04¢ | 10.68¢ | 7.49¢ | $102.94 | 908 |
| 2021 | 11.22¢ | 13.66¢ | 10.54¢ | 6.24¢ | $97.84 | 872 |
| 2020 | 11.24¢ | 13.15¢ | 10.51¢ | 5.18¢ | $96.49 | 858 |
| 2019 | 11.13¢ | 13.01¢ | 10.41¢ | 5.45¢ | $95.43 | 857 |
| 2018 | 10.96¢ | 12.87¢ | 10.11¢ | 5.19¢ | $93.19 | 850 |
| 2017 | 10.95¢ | 12.89¢ | 10.12¢ | 5.25¢ | $94.75 | 865 |
| 2016 | 10.94¢ | 12.55¢ | 10.19¢ | 5.06¢ | $88.95 | 813 |
| 2015 | 10.88¢ | 12.65¢ | 10.23¢ | 5.32¢ | $89.03 | 818 |
| 2014 | 10.18¢ | 12.52¢ | 9.64¢ | 5.49¢ | $86.93 | 854 |
| 2013 | 10.33¢ | 12.13¢ | 9.54¢ | 5.43¢ | $88.85 | 860 |
Nominal prices. The five-year change in the residential average is +13.7%. A part-year row covers January to the latest month published, so it is not comparable with full years: winter and summer months weigh differently.
Utilities by average residential price, 2024
Every filing with at least 100 bundled residential customers in Montana, highest average price first. Linked utilities have 1,000 or more residential customers. A multi-state utility appears with its Montana figures only.
| Utility | Ownership | Residential customers | ¢ per kWh | Monthly bill | SAIDI, all events | SAIDI, no major events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fergus Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 6,682 | 15.52¢ | $124.30 | 1,238.9 | 443.9 |
| NorthWestern Energy LLC | Investor-owned | 328,127 | 14.23¢ | $101.20 | 233.4 | 117.9 |
| Yellowstone Valley Elec Co-op | Cooperative | 21,182 | 13.35¢ | $120.60 | — | — |
| Montana-Dakota Utilities Co | Investor-owned | 19,616 | 12.89¢ | $97.92 | 360.4 | 177.2 |
| Northern Lights, Inc | Cooperative | 3,985 | 12.52¢ | $134.38 | 352.4 | 266.7 |
| Fall River Rural Elec Coop Inc | Cooperative | 1,508 | 11.39¢ | $114.17 | 16.5 | 7.7 |
| Missoula Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 14,686 | 10.50¢ | $112.98 | 1,606.3 | 505.9 |
| Flathead Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 63,317 | 9.67¢ | $116.16 | 586.4 | 235.2 |
| USBIA-Mission Valley Power | Federal | 16,292 | 8.91¢ | $116.92 | — | — |
| Lower Yellowstone R E A, Inc | Cooperative | 3,499 | 8.83¢ | $104.49 | 87.9 | 87.9 |
Energy-only and delivery-only filings
These respondents bill part of the service in Montana, so EIA's revenue figure for them is not a whole price and none is listed here.
| Respondent | Ownership | Residential customers |
|---|---|---|
| Powder River Energy Corp bundled, under 100 | Electric cooperatives | 52 |
| McKenzie Electric Coop Inc bundled, under 100 | Electric cooperatives | 25 |
| Black Hills Power, Inc. bundled, under 100 | Investor-owned utilities | 12 |
| Avista Corp bundled, under 100 | Investor-owned utilities | 9 |
Reliability by utility, 2024
SAIDI: minutes of sustained interruption per customer over the year, including major event days (paler bars: the utility reported only the figure without major event days). Median across 9 Montana filings: 352.4 minutes with major event days, 177.2 without. EIA's state total: 351.5 and 156.6 minutes, with SAIFI of 1.62 interruptions per customer. Utilities use differing calculation methods, and a single storm can dominate a small utility's year.
| Year | Median SAIDI, all events | Median SAIDI, no major events | Filings | EIA state total, all events | EIA state total, no major events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 352.4 | 177.2 | 9 | 351.5 | 156.6 |
| 2023 | 142.9 | 151.7 | 9 | 118.7 | 117.1 |
| 2022 | 222.8 | 219.8 | 9 | — | — |
| 2021 | 613.9 | 146.5 | 9 | — | — |
| 2020 | 254.6 | 187.4 | 9 | — | — |
| 2019 | 208.5 | 195.4 | 14 | — | — |
| 2018 | 251.0 | 160.6 | 13 | — | — |
| 2017 | 290.8 | 209.8 | 10 | — | — |
| 2016 | 227.2 | 184.1 | 10 | — | — |
| 2015 | 261.0 | 186.9 | 10 | — | — |
| 2014 | 137.3 | 137.0 | 8 | — | — |
| 2013 | 184.0 | 148.0 | 8 | — | — |
Sales by sector, 2024
| Sector | Sales | Share | ¢ per kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential | 5.7 TWh | 37% | 12.66¢ |
| Commercial | 5 TWh | 32% | 11.87¢ |
| Industrial | 4.8 TWh | 31% | 7.59¢ |
| All sectors | 15.6 TWh | 10.83¢ |
Residential sales per resident: 4,980 kWh a year, on a Census population estimate of 1,144,694.
Who serves Montana
| Ownership | Filings | Residential customers | Share | Median ¢ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investor-owned utilities | 4 | 347,764 | 72.6% | 13.56¢ |
| Electric cooperatives | 9 | 114,936 | 24% | 11.39¢ |
| Federal power agencies | 1 | 16,292 | 3.4% | 8.91¢ |
Customers as reported by each respondent. Where households buy energy from a retail supplier, the delivery utility and the supplier both report them, so shares describe filings, not households.
Counties
Each county page lists the utilities whose Form EIA-861 service territory includes it.
- Beaverhead County 2
- Big Horn County 8
- Blaine County 5
- Broadwater County 3
- Carbon County 6
- Carter County 4
- Cascade County 4
- Chouteau County 5
- Custer County 6
- Daniels County 3
- Dawson County 6
- Deer Lodge County 3
- Fallon County 5
- Fergus County 3
- Flathead County 4
- Gallatin County 4
- Garfield County 2
- Glacier County 1
- Golden Valley County 2
- Granite County 3
- Hill County 3
- Jefferson County 3
- Judith Basin County 3
- Lake County 3
- Lewis and Clark County 4
- Liberty County 5
- Lincoln County 4
- Madison County 2
- McCone County 4
- Meagher County 4
- Mineral County 3
- Missoula County 5
- Musselshell County 3
- Park County 3
- Petroleum County 2
- Phillips County 4
- Pondera County 5
- Powder River County 4
- Powell County 3
- Prairie County 4
- Ravalli County 3
- Richland County 5
- Roosevelt County 6
- Rosebud County 6
- Sanders County 5
- Sheridan County 2
- Silver Bow County 3
- Stillwater County 4
- Sweet Grass County 4
- Teton County 3
- Toole County 4
- Treasure County 4
- Valley County 4
- Wheatland County 2
- Wibaux County 4
- Yellowstone County 5
Questions and answers
What is the average electricity price in Montana?
12.66¢ per kilowatthour for residential customers in 2024, against a US average of 16.48¢. Commercial customers averaged 11.87¢ and industrial customers 7.59¢. The latest monthly residential figure is 14.99¢ for July 2026 (preliminary).
What is the average electric bill in Montana?
$107.91 a month for residential customers in 2024, on average use of 852 kWh a month. The US average was $142.26 on 863 kWh.
Is electricity getting more expensive in Montana?
The average residential price was up 1.0% in 2024 on the year before and up 13.7% on 2019. These are nominal prices, not adjusted for inflation.
How reliable is electric service in Montana?
EIA's state total for 2024 is 351.5 minutes of interruption per customer including major event days and 156.6 minutes excluding them, across utilities reporting under any method. The median utility in the state reported 352.4 minutes including major event days.
How many electric utilities serve Montana?
14 respondents reported residential customers in Montana on the full Form EIA-861 for 2024; 10 of them have a bundled residential price. Another 21 small utilities filed the short form. 56 counties appear in service territories.
Provenance
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration. State averages, sales and customers by year and month: Form EIA-861M sales and revenue workbook, through July 2026. Utility rows, reliability and service territories: Form EIA-861, 2024 final release. Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates. Public domain. See methodology.