Commercial electricity rates in California

What businesses in California actually paid per kilowatt-hour, from EIA's monthly utility filings. Updated monthly.

The last 36 months

Range over the period shown: 22.48¢ to 30.57¢ per kWh. Each point is a monthly state average, not an offered rate.

California by the numbers

How commercial compares with other sectors

All figures are August 2026 averages for California.

Commercial customers in California pay 1% more per kWh than households there. Nationally the commercial price sits 20% below residential, so the gap here is narrower than usual.

What this costs a typical account

The average commercial account in California used 6,599 kWh in August 2026. At 30.02¢ per kWh that is about $1,981 for the month — computed from EIA totals, so it is the average account, mixing a large facility with a corner shop.

How the price has moved

Over the 36 months to August 2026, California's commercial price rose 10.1%, from 27.27¢ in September 2023 to 30.02¢. The high point was 30.57¢ in July 2026 and the low 22.48¢ in November 2024 — a spread of 36% between the cheapest and dearest month, which is unusually volatile for a state-level average.

Across the same period the dearest month on average was July (30.22¢) and the cheapest November (23.27¢), a seasonal swing of 30%.

California against its region

California is in EIA's Pacific Contiguous division, where the commercial average was 23.87¢ in August 2026. California is 26% above that, and 3 of 3 on price within the region.

Others in the region: Oregon, Washington.

States priced near California

Source

EIA Electric Power Monthly, retrieved 2026-11-02 · methodology · all 51 states