Electricity Price History in District of Columbia
District of Columbia residential electricity averaged 25.40¢/kWh in May 2026. Below is the year-by-year record — the average rate for each year and how much it changed from the year before — followed by what the series does and does not show about District of Columbia prices. Data comes from EIA residential retail sales.
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Price Trend
District of Columbia electricity rates by year
| Year | Average rate | Change (¢/kWh) | Change (%) | Compared with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–May) | 24.70 ¢/kWh | +4.56 | +22.7% | Jan–May 2025 (20.14¢) |
| 2025 | 21.99 ¢/kWh | +4.20 | +23.6% | 2024 (17.79¢) |
| 2024 | 17.79 ¢/kWh | +1.30 | +7.9% | 2023 (16.49¢) |
| 2023 | 16.49 ¢/kWh | +2.22 | +15.6% | 2022 (14.27¢) |
| 2022 | 14.27 ¢/kWh | +1.13 | +8.6% | 2021 (13.14¢) |
| 2021 | 13.14 ¢/kWh | +0.42 | +3.3% | 2020 (12.72¢) |
| 2020 | 12.72 ¢/kWh | −0.36 | −2.8% | 2019 (13.08¢) |
| 2019 | 13.08 ¢/kWh | +0.15 | +1.2% | 2018 (12.92¢) |
| 2018 | 12.92 ¢/kWh | −0.09 | −0.7% | 2017 (13.01¢) |
| 2017 | 13.01 ¢/kWh | +0.61 | +4.9% | 2016 (12.40¢) |
| 2016 | 12.40 ¢/kWh | −0.69 | −5.3% | 2015 (13.10¢) |
Yearly figures are the average of the monthly EIA residential rates for that year. A year that is incomplete is labelled with the months it covers, and its change is measured against the same months of the previous year — residential rates are seasonal, so comparing a part-year against a full year would measure the season rather than the trend. Every row carries its own change, including the oldest one shown: its comparison year is the year immediately before the table starts. Where a comparison period is missing entirely, the change columns are left blank rather than filled with a zero.
Why did electricity prices rise in District of Columbia?
What the EIA series shows
- Past 12 months (May 2025 → May 2026)
- The District of Columbia residential rate rose 24.3% (+4.97¢/kWh), from 20.43¢ in May 2025 to 25.40¢ in May 2026.
- Past 5 years (May 2021 → May 2026)
- The rate rose 90.1% (+12.04¢/kWh), from 13.36¢ in May 2021 to 25.40¢ in May 2026.
- Past 10 years (May 2016 → May 2026)
- The rate rose 93.6% (+12.28¢/kWh), from 13.12¢ in May 2016 to 25.40¢ in May 2026.
- Highest and lowest month on record
- In this series the District of Columbia rate peaked at 25.41¢/kWh in April 2026 and bottomed at 6.20¢/kWh in October 2002. The series covers January 2001 to May 2026.
- Steepest 12-month increase
- The largest single-year move in the series ended in October 2005: the rate rose 36.9% (+2.67¢/kWh), from 7.24¢ in October 2004 to 9.91¢ in October 2005. That is when the change happened; the series does not say what caused it.
- Against the rest of the country
- Over the same window the unweighted average across the 51 jurisdictions with data for this period rose 34.4%, so District of Columbia's +90.1% outpaced the nationwide move by 55.7 percentage points. That gap is the part of the movement this dataset cannot attribute to a nationwide trend — it does not identify what else was involved.
- Rank among jurisdictions (May 2021 → May 2026)
- Measured over that identical five-year window, District of Columbia's change is the 1st largest of the 51 jurisdictions whose series covers it — rank 1 is the biggest increase, rank 51 the biggest decrease. The rank places the movement; it does not explain it.
What can move rates in District of Columbia — context, not proof
A rate series shows what changed, not why. This dataset records District of Columbia's residential rate and nothing about what moved it, and no reviewed District of Columbia driver analysis is published yet — so this page makes no causal claim. The factors that generally move retail rates are documented separately.
The categories generally involved are generation mix, fuel costs, transmission and distribution investment, capacity markets, regulatory rate cases, demand growth, and weather-driven peaks. Which of them applies to District of Columbia, and by how much, is not something this price series can answer.
District of Columbia electricity price drivers · How generation and fuel costs feed into retail rates · How these figures are calculated
More Data & Comparisons
- Electricity inflation in District of Columbia — Price growth, trends, rankings
- Electricity cost in District of Columbia — Rates, value score, affordability
- Average electricity bill in District of Columbia — Monthly and annual bill estimates
- District of Columbia electricity rates — Statewide overview and how District of Columbia ranks
- Electricity cost calculator for District of Columbia — Usage-based estimates
- Full District of Columbia knowledge page — Rates, value score, affordability, trends
- All states price history
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much have electricity prices changed in District of Columbia?
- Electricity prices in District of Columbia have increased 90.1% over the past 5 years. The 1-year increase is 24.3%. The annualized 5-year increase is approximately 13.7% per year.
- What drove the change in District of Columbia electricity prices?
- Measured from EIA residential data, the District of Columbia rate rose 90.1% (+12.04¢/kWh), from 13.36¢ in May 2021 to 25.40¢ in May 2026. The series itself does not identify a cause, and no reviewed District of Columbia driver analysis is published yet, so no cause is claimed here.
- When were District of Columbia electricity rates highest and lowest?
- In EIA residential data covering January 2001 to May 2026, the District of Columbia rate was highest at 25.41¢/kWh in April 2026 and lowest at 6.20¢/kWh in October 2002. The most recent reading is 25.40¢/kWh in May 2026.