Electricity Price History in Maryland
Maryland residential electricity averaged 21.77¢/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 Maryland prices. Data comes from EIA residential retail sales.
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Price Trend
Maryland electricity rates by year
| Year | Average rate | Change (¢/kWh) | Change (%) | Compared with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–May) | 21.35 ¢/kWh | +2.64 | +14.1% | Jan–May 2025 (18.71¢) |
| 2025 | 19.64 ¢/kWh | +1.72 | +9.6% | 2024 (17.93¢) |
| 2024 | 17.93 ¢/kWh | +1.29 | +7.8% | 2023 (16.64¢) |
| 2023 | 16.64 ¢/kWh | +2.12 | +14.6% | 2022 (14.52¢) |
| 2022 | 14.52 ¢/kWh | +1.34 | +10.2% | 2021 (13.17¢) |
| 2021 | 13.17 ¢/kWh | +0.09 | +0.7% | 2020 (13.08¢) |
| 2020 | 13.08 ¢/kWh | −0.11 | −0.9% | 2019 (13.20¢) |
| 2019 | 13.20 ¢/kWh | −0.14 | −1.0% | 2018 (13.33¢) |
| 2018 | 13.33 ¢/kWh | −0.67 | −4.8% | 2017 (14.00¢) |
| 2017 | 14.00 ¢/kWh | −0.29 | −2.0% | 2016 (14.29¢) |
| 2016 | 14.29 ¢/kWh | +0.34 | +2.5% | 2015 (13.95¢) |
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 Maryland?
What the EIA series shows
- Past 12 months (May 2025 → May 2026)
- The Maryland residential rate rose 14.6% (+2.77¢/kWh), from 19.00¢ in May 2025 to 21.77¢ in May 2026.
- Past 5 years (May 2021 → May 2026)
- The rate rose 69.0% (+8.89¢/kWh), from 12.88¢ in May 2021 to 21.77¢ in May 2026.
- Past 10 years (May 2016 → May 2026)
- The rate rose 48.1% (+7.07¢/kWh), from 14.70¢ in May 2016 to 21.77¢ in May 2026.
- Highest and lowest month on record
- In this series the Maryland rate peaked at 22.30¢/kWh in October 2025 and bottomed at 6.74¢/kWh in January 2001. The series covers January 2001 to May 2026.
- Steepest 12-month increase
- The largest single-year move in the series ended in February 2008: the rate rose 35.1% (+3.33¢/kWh), from 9.50¢ in February 2007 to 12.83¢ in February 2008. 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 Maryland's +69.0% outpaced the nationwide move by 34.6 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, Maryland's change is the 3rd 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 Maryland — context, not proof
A rate series shows what changed, not why. This dataset records Maryland's residential rate and nothing about what moved it, and no reviewed Maryland 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 Maryland, and by how much, is not something this price series can answer.
Maryland electricity price drivers · How generation and fuel costs feed into retail rates · How these figures are calculated
More Data & Comparisons
- Electricity inflation in Maryland — Price growth, trends, rankings
- Electricity cost in Maryland — Rates, value score, affordability
- Average electricity bill in Maryland — Monthly and annual bill estimates
- Maryland electricity rates — Statewide overview and how Maryland ranks
- Electricity cost calculator for Maryland — Usage-based estimates
- Full Maryland knowledge page — Rates, value score, affordability, trends
- All states price history
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much have electricity prices changed in Maryland?
- Electricity prices in Maryland have increased 69.0% over the past 5 years. The 1-year increase is 14.6%. The annualized 5-year increase is approximately 11.1% per year.
- What drove the change in Maryland electricity prices?
- Measured from EIA residential data, the Maryland rate rose 69.0% (+8.89¢/kWh), from 12.88¢ in May 2021 to 21.77¢ in May 2026. The series itself does not identify a cause, and no reviewed Maryland driver analysis is published yet, so no cause is claimed here.
- When were Maryland electricity rates highest and lowest?
- In EIA residential data covering January 2001 to May 2026, the Maryland rate was highest at 22.30¢/kWh in October 2025 and lowest at 6.74¢/kWh in January 2001. The most recent reading is 21.77¢/kWh in May 2026.