Electricity Price History in Massachusetts
Massachusetts residential electricity averaged 30.49¢/kWh in July 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 Massachusetts prices. Data comes from EIA residential retail sales.
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Price Trend
Massachusetts electricity rates by year
| Year | Average rate | Change (¢/kWh) | Change (%) | Compared with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Jul) | 30.03 ¢/kWh | −0.20 | −0.7% | Jan–Jul 2025 (30.23¢) |
| 2025 | 30.51 ¢/kWh | +1.15 | +3.9% | 2024 (29.36¢) |
| 2024 | 29.36 ¢/kWh | −0.30 | −1.0% | 2023 (29.66¢) |
| 2023 | 29.66 ¢/kWh | +3.68 | +14.2% | 2022 (25.98¢) |
| 2022 | 25.98 ¢/kWh | +3.06 | +13.3% | 2021 (22.92¢) |
| 2021 | 22.92 ¢/kWh | +0.90 | +4.1% | 2020 (22.02¢) |
| 2020 | 22.02 ¢/kWh | +0.07 | +0.3% | 2019 (21.94¢) |
| 2019 | 21.94 ¢/kWh | +0.31 | +1.4% | 2018 (21.63¢) |
| 2018 | 21.63 ¢/kWh | +1.54 | +7.6% | 2017 (20.09¢) |
| 2017 | 20.09 ¢/kWh | +1.05 | +5.5% | 2016 (19.05¢) |
| 2016 | 19.05 ¢/kWh | −0.77 | −3.9% | 2015 (19.82¢) |
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 Massachusetts?
What the EIA series shows
- Past 12 months (July 2025 → July 2026)
- The Massachusetts residential rate rose 1.4% (+0.42¢/kWh), from 30.07¢ in July 2025 to 30.49¢ in July 2026.
- Past 5 years (July 2021 → July 2026)
- The rate rose 33.3% (+7.61¢/kWh), from 22.88¢ in July 2021 to 30.49¢ in July 2026.
- Past 10 years (July 2016 → July 2026)
- The rate rose 69.2% (+12.47¢/kWh), from 18.02¢ in July 2016 to 30.49¢ in July 2026.
- Highest and lowest month on record
- In this series the Massachusetts rate peaked at 32.72¢/kWh in March 2023 and bottomed at 10.50¢/kWh in January 2003. The series covers January 2001 to July 2026.
- Steepest 12-month increase
- The largest single-year move in the series ended in April 2023: the rate rose 33.7% (+8.15¢/kWh), from 24.21¢ in April 2022 to 32.36¢ in April 2023. 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 33.7%, so Massachusetts's +33.3% tracked the nationwide move almost exactly. On this evidence the change looks nationwide rather than specific to Massachusetts.
- Rank among jurisdictions (July 2021 → July 2026)
- Measured over that identical five-year window, Massachusetts's change is the 18th 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.
Documented context for the 2022–2023 price changes
A rate series shows what changed, not why. The sources below document historical context for Massachusetts; they do not measure how much any factor contributed to the statewide change.
ISO New England's review of 2023 links the region's elevated 2022 wholesale electricity prices to high natural-gas prices. It reports that average real-time wholesale electricity prices fell 58% in 2023. These are New England wholesale prices, not the rate on a Massachusetts household's bill. ISO New England's 2023 market review.
Massachusetts basic service is the utility-provided electricity supply option. In its 2024 annual report, the DPU records a September 2023 order changing Eversource and National Grid's procurement and pricing schedules to put January and February in separate periods. This was a change to supply procurement, distinct from the statewide retail average above. DPU annual report, pages 14–15 (PDF).
The EIA figures on this page average residential retail prices across Massachusetts; they are not a particular utility's basic-service supply tariff. Regional wholesale prices, utility supply rates and statewide retail averages describe different things. Neither source assigns a share of the five-year statewide change to a single cause.
Sources reviewed .
Massachusetts electricity price drivers · How generation and fuel costs feed into retail rates · How these figures are calculated
More Data & Comparisons
- Electricity inflation in Massachusetts — Price growth, trends, rankings
- Electricity cost in Massachusetts — Rates, value score, affordability
- Average electricity bill in Massachusetts — Monthly and annual bill estimates
- Massachusetts electricity rates — Statewide overview and how Massachusetts ranks
- Electricity cost calculator for Massachusetts — Usage-based estimates
- Full Massachusetts knowledge page — Rates, value score, affordability, trends
- All states price history
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much have electricity prices changed in Massachusetts?
- Electricity prices in Massachusetts have increased 33.3% over the past 5 years. The 1-year increase is 1.4%. The annualized 5-year increase is approximately 5.9% per year.
- What drove the change in Massachusetts electricity prices?
- Measured from EIA residential data, the Massachusetts rate rose 33.3% (+7.61¢/kWh), from 22.88¢ in July 2021 to 30.49¢ in July 2026. Historical sources describe New England's 2022–2023 wholesale price changes and Massachusetts basic-service procurement changes. Wholesale prices and utility supply tariffs are different from the statewide residential retail average; these sources do not measure contributions to its change.
- When were Massachusetts electricity rates highest and lowest?
- In EIA residential data covering January 2001 to July 2026, the Massachusetts rate was highest at 32.72¢/kWh in March 2023 and lowest at 10.50¢/kWh in January 2003. The most recent reading is 30.49¢/kWh in July 2026.