Electricity Price History in West Virginia
West Virginia residential electricity averaged 15.78¢/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 West Virginia prices. Data comes from EIA residential retail sales.
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Price Trend
West Virginia electricity rates by year
| Year | Average rate | Change (¢/kWh) | Change (%) | Compared with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Jul) | 15.66 ¢/kWh | +0.14 | +0.9% | Jan–Jul 2025 (15.52¢) |
| 2025 | 15.57 ¢/kWh | +0.34 | +2.2% | 2024 (15.24¢) |
| 2024 | 15.24 ¢/kWh | +1.09 | +7.7% | 2023 (14.14¢) |
| 2023 | 14.14 ¢/kWh | +0.76 | +5.7% | 2022 (13.38¢) |
| 2022 | 13.38 ¢/kWh | +1.11 | +9.0% | 2021 (12.28¢) |
| 2021 | 12.28 ¢/kWh | +0.39 | +3.3% | 2020 (11.89¢) |
| 2020 | 11.89 ¢/kWh | +0.48 | +4.2% | 2019 (11.41¢) |
| 2019 | 11.41 ¢/kWh | +0.19 | +1.6% | 2018 (11.23¢) |
| 2018 | 11.23 ¢/kWh | −0.45 | −3.9% | 2017 (11.68¢) |
| 2017 | 11.68 ¢/kWh | +0.13 | +1.2% | 2016 (11.55¢) |
| 2016 | 11.55 ¢/kWh | +1.31 | +12.8% | 2015 (10.23¢) |
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 West Virginia?
What the EIA series shows
- Past 12 months (July 2025 → July 2026)
- The West Virginia residential rate rose 2.3% (+0.35¢/kWh), from 15.43¢ in July 2025 to 15.78¢ in July 2026.
- Past 5 years (July 2021 → July 2026)
- The rate rose 30.4% (+3.68¢/kWh), from 12.10¢ in July 2021 to 15.78¢ in July 2026.
- Past 10 years (July 2016 → July 2026)
- The rate rose 40.9% (+4.58¢/kWh), from 11.20¢ in July 2016 to 15.78¢ in July 2026.
- Highest and lowest month on record
- In this series the West Virginia rate peaked at 16.80¢/kWh in May 2026 and bottomed at 5.90¢/kWh in January 2001. The series covers January 2001 to July 2026.
- Steepest 12-month increase
- The largest single-year move in the series ended in June 2016: the rate rose 35.7% (+3.74¢/kWh), from 10.47¢ in June 2015 to 14.21¢ in June 2016. 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 West Virginia's +30.4% lagged the nationwide move by 3.3 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 (July 2021 → July 2026)
- Measured over that identical five-year window, West Virginia's change is the 22nd 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 West Virginia — context, not proof
A rate series shows what changed, not why. This dataset records West Virginia's residential rate and nothing about what moved it, and no reviewed West Virginia 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 West Virginia, and by how much, is not something this price series can answer.
West Virginia electricity price drivers · How generation and fuel costs feed into retail rates · How these figures are calculated
More Data & Comparisons
- Electricity inflation in West Virginia — Price growth, trends, rankings
- Electricity cost in West Virginia — Rates, value score, affordability
- Average electricity bill in West Virginia — Monthly and annual bill estimates
- West Virginia electricity rates — Statewide overview and how West Virginia ranks
- Electricity cost calculator for West Virginia — Usage-based estimates
- Full West Virginia knowledge page — Rates, value score, affordability, trends
- All states price history
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much have electricity prices changed in West Virginia?
- Electricity prices in West Virginia have increased 30.4% over the past 5 years. The 1-year increase is 2.3%. The annualized 5-year increase is approximately 5.5% per year.
- What drove the change in West Virginia electricity prices?
- Measured from EIA residential data, the West Virginia rate rose 30.4% (+3.68¢/kWh), from 12.10¢ in July 2021 to 15.78¢ in July 2026. The series itself does not identify a cause, and no reviewed West Virginia driver analysis is published yet, so no cause is claimed here.
- When were West Virginia electricity rates highest and lowest?
- In EIA residential data covering January 2001 to July 2026, the West Virginia rate was highest at 16.80¢/kWh in May 2026 and lowest at 5.90¢/kWh in January 2001. The most recent reading is 15.78¢/kWh in July 2026.