---
title: "How to Read Your Electricity Bill"
description: "An annotated original bill example and a browser-only calculator for supply, delivery, fixed charges, effective price and the cost of another kWh."
url: https://electricitycostbystate.com/guides/how-to-read-electricity-bill/
updated: 2026-09-27
site: "Electricity Cost by State"
language: en-US
---

# How to Read Your Electricity Bill

Start with this billing period’s kWh and charges. Separate the cost of electricity used from charges that remain when you use less.

## An original sample bill: 800 kWh, $130

Illustrative flat-rate example, created for this guide. These are not a utility’s offered prices or a copy of a customer bill. Your supplier may combine or rename these lines.

**One current billing period. Excludes prior balances, payment plans, deposits and late fees.**

| Bill line | Example calculation | Charge | What to look for |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Supply / generation | 800 kWh × 9¢ | $72.00 | Electricity itself. A separate supplier may bill this part. |
| Delivery per kWh | 800 kWh × 5¢ | $40.00 | Usage-based delivery. The word “delivery” does not make a charge fixed. |
| Other variable adjustment | 800 kWh × 1¢ | $8.00 | Only adjustments not already included in supply or delivery. Some are credits. |
| Fixed customer charge | One billing period | $12.00 | A charge independent of kWh in this example. Daily fees depend on billing days. |
| Other current charges | Entered dollar amount | $3.00 | For example, remaining taxes or adjustments. Their tariff rules may depend on use. |
| Current-period credit | Subtract once | −$5.00 | Do not subtract it again if it is already included in another line. |
| Current-period net cost |  | $130.00 | Do not use an overdue total or a budget-plan payment as this period’s energy cost. |

The effective rate is $130 ÷ 800 kWh = **16.25¢/kWh**. The entered usage-based components add to **15¢/kWh**. Avoiding 100 kWh saves $15 in this example when the other dollar amounts stay unchanged; it does not remove the $12 fixed charge.

## Calculate from your bill’s line items

This calculator runs in your browser. Entries are not submitted, placed in the URL or saved by this page. No bill upload, account number or address is needed. This page does not load analytics.

Use one billing period and add each charge once. For a bundled price, put the whole variable price in supply and zero in delivery. Convert dollars/kWh to cents/kWh by multiplying by 100: $0.09/kWh is 9¢/kWh. For time-of-use, tiers, demand charges, net metering or minimum bills, consult the tariff; this flat-rate model cannot reproduce those rules.

## Which rate belongs in an appliance calculator?

For the extra cost of using an appliance, start with all tariff charges that change with the added kWh: supply, variable delivery and applicable adjustments or taxes. Fixed customer fees normally remain when an appliance is switched off. A per-kWh delivery charge still changes with usage.

An effective bill rate spreads the period’s net charges across its kWh. It helps describe that bill, but credits and fixed charges can make it a poor estimate of the cost of one more kWh. At zero kWh, an effective rate cannot be calculated even when fixed charges are due; a negative net bill reflects a credit balance.

EIA’s state average is utility revenue divided by electricity sold, including delivered-electricity costs and fees. It is a benchmark across customers and plans, not your tariff. Adding your fixed fee to that average can count fixed-charge revenue twice.

[Estimate an appliance with your variable rate](https://electricitycostbystate.com/calculator/) · [Compare flat and time-of-use plans](https://electricitycostbystate.com/rate-plan-calculator/) · [Reported average bills by state](https://electricitycostbystate.com/average-electric-bill-by-state/)

## Sources and checks

Guide checked September 27, 2026. Example amounts and calculations are original illustrations; the links explain actual billing concepts.

- [EIA: what average electricity prices include and how they are calculated](https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=507&t=5)
- [EIA: average prices versus utility tariffs](https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=20&t=3)
- [National Grid: billing period, usage, supply and delivery](https://www.nationalgridus.com/Upstate-NY-Home/Help-Read-Your-Bill/Basic-Bill2)
- [National Grid: examples of basic and per-kWh delivery charges](https://www.nationalgridus.com/Upstate-NY-Home/Rates/Service-Rates)