Electricity Rate in Montana (2026): 15.14c/kWh Average
The EIA residential electricity price in Montana is 15.14 cents per kWh as of June 2026, 3.20c below the US average of 18.34c/kWh. The Montana commercial rate is 13.48c/kWh and the industrial rate is 6.68c/kWh (EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A).
Montana Electricity Rate: What You Need to Know
Montana electricity averages 15.14 cents per kWh for residential customers as of June 2026, according to the EIA Electric Power Monthly. This is 3.20c below the US average of 18.34c/kWh. The average monthly bill for Montana households is $110 based on typical usage of 847 kWh.
Montana's 15.14c/kWh rate (June 2026) sits below the US average of 18.34c, and its grid still leans on Colstrip coal - coal supplies roughly 37% of in-state generation, hydropower from the Missouri and Clark Fork river dams about 33%, wind around 22%, and natural gas only about 4%. Although Montana partially restructured its electricity market in the late 1990s, retail competition for households effectively collapsed, so in practice residential customers buy from their assigned regulated utility. NorthWestern Energy is by far the largest, serving most of the populated center and west of the state under the oversight of the Montana Public Service Commission; Montana-Dakota Utilities serves the east and a network of cooperatives covers rural areas. Rates have jumped sharply: NorthWestern self-implemented a 17% interim electric increase in May 2025, and in December 2025 the PSC issued a final decision permanently raising residential base rates about 17% - roughly a 12% increase to the typical residential bill - effective February 1, 2026. The decision also began folding roughly $246 million for NorthWestern's new 175-MW natural gas plant near Laurel into customer rates.
Generation mix: Coal 37%, hydro 33%, wind 22%, natural gas 4%. The fuel mix is a primary driver of electricity rates - states with abundant hydro or nuclear tend to have lower rates, while states dependent on imported petroleum (Hawaii) or natural gas pay more.
Year-over-year change: Montana rates rose 2.2% year-over-year as of June 2026. This compares to the US average increase of 5% over the same period.
Deregulated: You Can Shop for a Better Rate
Limited competitive choice - mostly NorthWestern Energy regulated
How to shop for a better rate ->Your Montana Electricity Bill Components
State pre-selected in our full bill calculator with TOU and commercial modes.
Open Bill Calculator ->Electric Utilities in Montana: 38 Listed (2024 EIA-861)
EIA's Form 861 census records 38 entities with 2024 retail electricity sales in Montana: 15 distribution utilities filing the full form, 21 small utilities filing the short form (EIA-861S), and 2 competitive energy-only suppliers. By ownership: 29 cooperative, 4 investor owned, 2 retail power marketer, 2 federal, 1 municipal. The state-wide average realised residential price in 2024 was 12.66 cents per kWh across 557,432 residential customers and 5,700,241 MWh of sales; EIA's latest monthly figure is 15.14c (June 2026). The largest utility by residential accounts served (bundled plus delivery-only) is NorthWestern Energy LLC (MT) with 328,127 (14.23c per kWh, 49.1% of state residential sales by MWh). 14 of the 15 distribution utilities have a detail page; the rest are listed here only.
| # | Utility | Ownership | Res. accounts | Residential | Commercial | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NorthWestern Energy LLC (MT)also WY | Investor Owned | 328,127 | 14.23c | 13.46c | 36 |
| 2 | Flathead Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 63,317 | 9.67c | 7.62c | 6 |
| 3 | Yellowstone Valley Elec Co-op | Cooperative | 21,182 | 13.35c | 12.92c | 6 |
| 4 | Montana-Dakota Utilities Coalso ND, WY, SD | Investor Owned | 19,616 | 12.89c | 11.57c | 11 |
| 5 | USBIA-Mission Valley Power | Federal | 16,292 | 8.91c | 8.35c | 4 |
| 6 | Missoula Electric Coop, Incalso ID | Cooperative | 14,686 | 10.50c | 9.60c | 6 |
| 7 | Fergus Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 6,682 | 15.52c | 8.99c | 14 |
| 8 | Northern Lights, Incalso ID, WA | Cooperative | 3,985 | 12.52c | 9.90c | 2 |
| 9 | Lower Yellowstone R E A, Incalso ND | Cooperative | 3,499 | 8.83c | 11.89c | 3 |
| 10 | Fall River Rural Elec Coop Incalso ID, WY | Cooperative | 1,508 | 11.39c | 8.06c | 1 |
| 11 | Powder River Energy Corpalso WY | Cooperative | 52 | 12.69c | 17.48c | 2 |
| 12 | McKenzie Electric Coop Incalso ND | Cooperative | 25 | 8.61c | 12.04c | 2 |
| 13 | Black Hills Power, Inc.also SD, WY | Investor Owned | 12 | 6.96c | 9.56c | 2 |
| 14 | Avista Corpalso WA, ID | Investor Owned | 9 | 8.50c | 10.11c | 1 |
| 15 | WAPA-- Western Area Power Administrationalso CA, AZ, CO, KS, MN, ND, NE, NM, NV, SD, UT, WY | Federal | 0 | n/a | 2.73c | 25 |
| Supplier | Type | Res. customers (energy-only) | Energy-only res. | Energy-only com. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talen Energy Marketing, LLC5 states | Retail Power Marketer | 0 | n/a | 8.87c |
| Morgan Stanley Capital Grp Inc2 states | Retail Power Marketer | 0 | n/a | n/a |
Small utilities filing the EIA-861S short form (21): totals across all sectors, no residential split+
| Utility | Ownership | Customers (all) | Avg price (all) | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ravalli County Elec Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 12,088 | 10.43c | 2 |
| Vigilante Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 11,288 | 9.67c | 9 |
| Glacier Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 7,959 | 9.81c | 4 |
| Park Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 6,946 | 8.87c | 4 |
| Lincoln Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 6,742 | 10.91c | 2 |
| Beartooth Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 6,457 | 13.34c | 3 |
| Sun River Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 6,268 | 12.71c | 8 |
| McCone Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 5,464 | 16.22c | 9 |
| Tongue River Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 5,177 | 13.60c | 8 |
| Hill County Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 3,970 | 10.17c | 5 |
| Marias River Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 3,833 | 10.22c | 3 |
| Sheridan Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 3,759 | 11.76c | 3 |
| Big Horn County Elec Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 3,655 | 13.89c | 1 |
| Southeast Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 2,198 | 12.39c | 4 |
| Big Flat Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 2,075 | 13.06c | 3 |
| Mid-Yellowstone Elec Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 2,040 | 14.75c | 5 |
| NorVal Electric Cooperative, Inc | Cooperative | 1,937 | 15.59c | 5 |
| City of Troy (MT) | Municipal | 1,058 | 8.10c | 1 |
| Goldenwest Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 861 | 20.13c | 3 |
| Big Horn Rural Electric Co | Cooperative | 71 | 12.86c | 2 |
| Grand Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 16 | 13.64c | 1 |
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 Annual, 2024 final data (public domain), retrieved 28 August 2026; prices are average realised revenue per kWh, not tariffs. Final 2024 file f8612024.zip (released 3 December 2025) from the EIA-861 detailed data files. Preliminary 2025 figures come from the early-release file f8612025er.zip (4 August 2026), which EIA has not yet validated; they are labelled as such wherever shown and never mixed into a final figure.