Electricity Rate in Rhode Island (2026): 29.46c/kWh Average

Rhode Island electricity averages 29.46 cents per kWh for residential customers as of May 2026, according to the EIA Electric Power Monthly. This is 11.02c above the US average of 18.44c/kWh. The average monthly bill for Rhode Island households is $165 based on typical usage of 559 kWh.

Rhode Island's 29.46c/kWh residential average (May 2026) is among the highest in the country, and like the rest of New England it is driven by natural gas and a constrained regional grid. One regulated utility delivers virtually all of the state's power: Rhode Island Energy, the operating name of The Narragansett Electric Company, which PPL Corporation bought from National Grid in May 2022. Rhode Island is a deregulated state - households can buy generation supply from a competitive supplier or municipal aggregation - but most stay on the utility's default "Last Resort Service", a supply rate procured through competitive wholesale auctions and reset every six months on April 1 and October 1. About 77% of residential customers are on Last Resort Service. That default supply rate fell to 11.09c/kWh for summer 2026 (April-September), down from 14.77c/kWh the prior winter - a reminder that the 29.46c EIA figure is the all-in average including delivery, transmission, and riders, while the supply piece is only part of the bill and swings seasonally. Rhode Island has essentially no in-state fossil fuel resources and imports most of its electricity; in-state generation is almost entirely natural gas, leaving bills exposed to New England's winter pipeline constraints through ISO-New England. Two 2025-2026 developments matter: Rhode Island Energy filed its first distribution rate case since 2017 (RIPUC Docket 25-45-GE) in November 2025, with increases proposed to take effect September 2026, and the 704 MW Revolution Wind farm serving Rhode Island and Connecticut reached commercial operation in March 2026.

Generation mix: Natural gas 70%, renewables 20%, offshore wind 10%. 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: Rhode Island rates rose 1.6% year-over-year as of May 2026. This compares to the US average increase of 6.2% over the same period.