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- While California has the highest average electricity retail price among the large states (19.0 cents/kWh, compared to 16.0 cents/kWh in New York and 10.0 cents/kWh in Illinois),185 the state’s electricity bill as a share of GDP is among the lowest. This has been driven by low electricity consumption as a result of the California’s extensive energy efficiency programs and policies that have decreased per capita growth in electricity demand. Among its seven closest peers, California had the third-lowest electricity bill as a percentage of GDP (1.5%) in 2020 behind Illinois (1.47%) and New York (1.2%). Climate is also a factor. The West Coast has about half the heating degree days of every region, except for the Southeast,186 and this partially accounts for its lower demand for home heating. If electricity billing as a percent of GDP in California went from the current approximately 1.5 percent to the approximately 2 percent in Texas, this would increase expenditures by $59.5 million.
185 Energy Information Administration. State Energy Profiles. November 2, 2020. Accessed on July 12, 2022. Retrieved from: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/
186 Energy Information Administration. Heating Degree Days by Census Division. July 5, 2022. Accessed on July 6, 2022. Available at: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/units-and-calculators/degree-days.php
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