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Electricity Bill Estimator

Turn a metered month into a monthly and annual bill, the effective all-in rate, and the water heater's share of it.

Inputs

What the bill says

The kWh line from the bill, for the period shown on it. The US residential average is about 877 kWh a month, but a typical figure for your own area and season is better.

Read this from the bill rather than assuming 30. The annual figures are scaled from it, so a 34-day period and a 28-day period do not give the same annual cost.

The customer, meter or service charge on the bill, which does not vary with usage.

Your rate

All-in cents per kWh for the first tier, including supply and delivery. Texas runs near 13, California near 32.5 on average.

Usage up to this level bills at the base rate. On a flat plan there is no allowance, so set this above your usage.

The rate for usage above the allowance. Set it equal to the base rate for a flat plan.

Optional comparisons

Optional. Enter 0 to skip the month-to-month comparison, or the kWh line from the previous bill to see the change and its percentage.

Optional. Bring the annual figure from the water heater energy cost calculator, divide by twelve, and enter it here to see the water heater's share of this bill. Enter 0 to skip.

Defaults to the US residential average monthly consumption from the US Energy Information Administration.

Result

Bill for this period
—
Annual cost at this usage
—
Effective all-in rate
—
Water heater share of the bill, in dollars
—
Water heater share of the bill
—
—
—
—
Where this stops applying
—
Calculation details
Annual usage at this rate
—
Change against the previous bill
—
Change against the previous bill, in percent
—
Average daily usage
—
Energy portion of the bill
—
KWh before the next tier starts
—
Cost of the tier 1 usage
—
Usage inside the tier allowance
—
Cost of the tier 2 usage
—
Usage billed at the higher rate
—
Against the reference usage
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Against the reference usage, in percent
—

What to check

  • Twelve months of metered kWh and the day counts on the bills
  • The tariff sheet, including both tiers and the fixed customer charge
  • The water heater share, from the water heater energy cost calculator

Standards referenced

  • EIA residential electricity averages — EIA Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price / RECS (latest published year) · Reference data for default bill benchmarks only; your utility rate governs the actual bill.

Related calculators

Screening estimate only. The result panel lists the limits that apply to this calculation. Verify nameplate data, rates, groundwater temperatures and installer quotes before deciding, and have gas, venting and electrical installations checked against the local code by a licensed contractor.

Saved calculations

Keep the assumptions with the result.

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