If your electric bill has started to feel less like a utility statement and more like a jump scare, you have company. New Yorkers are now paying some of the highest residential electricity rates in the United States, with average prices hovering near 27 cents per kilowatt-hour, or roughly half again as much as the national average. Costs have climbed steadily since 2019, so many households are seeing noticeably larger bills even when the lights, heaters, and air conditioners are running about the same as before.
The trend is spelled out in a new Energy Data Bulletin from the Empire Center, which reports that New York’s average residential electricity price hit about 26.95¢/kWh in October 2025, putting the state among the ten most expensive in the country. The Bulletin notes that prices in New York rose roughly 7 percent year over year, faster than the national pace, and urges lawmakers to adopt policies aimed at reining in costs. The findings land just as Albany officials and utilities gear up for another round of rate cases and affordability fights.
How New York Compares
Federal numbers from the U.S. Energy Information Administration put the national residential average at about 17.78¢/kWh in November 2025, while New York’s average for that month sits near 26.49¢/kWh. That leaves the state roughly 45 to 50 percent above the U.S. average. The same federal data series pegs New York’s average residential natural gas price at about $17.95 per thousand cubic feet for November 2025. Put together, those gaps help explain why New Yorkers can see heftier monthly energy bills even when they are using roughly the same amount of power and gas as households somewhere else.
What's Driving The Gap
Regulators and utilities point to a familiar set of structural culprits: high fixed delivery charges, steep property taxes, and the cost of maintaining a dense, largely underground urban grid. In a January order, the New York State Public Service Commission signed off on a scaled back joint proposal in Con Edison’s latest rate case and singled out property taxes and capital investments as major drivers of higher rates. According to utility filings and the Commission, the settlement cuts Con Edison’s original request significantly while still providing funding for projects intended to keep the grid reliable as demand continues to grow.
What Officials Are Saying
Policy groups argue that without targeted changes, New Yorkers should not expect much relief on their bills. Empire Center President Zilvinas Silenas wrote, "Cheap, plentiful, and reliable energy must become the guiding principle for New York’s energy policy." Lawmakers and consumer advocates, for their part, say they plan to press regulators and budget negotiators this spring on affordability measures and oversight as they brace for the next round of rate and energy policy debates.
