What is Your State’s Average Price for Electricity?
Some states have higher electricity prices than others due to various factors, including the types of energy sources they use, the costs of maintaining and upgrading their power infrastructure, and state-specific regulations and policies.
For instance, states that rely more on renewable energy may have higher initial costs due to investments in new technology, while states that depend on fossil fuels might face costs related to environmental regulations.Additionally, the distance electricity needs to travel, and the population density can impact prices. Understanding these costs is important because our political decisions shape energy policies, such as subsidies for certain energy sources, emissions regulations, and grid infrastructure investments.
By being informed about how these factors influence electricity prices, we can advocate for policies that balance affordability, reliability, and environmental sustainability.
Georgia - A National Solar Success Story
Georgia’s regulatory framework supports sustainable economic growth by encouraging investments in renewable energy and other clean energy technologies.
Georgia ranks among the top seven states for installed solar capacity and has achieved those goals without costly subsidies and misaligned incentives that shift costs. This focus on smart, sustainable energy policies has not only improved environmental stewardship and reduce emissions but also creates new economic opportunities.
The growth of the universal solar industry in Georgia has helped create thousands of jobs. The right kind of solar ensures that costs and benefits are shared by all consumers.
Learn the Difference
There are many ways solar energy is deployed in the United States. Here are a few:
Community Solar
The U.S. Department of Energy defines community solar as any solar project or purchasing program, within a geographic area, in which the benefits flow to multiple customers such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups. In most cases, customers benefit from energy generated by solar panels at an off-site array. Essentially, allowing customers who don’t have access to solar installations to participate.
These programs are often supported by outdated net metering payments on exports and cost-shifts, similar to those referenced below, onto consumers who do not subscribe to the program.
Universal Solar
Sometimes referred to as industrial or utility-scale solar, universal photovoltaic solar is not only the least costly method for developing solar projects but also that method that provides the most capacity and reliability benefits.
By definition these systems feed into the distribution and transmission system of electric companies where the costs and benefits are shared by all consumers in their territories.
Private Rooftop Solar
These are generally smaller solar systems utilizing rooftop solar or ground-mounted systems that are installed to supply power to a home or business.
Often these systems take advantage of net metering programs that allow for the home or business owner to receive payments or credits from the local electric company for the power they export to the utility’s distribution system.
While the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) requires electric companies to purchase excess power at the market-based “avoided cost” rate, many states have adopted net metering policies that compensate solar exports at rates above that avoided cost. This overcompensation creates a cost shift from solar adopters to non-solar customers.
Non-solar customers end up paying not only more for that higher-priced electricity but also for the infrastructure used by solar owners to export power back to the grid. These cost shifts can add up quickly—reaching tens of millions, hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars annually, as seen in states like Vermont, Maine, and California.
Cost Shifts in Different States that Utilize Community Solar
The High Cost of Maine's Net Energy Billing Program
Vermont's Net Metering Costs
California’s Rooftop Solar Cost Shift
The High Cost of Maine's Net Energy Billing Program
Vermont's Net Metering Costs
California’s Rooftop Solar Cost Shift
How Does Community Solar Cost Shifting Happen?
Contrary to popular belief, a private solar customer is not off the grid simply because there are portions of the day when solar power is being generated.
Everyone who utilizes a power provider for electricity is connected to that service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It’s also important to know that a customer’s power consumption and generation are almost never equal.
The energy company’s cost of providing grid services has four basic components with associated fixed costs:
- Transmission of the energy from the power plant,
- Distribution of the energy to homes and businesses where it’s needed,
- Power capacity,
- and the costs of ancillary and balancing services that the grid provides throughout the day – even for private solar customers.
Private solar customers utilize the external energy grid first and foremost to sell back and distribute the excess power they may generate from their system.
These activities do not occur in a vacuum and can only be accomplished by using the infrastructure all customers pay for in their monthly bills. Private solar customers are utilizing the external energy grid whether or not they know it, as power providers have to meet supply and demand needs in sub-second intervals with voltage and frequency balancing, and during times when their private solar systems are inoperable due to equipment maintenance, unexpected physical failure, or prolonged overcast conditions.
Further, when the sun isn’t shining private solar customers are entirely dependent upon the external grid – a system that has 24-hour a day costs.