The national price blur
One grid.
Fifty-one prices.
Residential averages vary by state before the wholesale market moves at all.
Idaho12.3¢Hawaii52.0¢
May 2026EIA residential snapshot
Put your household on the curve
Usage model
MODELEDUsage is distributed across a simple normalized 24-hour residential load shape, scaled to your monthly kWh. This is a model—not smart-meter data.
If this day repeated for a month
What would the same usage cost?
Household price29.9¢per kWh
Latest grid price at build5.3¢per kWh
Current gap24.6¢per kWh
Ordinary estimated bill$209.51
Spot energy costWholesale energy only$38.04
Spot-exposed estimated billSpot energy + $55 fixed assumption$93.04
Wholesale energy difference$171.47Retail bill minus wholesale energy only. Direct exposure also carries scarcity risk.
Winter Storm Uri / Griddy exposure
Spot exposure looked inexpensive until it didn't.
Put the same household model through every real ERCOT interval in February 2021.
EIA Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A (May 2026 snapshot) · NYISO real-time zonal LBMP cached snapshot · as of Jul 31, 6:50 AM EDT