Municipal utility in California
City of Palo Alto electricity rates, 2025
City of Palo Alto's full-service residential customers paid an average of 21.4¢ per kWh in 2025, 31.9% less than the California average of 31.4¢ and 24.0% more than the 2025 U.S. average of 17.2¢ from the same EIA-861 survey. That was up 3.3% from 20.7¢ in 2024.
City of Palo Alto is the 20th largest of the 30 California utilities listed, with 0.2% of the state's residential customers.
Residential rate, 2025
21.4¢
per kWh, revenue divided by sales
Versus the California average
−31.9%
California 31.4¢ per kWh
Average monthly bill
$110
516 kWh a month
Residential customers
25,672
0.2% of California's homes
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Form EIA-861 annual survey, Sales to Ultimate Customers, 2025. Averages over the year for full-service residential customers.
By customer class
City of Palo Alto average rates by customer class, 2025
Revenue divided by sales for each class of full-service customer, beside the residential rate's one-year change and the U.S. average from the same survey.
| Customer class | ¢ per kWh, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Residential | 21.4¢ |
| Commercial | 20.9¢ |
| Industrial | 18.9¢ |
One-year change, 2024 to 2025
+3.3%
20.7¢ per kWh in 2024
U.S. average, 2025 (EIA-861)
17.2¢
residential, per kWh; City of Palo Alto's 21.4¢ was 24.0% more than it
Other California utilities
How City of Palo Alto compares with California's other large utilities
Average residential rate in 2025 at the largest other California utilities. The full table lists all 30.
- Pacific Gas & Electric Co.Investor-owned, 1,738,444 customers37.5¢
- Southern California Edison CoInvestor-owned, 3,262,177 customers31.5¢
- Los Angeles Department of Water & PowerMunicipal, 1,415,602 customers26.5¢
- San Diego Gas & Electric CoInvestor-owned, 284,416 customers45.8¢
- Sacramento Municipal Utility DistrictPublic power district, 601,275 customers18.9¢
- Imperial Irrigation DistrictPublic power district, 142,916 customers18.7¢
Method
Where this comes from
- Source
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, Sales to Ultimate Customers, 2025 (and 2024 for the one-year change). File: f8612025.zip.
- How the figures are computed
- Average rate is a utility's residential revenue divided by its residential kWh sales for the year. Average bill is revenue per customer divided by twelve; monthly use is kWh sales per customer divided by twelve.
- Which customers count
- Full-service customers only: those who buy both supply and delivery from the company, so the rate includes both. Listed: companies with at least 1,000 full-service residential customers in California. EIA's adjustment rows and rooftop solar owners count toward the California average but are not listed.
- State average
- All California residential revenue divided by all residential sales in the same survey, summed the way EIA sums a state total. Data refreshed November 9, 2026.