ElectricRates

Where our electricity data comes from

Every chart, every grade, every comparison — sourced from federally-maintained datasets and state PUC tariff filings. No proprietary mystery. Below is the full citation chain for every number we publish.

Last reviewed: May 30, 2026 • Reviewed quarterly • Full methodology

Refresh cadence at a glance

Five primary sources. Different jobs, different refresh speeds.

Source Used for Refresh
ComparePower Live Texas REP plans Real-time
PowerKiosk OH / PA / MA supplier rates + PTC Daily 7 AM ET
NREL URDB Rate history, fixed charges, TOU, C&I Monthly
State PUC filings Utility delivery rates Quarterly verify
U.S. EIA State averages, national context Quarterly

Source-by-source breakdown

Each card below explains what the source is, what we use it for, how often it refreshes, where it shows up on the site, and how the citation chain traces back to the original PUC filing.

ComparePower

Texas — live retail electric plans

Real-time
What we use it for
Every retail electric plan currently marketed by PUCT-licensed REPs. All-in pricing (energy charge + TDU delivery + base fees), contract terms, ETF amounts, satisfaction guarantees, renewable content.
Refresh cadence
Continuous. The moment a REP files a new plan or pulls an existing one, the feed reflects it.
Coverage
Every retail electric provider licensed by the Public Utility Commission of Texas operating in the deregulated market (Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP North, AEP Central, TNMP territories).
Surfaces using it
Bill Grade tool (Texas), Texas utility pages, Texas provider pages, "Best plans" comparison lists, plan recommender, every Texas enrollment handoff.

Citation chain

ElectricRates.org → ComparePower → ERCOT settlement data + TDU tariffs + REP rate filings → PUCT

Every Texas plan price links directly to the REP's actual enrollment URL — the same price the REP will charge you. If the feed price and the REP's enrollment price disagree, the REP's enrollment price wins; we treat any mismatch as a feed bug and fix it.

PowerKiosk

Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts — supplier rates & Price to Compare

Daily 7 AM ET
What we use it for
Competitive supplier rates from licensed CRES (Ohio), EGS (Pennsylvania), and competitive supplier (Massachusetts) providers. Also pulls the utility Price to Compare — the default rate you'd pay if you don't shop.
Refresh cadence
Daily at 7 AM ET via Supabase cache. PowerKiosk itself ingests new supplier filings 6 — 8:30 AM ET; we re-sync after they finish.
Coverage
13 utilities across three states (6 Ohio, 6 Pennsylvania active, 3 Massachusetts), 293+ supplier plans. Excludes two Pennsylvania utilities (Penn Power, UGI South) that PowerKiosk doesn't track — we redirect those ZIPs to the nearest covered utility.
Surfaces using it
Bill Grade tool (OH / PA / MA), every utility page, every city page in those three states, blog sidebars, Smart Enroll handoff.

Citation chain

ElectricRates.org → PowerKiosk → utility tariff schedules + supplier rate filings → PUCO / PA PUC / MA DPU

Suppliers file rates with the relevant state commission before they can market them. PowerKiosk ingests these filings and normalizes them into a structured feed. Every rate we publish ties back to a specific supplier filing with the state.

NREL URDB

U.S. Department of Energy Utility Rate Database

Monthly
What we use it for
Historical rate revisions since 2011, fixed customer charges, time-of-use schedules and peak windows, tier boundaries, commercial and industrial tariffs, net-metering rules, demand charges.
Refresh cadence
Monthly bulk JSON sync from the federal source. We mirror the URDB record IDs so any revision can be traced back to its OpenEI page in one click.
Coverage
680+ residential revisions, 1,362+ commercial, 638+ industrial — across the 19 utilities we cover. Every revision links to the source tariff PDF.
Surfaces using it
Rate-history charts, fixed-charge cards, TOU heatmaps, utility rate-history pages, business electricity pages, time-of-use pages, "most expensive utilities" rankings, fixed-charges comparison pages.

About the source

The Utility Rate Database is operated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy. URDB was established in 2010 and is the most comprehensive public repository of U.S. utility tariff structures. Federal employees and contracted researchers maintain it; the underlying records are public tariff filings.

Citation chain

ElectricRates.org → NREL URDB → utility tariff filings → state public utility commissions

Each URDB record carries a source_url field that links to the utility's filed tariff PDF. Every URDB-derived chart on our site exposes that link in its footer.

State PUC tariff filings

PUCT (Texas), PUCO (Ohio), PA PUC, MA DPU

Quarterly verify
What we use it for
Utility delivery and distribution rates — the non-shoppable portion of OH / PA / MA bills. Also rider charges (gross receipts tax, universal service, energy efficiency surcharges) and any line items that aren't covered by URDB's tariff schedule.
Refresh cadence
Hand-verified quarterly. We log the source URL in code for each utility; when a rate case closes we re-verify immediately rather than waiting for the next quarter.
Coverage
15 deregulated-state utilities (6 Ohio, 6 Pennsylvania, 3 Massachusetts) plus the 4 Texas TDUs. Each was hand-verified against the residential tariff schedule on file with the state.
Surfaces using it
Bill Grade math (the "delivery" line item), utility page transparency callouts, "where your money goes" breakdowns, total bill estimates.

Citation chain

ElectricRates.org → utility's currently-effective residential tariff schedule → state PUC docket

There is no intermediary. Each rate value cites the specific PUC docket or tariff section it was sourced from.

U.S. Energy Information Administration

EIA — state averages, national context, long-run trends

Quarterly
What we use it for
State-level monthly average residential rates (Form 861), national context, 25+ years of historical trend data, generation mix by state, peak demand context.
Refresh cadence
Quarterly per EIA's publication schedule. State averages typically run 2 — 3 months behind the calendar.
Coverage
All 50 states plus DC, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories. We use Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and national averages.
Surfaces using it
Homepage national sparkline, state landing-page historical context, "average electric bill" blog posts, "is my rate competitive?" callouts.

Citation chain

ElectricRates.org → EIA Form 861 / Electric Power Monthly → utility self-reported data to federal government

EIA is the statistical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. Utilities are required by federal law to report monthly. EIA data is the canonical source for "what was the average residential rate in this state last year."

How to verify any number on this site

If you're a journalist, researcher, or just a careful shopper, every published number can be traced back to its primary source. Here's how, by source type:

Historical rates & fixed charges

Every URDB-derived chart has a footer link to the source revision in OpenEI. From OpenEI, click "Source" to open the utility's filed tariff PDF.

OH / PA / MA supplier rates

Every supplier rate cites the filing it was sourced from. The supplier's terms-of-service document carries the same rate.

Texas plan prices

Every Texas plan links to the REP's actual enrollment URL. The price you see on our page is the price the REP will charge at enrollment.

Utility delivery rates

Every delivery rate links to the PUC docket and the residential tariff schedule on file with the state commission.

State averages and historical trends

EIA data is cited inline. The full underlying datasets are downloadable at eia.gov (Form 861 and Electric Power Monthly).

Spotted a mismatch? Email corrections@electricrates.org with the URL and the number you're questioning. We trace and respond within one business day.

Frequently asked questions

Primary-source verification questions we get from journalists, researchers, and curious shoppers.

How do I know the rates and charges shown aren't fudged?
Every number on this site traces back to a primary source. Texas plan prices come from ComparePower's live REP feed — the same data REPs file with the PUCT and use to enroll customers. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts supplier rates come from PowerKiosk, the same wholesale platform brokers use. Historical revisions, fixed charges, and TOU schedules come from NREL's URDB — a U.S. Department of Energy database that links directly to the utility's filed PDF. State average rates come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. If a number on this site is wrong, the underlying PUC filing is wrong — and we link out so you can check.
Why don't you use the Power to Choose website (or PUCO Apples to Apples) directly?
We use them as cross-checks, not primary sources. Power to Choose (the PUCT site) is rebuilt from REP filings — and ComparePower receives the same REP data through licensed channels. PUCO's Apples to Apples carries similar lag and surfacing limitations. For live, complete, and current shopping data, the licensed wholesale feeds give us better refresh cadence and structured fields. We still link to the PUC sites where appropriate so shoppers can verify.
What if a utility files a new rate — when do you reflect it?
Different sources move at different speeds. Texas REP plan prices update in real time (the moment a REP files a new offer, ComparePower's feed picks it up). Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts supplier rates refresh daily at 7 AM ET. Utility distribution rates (the non-shoppable part of an OH/PA/MA bill) refresh when we re-verify against the state PUC filing — quarterly review, immediately when a rate case closes. NREL URDB-backed historical data refreshes monthly when the federal bulk JSON updates. EIA state averages refresh quarterly per their publication schedule.
Can I get the underlying data?
Yes — the underlying datasets are public. NREL URDB is downloadable as JSON at openei.org/wiki/Utility_Rate_Database. EIA Form 861 and Electric Power Monthly are available at eia.gov. State PUC tariff books are filed with PUCT, PUCO, PA PUC, and MA DPU — links to the specific docket and filed PDF appear on every rate-history chart we publish. ComparePower and PowerKiosk feeds are licensed APIs (not redistributable), but the underlying REP and supplier filings they aggregate are all PUC-filed public records.
Who pays for this data?
Federal datasets (NREL URDB, EIA) are free and taxpayer-funded. State PUC filings are public records. ComparePower and PowerKiosk are licensed data feeds — ElectricRates.org and ComparePower share operational infrastructure, so we access the Texas feed at cost. PowerKiosk is paid through our Smart Enroll partnership. None of these arrangements affect which plans get shown or how they rank. See our editorial standards for full disclosure on commercial relationships.
Why mix federal, state, and commercial sources instead of picking one?
Each source is best at one job. Live shopping rates need real-time commercial feeds (the federal databases lag by months). Historical comparisons need URDB's longitudinal record (commercial feeds only have today). Distribution rates need direct PUC verification (URDB doesn't always break out delivery vs. supply). State averages need EIA's nationwide normalization (commercial feeds don't compute it). Using the right source for each job is what makes the data trustworthy.
How can I verify a specific number on this site?
Every URDB-derived chart and table has a footer link to the source revision in OpenEI, which links to the utility's filed PDF. Every Texas plan rate links to the actual REP enrollment URL — the same price the REP will charge you. Every Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts supplier rate cites the supplier's filed rate. Every distribution rate cites the PUC docket. If you spot a mismatch, email corrections@electricrates.org and we'll trace it within one business day.

Keep digging

This page covers where data comes from. Two related pages cover what we do with it and how we hold ourselves to that standard:

Full methodology Editorial standards

Last reviewed: May 30, 2026 — reviewed quarterly