Least and Most Expensive US States for Electricity

Posted by Rapti Gupta on Aug 23, 2014 06:43 AM EDT

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As the sun blazes down on the west this summer, electricity bills are bound to go up. Considering the rising temperatures, Builder Online features a list of states in America where electricity is the most expensive and the cheapest.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, electricity prices went up 3.4 percent on a year-over-year basis in May this year, the highest rise in the past two years. So where is electricity the most expensive right now?

Apparently in these five states (courtesy - Builder Online):

1. Hawaii: 38.04 cents/kWh

2. New York: 20.62 cents/kWh

3. Connecticut: 20.18 cents/kWh

4. Alaska: 19.84 cents/kWh

5. Vermont: 18.18 cents/kWh

Also, these are the five states where electricity is the cheapest:

1. Washington: 8.93 cents/kWh

2. Idaho: 9.64 cents/kWh

3. West Virginia: 9.71 cents/kWh

4. North Dakota: 10.02 cents/kWh

5. Arkansas: 10.07 cents/kWh

With rising prices and demand, production has also increased. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the overall electricity generation has gone up 13 percent since the first quarter of 2001.

Coal seems to be the most used fuel to generate electricity with about 26 states using it to light up homes. Eleven states are using natural gas, while seven are using nuclear power. Only a minute four are using hydroelectricity as their major energy source.

A recent report by the Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory suggested that states resort to using wind power to generate electricity. The source is a cheap way to generate power and is also eco-friendly.

Meanwhile, the world's largest functional solar power plant recently opened up in California's Mojave Desert.

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System accounts for about 30 percent of all solar thermal energy produced in the country. It is the first project to use BrightSource's unique 'solar power tower' technology, which includes following the sun's trajectory to produce steam that powers turbines.