Which states pay the most and least for energy?

President Donald Trump wants to expand nuclear energy and export more coal as part of his “America First Energy Plan” supposedly to reduce foreign oil dependence and costs for consumers.

What are the most and least energy-expensive states?

An analysis by WalletHub, a personal finance website, compares the average monthly energy bills in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Residential energy types – electricity, natural gas, motor fuel, and home heating oil usage was compared. The results are:

	Most energy-expensive states			Least energy-expensive states
	1	Connecticut – $380		42	California – $257
	2	Alaska – $332		43	Arizona – $257
	3	Rhode Island – $329		44	New Mexico – $256
	4	Massachusetts – $327		45	Nebraska – $253
	5	Wyoming – $320		46	Iowa – $251
	6	Georgia – $310		47	Illinois – $247
	7	Maine – $308		48	Oregon – $246
	8	Mississippi – $307		49	Colorado – $228
	9	New Hampshire – $306		50	Washington – $226
	10	Vermont – $305		51	District of Columbia – $219

The best and worst

• Hawaii has the lowest average monthly consumption of electricity per customer, 489 kilowatt-hours, which is 3.1 times than in Louisiana with the highest at 1,521 kwh.
• Washington state has the lowest average residential price for electricity, 9.09 cents per kwh, which is 3.3 times lower than in Hawaii with the highest at 29.6 cents per kwh.
• Illinois has the lowest average residential price for natural gas, $7.97 per 1,000 cubic feet, which is five times lower than in Hawaii with the highest at $40.08.
• The District of Columbia has the lowest average monthly motor-fuel consumption per driver, 25.9 gallons, which is 2.9 times lower than in Wyoming with the highest at 75.37 gallons.
• Northeastern states have between 10 percent and 65 percent of households using heating oil to heat their homes compared to less than 3 percent of households in the rest of the United States.

Copyright 2017, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist