Why are my electric bills so high?

Why are my electric bills so high?

Throughout 2022, many residents and businesses have experienced the burden of high electricity costs. Have you noticed larger electric bills than months or years past? This could be the result of one or several factors.

Electric rates are rising across the nation.

The cost of electricity - and wholesale power prices, generally - are rising across the country due to factors like higher natural gas prices. On average, Americans will pay about 15 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity in 2022. As the US Energy Information Administration reports, this is an 8% increase from just last year. Some customers have seen electric supply rates increase at an even faster rate. For example, Ameren electric customers in Illinois saw residential electricity rates per kilowatt-hour jump from around 5 cents in May to around 9 cents in June. 

To learn more about the factors impacting your electric utility costs, see the following resources:
  1. Ameren electric customers
  2. ComEd electric customers
  3. Xcel Energy electric customers
To learn more about energy trends and tips to reduce electricity costs, we encourage you to check out resources like the US Energy Information Administration and the US Department of Energy.

A Community Solar Sunscription helps you have more control over your energy costs.

As energy supply and prices fluctuate and respond to global and local changes, your Community Solar Sunscription allows you to have more control over your energy costs. With Sunscription, you receive Solar Credits on your electric bill for each unit of energy your share of the Solar Garden produces, reducing your overall electric costs.

For more information regarding what you're seeing on your statements and how your savings work, see this article. Check out our state-specific resources here.

    • Related Articles

    • What is a Community Solar Garden?

      What is a Community Solar Garden? A solar energy project that covers several acres of land A more accessible source of clean electricity for renters, homeowners, and businesses when compared with rooftop solar installations An energy resource managed ...

    • What is a Sunscription? What am I paying for?

      Sunscription is a platform that connects your electric utility bill with a local Solar Garden, so you can easily support clean energy and save. Sunscription Community Solar is designed to save money by allowing you to subscribe to a portion of a ...

    • How does my Sunscription save me money?

      Your savings is equal to the difference between the bill credits you receive on your electric bill and the payments that you make to US Solar. There is no way to predict the exact amount you’ll save, but we estimate the energy production and ...

    • What happens if a year is very cloudy or energy production is low?

      You only pay based on energy that is actually produced. You also receive Solar Credits on your electric bill for the energy that is actually produced. This means that if production is low, you may not save as much money as expected, but you are not ...