Among the 221 regulated utilities that both procure gas and sell retail electricity, the median residential-to-industrial rate ratio rose from 1.45x in 2008 to 1.60x in 2024. Residential customers now pay 60% more per kilowatt-hour than industrial customers — a gap that has widened every decade. The median residential monthly bill rose from $87 to $123 over the same period — a 41% nominal increase.
The mechanism is deliberate rate design: as utilities add capital infrastructure — transmission, grid modernization, renewable integration — they recover fixed costs through volumetric rates. Industrial customers with large loads and negotiated contracts bear a smaller fixed cost per kWh. Residential customers absorb the remainder. The ratio quantifies that shift precisely.
The 2020 peak of 1.64x is notable — the year industrial load collapsed during the pandemic while residential load held steady. Utilities recovered more fixed costs from residential customers as industrial sales declined. That dynamic illustrates why rate design equity is a recurring issue in rate proceedings: the residential-industrial cross-subsidy is not static, it responds to economic conditions in ways that consistently disadvantage households.
| Utility | St | Res $/kWh | Com $/kWh | Ind $/kWh | Res/Ind Ratio | Res Bill/mo | Res % Revenue |
|---|
| Year | Value 1 | Value 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | — | — |
| 2023 | — | — |