Small Business Energy Cost Trends 2026 (EIA Data)

Small business energy costs have climbed steadily since 2020. U.S. commercial electricity averaged 13.37 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2025, up 26% from 10.59 cents in 2020, and reached 14.47 cents in August 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Commercial natural gas rose even faster, and where your business operates matters as much as the national trend.

How much have small business electricity costs risen?

Commercial electricity prices rose about 26% between 2020 and 2025 after barely moving for the four years before that. EIA's average price for the commercial sector, which covers stores, offices, restaurants and most other small business premises, went from 10.43 cents per kWh in 2016 to 10.59 cents in 2020, then jumped to 12.41 cents in 2022 and 13.37 cents in 2025.

The climb has continued in 2026. The commercial average for January through August 2026 was 14.04 cents, 5.6% above the same months of 2025 (13.29 cents), and August 2026 alone came in at 14.47 cents against 13.87 a year earlier. EIA marks 2026 figures as preliminary, and summer months usually run higher than the annual average, so compare a month with the same month last year rather than with an annual figure.

Worked example: a shop that uses 3,000 kWh a month would have paid about $318 a month at the 2020 national average and about $434 at the August 2026 average, roughly $116 more each month or about $1,400 a year for the same usage. Your own rate depends on your utility, your tariff and any demand charges, so use the figures on your bill for real planning.

Which states have the highest and lowest commercial electricity prices?

Commercial electricity costs more than five times as much in the most expensive state as in the cheapest one. In August 2026, Hawaii averaged 43.55 cents per kWh and California 30.02 cents, while North Dakota averaged 8.07 cents and Texas 8.96 cents, against a U.S. average of 14.47 cents.

• Highest (Aug 2026): Hawaii 43.55¢, California 30.02¢, Massachusetts 24.11¢, Alaska 23.90¢, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C. 23.31¢.
• Lowest (Aug 2026): North Dakota 8.07¢, Texas 8.96¢, Nevada 9.80¢, Nebraska 10.00¢, Idaho 10.21¢.
• Biggest one-year moves: Hawaii rose from 34.93¢ to 43.55¢ between August 2025 and August 2026, while Connecticut fell from 23.47¢ to 19.29¢.

Using the same 3,000 kWh example, a business in Texas would pay about $269 a month at the August 2026 state average and a business in California about $901. That gap is why energy-heavy operations such as restaurants, laundromats, refrigerated retail and small manufacturers feel price changes very differently depending on location. If you are comparing sites for a new location, ask the landlord or utility for twelve months of bills and add them to your business budget before you sign.

What is happening with natural gas costs for businesses?

Commercial natural gas has risen faster than electricity since 2020. EIA's average commercial price was $7.48 per thousand cubic feet in 2020, peaked at $11.32 in 2022, eased to $10.07 in 2024 and climbed back to $10.98 in 2025, which is about 47% above the 2020 level and 9% above 2024.

Gas matters most to businesses that cook, heat water or heat large spaces: restaurants, bakeries, dry cleaners, laundromats, salons and many workshops. Because gas prices swing more from year to year than electricity prices, a budget built on a single good year can understate the cost badly. A safer approach is to budget from your highest recent winter, not your average one, and treat any savings as a cushion. For context on how operating costs squeeze food businesses in particular, see our restaurant industry statistics.

How should a small business plan for rising energy costs?

Plan for energy as a cost that keeps rising: track it monthly, price it into what you sell, and treat efficiency upgrades as investments with a payback period. Energy is rarely the largest line on a small business P&L, but a 26% rise over five years on a cost you cannot avoid erodes margin quietly unless your prices move with it.

• Track kWh, not just dollars. Comparing usage month to month separates a rate increase from equipment that is starting to fail or waste power.
• Price it in. Review prices when utility costs move; our guide to improving your profit margin covers how to do that without losing customers.
• Run the payback math on upgrades. LED lighting, a newer HVAC unit, efficient refrigeration or ovens can cut usage. Divide the installed cost by the expected monthly saving to see how many months it takes to pay for itself.
• Keep a cash buffer for peak months. Summer cooling and winter heating bills arrive in the same months every year, so set money aside before they land.

When an efficiency upgrade makes sense but the cash is not there, equipment financing can spread the cost over the equipment's useful life so the monthly payment sits close to the monthly saving, and larger refits fall under renovation funding. The Broker Shop is a broker, not a lender: one application is matched to the funders whose guidelines you meet, it is free to apply, and checking your options won't affect your credit score.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration — Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.3 (average price of electricity by end-use sector, 2016 to August 2026) · EIA — Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (average price by state, August 2026 vs August 2025) · EIA — Natural Gas Prices (U.S. commercial price, 2020–2025). Percentage changes and the worked examples are calculated from these figures.