Montana Electricity Rates and Average Electric Bill Guide

Low prices keep the Montana bill down. Prices run 25% below the national price, and households use about the same amount of electricity as the typical US household.

Over a year, the average Montana household pays about $1,330 for electricity. The state ranks 5th lowest for the monthly bill, 6th lowest for price per kWh and 22nd lowest for use, out of 51 places (50 states and DC).

Source: EIA Form EIA-861 final 2025 data, residential sector. Bills are revenue divided by customers, divided by 12.

Want to see where your own bill falls? Use the bill checker or read the average bill guide for apartments, houses and different household sizes.

Investor-owned utilities serve the largest share of Montana households at 73%. electric cooperatives (24%) and public power districts and state or federal systems (3%) cover most of the rest. EIA lists 14 utilities and electricity suppliers with customers in Montana.

See every utility that reports customers here on the electric companies in Montana page.

If you do not know who serves your address, the find my electric company tool matches your county to a utility.

Montana does not offer household retail electricity choice. Households buy electricity from the utility that serves their address. That utility can be an investor-owned company, a municipal system or a cooperative, and its rates are set by its regulator or its own board. You can still lower your bill with a better rate plan, efficiency upgrades and bill help programs.

Utilities in Montana reported an average of 2 hours and 15 minutes without power per customer in 2025, with 1.18 interruptions per customer, when major storm days are left out. That outage time is close to the median state (127 minutes).

Customers in Montana had 13,437 net-metered residential solar systems with a combined 110.6 megawatts of capacity in 2025. That works out to 23.7 systems for every 1,000 households, which ranks 22 of 51 places. Net metering lets a home with solar offset what it uses from the grid, so it changes the bill math for those households. Our net metering guide explains how the credit works.

Outage figures are reported by utilities and follow different standards, so compare states with care. The median state averaged 127 minutes of outage per customer in 2025.

• Check your rate before your habits. Usage here is close to or below the national figure, so the plan and the price per kWh on your bill often matter more than conservation. Our bill reading guide shows where to look.
• Ask about time-of-use pricing. 2 of the 7 largest providers report residential time-of-use programs in EIA data. If you can shift laundry, charging and cooling to cheaper hours, the savings can be real. Our time-of-use guide explains how to test it.
• Ask about budget billing. Many utilities spread costs across the year. Read how budget billing works before you sign up.
• Price your appliances. The electricity cost calculator shows what a space heater, dryer or pool pump costs to run at your rate.

Electric rates and consumer complaints in Montana are handled by the Montana Public Service Commission. If you have a billing dispute you could not settle with your utility, the regulator is the next step.