Independent profile. Kilowatt Atlas is not affiliated with Northern Lights, does not use its logo or branding and cannot take payments, start service or look up accounts. Figures come from public federal data for 2025.
Residential customers
23 thousand
22,890 homes
Average price
12.32 cents
Idaho average 11.83
Average bill
$132.15
Per month at 1,073 kWh
Price rank
7 of 10
Lowest to highest in Idaho
Northern Lights rates and average bill
Northern Lights reported 22,890 residential customers on bundled service in 2025, using 1,073 kWh a month on average at 12.32 cents per kWh. Bundled means the utility supplies the energy and delivers it, so the price covers both. Among the 10 Idaho utilities with at least 10,000 bundled residential customers, Northern Lights ranks 7 from the lowest price.
| Average | Cents per kWh | kWh per month | Monthly bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Lights | 12.32 | 1,073 | $132.15 |
| Idaho (all utilities) | 11.83 | 933 | $110.36 |
| United States | 17.23 | 874 | $150.68 |
Figures cover all of Northern Lights's states together. A utility with a large territory can have different rates in different places.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 (final 2025 data), sales to ultimate customers. Price is revenue divided by sales and includes fixed charges.
Service area
EIA lists the counties where Northern Lights has distribution equipment. That covers 6 counties in Idaho, Montana, Washington. A county can be served by more than one utility, so confirm your address with the utility or your bill.
Idaho (3 counties)
Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai
Montana (2 counties)
Lincoln, Sanders
Washington (1 county)
Pend Oreille
Not sure who serves your address? Use find my electric company.
Rate options and rooftop solar
- Time-of-use pricing. Northern Lights does not report a residential time-of-use program in its 2025 EIA filing. Ask the utility, because programs change. How time-of-use rates work.
- Rooftop solar and net metering. EIA does not show residential net-metered solar for Northern Lights in 2025. How net metering works.
Who owns and regulates it
Owned by the members it serves. An elected board sets the rates, and members may receive capital credits when the co-op has margins to return.
For questions about state consumer protections, see the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.
Northern Lights is an electric cooperative based in Idaho, and it also reports customers in 2 other states.
Northern Lights compared with Idaho
Idaho has 7 utilities with residential customers in the 2025 EIA data. Northern Lights is 4th by size and serves about 2.0% of the state's homes. Its price of 12.32 cents per kWh is 1.83 cents above the median of 4 other cooperatives in Idaho (10.49 cents). Northern Lights reports customers in 3 states, and this profile uses its largest, Idaho, for comparisons.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 (final 2025 data). Peers are other utilities of the same type in Idaho with at least 1,000 residential customers and a reported price.
Other Idaho utilities
| Utility | Type | Homes | Cents per kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Lights | Cooperative | 22,890 | 12.32 |
| City of Idaho Falls | Municipal | 29,403 | 9.60 |
| Lower Valley Energy | Cooperative | 24,835 | 7.03 |
| Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative | Cooperative | 17,824 | 11.10 |
| Missoula Electric Cooperative | Cooperative | 14,911 | 10.93 |
| United Electric Co-op | Cooperative | 5,169 | 8.50 |
See every one on the electric companies in Idaho page.
Official site and where to get help
Kilowatt Atlas is not Northern Lights and does not take payments, start service or manage accounts. To pay a bill, report an outage or start service, use the website, app or phone number printed on your bill. Be careful with search ads and lookalike sites that offer to pay your bill for a fee.
- Want to understand a line on your bill? Read how to read your electric bill.
- Think your bill is high? Try the bill checker.
Northern Lights questions
What is the average residential electric rate for Northern Lights?
Northern Lights residential customers on bundled service paid an average of 12.32 cents per kWh in 2025, with average use of 1,073 kWh a month and an average bill of $132.15 (EIA Form EIA-861). The Idaho average was 11.83 cents.
How many customers does Northern Lights have?
EIA reports about 22,890 residential customers for Northern Lights in 2025.
Who regulates Northern Lights?
Owned by the members it serves. An elected board sets the rates, and members may receive capital credits when the co-op has margins to return. See the regulator for Idaho on the Idaho state page.