Virginia · Limited or special pathway
Commercial electricity in Virginia
Virginia allows competitive supply only in limited circumstances, such as accounts above a demand threshold or through specific renewable-supply provisions. Eligibility must be verified for the account before any comparison is offered.
What Virginia businesses pay for electricity
Average commercial electricity price in Virginia
10.98¢ per kWh
12 months to August 2026 · EIA, preliminary
- vs US average (13.87¢)−21%below the national figure
- vs previous 12 months+17.4%from 9.35¢
- Final 2025 (EIA-861)9.95¢9th lowest of 51 markets
- Average commercial customer16,170 kWha month, about 1,609 at the 2025 average
- Since 2020+30%US +26% over the same years
Show the numbers
| Period | Virginia | United States |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 7.65¢ | 10.19¢ |
| 2011 | 7.95¢ | 10.24¢ |
| 2012 | 8.08¢ | 10.09¢ |
| 2013 | 8.00¢ | 10.26¢ |
| 2014 | 8.15¢ | 10.74¢ |
| 2015 | 8.21¢ | 10.64¢ |
| 2016 | 7.93¢ | 10.43¢ |
| 2017 | 8.01¢ | 10.66¢ |
| 2018 | 8.32¢ | 10.67¢ |
| 2019 | 8.18¢ | 10.68¢ |
| 2020 | 7.63¢ | 10.59¢ |
| 2021 | 7.79¢ | 11.22¢ |
| 2022 | 9.66¢ | 12.41¢ |
| 2023 | 8.95¢ | 12.59¢ |
| 2024 | 8.72¢ | 12.75¢ |
| 2025 | 9.95¢ | 13.37¢ |
| 12 months to Aug 2026 (preliminary) | 10.98¢ | 13.87¢ |
This is the average revenue per kWh from every commercial customer in Virginia, from a corner shop to a hospital: energy, delivery, demand and other charges billed, divided by kWh sold. The average customer uses more than a typical small business, because a few very large customers pull the mean up. It is dated context for reading a bill — not a quote, not an available offer, and not what any one business pays.
What a typical building pays in Virginia
The same federal survey of commercial buildings behind the cost estimator, run for a typical-sized building of eight common kinds and priced at Virginia's average commercial price for the 12 months to August 2026. Typical size is the median floor area of the surveyed buildings of that kind, and the middle half is the range between the 25th and 75th percentile of them.
| Building | Typical size | Typical bill | Middle half | Survey basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office building | 5,000 sq ft | $630 | $380 to $950 | 509 in the South |
| Medical, dental or outpatient clinic | 5,500 sq ft | $840 | $470 to $1,100 | 83 in the South |
| Retail store or showroom | 6,500 sq ft | $610 | $430 to $900 | 146 in the South |
| Grocery or convenience store | 2,400 sq ft | $1,200 | $820 to $1,700 | 91 nationwide |
| Sit-down restaurant or cafeteria | 3,850 sq ft | $1,400 | $820 to $2,000 | 132 nationwide |
| Warehouse or distribution centre | 6,700 sq ft | $270 | $110 to $550 | 274 in the South |
| Hotel, motel or inn | 12,000 sq ft | $1,900 | $730 to $2,400 | 130 in the South |
| Gym, fitness or recreation facility | 8,300 sq ft | $700 | $530 to $1,300 | 148 nationwide |
A screening estimate, not a quote. The price is an average across every commercial customer in Virginia, scaled for building size, and the buildings are whole buildings from EIA's 2018 survey, so a suite inside a larger building, or one with unusual hours or equipment, can differ a lot. Estimate your own building in Virginia, or check a real bill.
What utilities billed commercial customers in Virginia
For each utility, EIA records how many commercial customers it had in 2025 and the average revenue per kWh it billed them. The 10 largest of 19 Virginia utilities with 500 or more commercial customers are shown.
| Utility | Type | Bundled customers | Bundled price per kWh | Delivery-only customers | Delivery-only price per kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Electric & Power Co | Investor-owned | 271,163 | 9.84¢ | 157 | 0.59¢ |
| Appalachian Power Co | Investor-owned | 82,313 | 13.39¢ | 46 | 2.00¢ |
| Shenandoah Valley Elec Coop | Cooperative | 15,536 | 12.75¢ | 0 | — |
| Northern Virginia Elec Coop | Cooperative | 15,077 | 9.54¢ | 0 | — |
| Rappahannock Electric Coop | Cooperative | 10,933 | 12.17¢ | 0 | — |
| City of Danville | Municipal | 5,161 | 11.13¢ | 0 | — |
| Central Virginia Electric Coop | Cooperative | 4,814 | 14.03¢ | 0 | — |
| Kentucky Utilities Co | Investor-owned | 4,763 | 13.49¢ | 0 | — |
| A & N Electric Coop | Cooperative | 4,450 | 12.53¢ | 0 | — |
| City of Harrisonburg | Municipal | 3,625 | 10.36¢ | 0 | — |
Together the 10 shown serve about 94% of Virginia’s 446,439 commercial customers, and all 19 serve about 98%. All Virginia commercial customers together averaged 9.95¢ per kWh in 2025.
Bundled is the price paid by commercial customers who buy their energy and delivery from the utility, so it is an all-in price. Delivery-only is what the utility billed customers who buy their energy from a competitive supplier, so it is the delivery charge alone and cannot be compared with a bundled price. Each figure averages every commercial customer of that utility and service type, from a corner shop to a campus, so a utility with larger customers averages a lower price per kWh. It is dated context, not a quote and not an offer, and the utility that serves an address is named on its bill.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861, 2025 final data. Utilities across the country · every utility as a CSV.
Virginia allows competitive supply only in limited circumstances, such as accounts above a demand threshold or through specific renewable-supply provisions. Access is capped or threshold-based rather than open, so whether a specific Virginia account qualifies must be checked against current program rules before any comparison is discussed.
Source: Virginia State Corporation Commission market structure; this site's market registry · 2026-10-31
Limited or special pathway. Choice is limited by demand threshold or specific renewable provisions; verify per account.
What a Virginia commercial account can actually do
Virginia is not an ordinary shopping market. Access is limited, and whether a specific account qualifies has to be checked against the current program rules before any comparison is worth discussing. This is the single most misrepresented category of market in this industry: a site that treats a capped or threshold-based program as ordinary retail choice will generate a great many enquiries it cannot serve.
So the first question is eligibility, not price. That means establishing which program the account would be entering, whether it is open, whether there is a queue or an enrollment window, what the demand or size threshold is, and what exit terms apply if the account later wants to return to regulated service.
For accounts that do not qualify — which is most of them — the controllable cost is still real, and it sits in the tariff rather than in a contract:
- Rate schedule fit. Computed from your own usage against a publicly filed alternative tariff, so it is verifiable by you or your accountant.
- Demand charges and ratchet exposure. Frequently the largest controllable line on the bill, and unaffected by any supply arrangement.
- Billing accuracy. Meter multipliers, customer classification and misapplied riders.
- Efficiency and load management, including any Virginia SCC-approved program the account already qualifies for.
Where Virginia sits
Every US market on one view, coloured by what an account can actually do there. Virginia is highlighted, and every other tile is a link.
- 14 you can choose — businesses can pick their supplier
- 6 some can choose — by size, cap or program
- 31 utility only — other charges can still be fixed
Number on each tile: average commercial electricity price in cents per kWh, 12 months to August 2026 (EIA, preliminary).
Before we can answer anything specific
We verify from the account, not from the address alone:
- The utility territory actually serving the service address
- The account identifier and customer class
- Current supply arrangement, including any aggregation and its termination status
- Contract expiry date and whether the decision window is open
- 12 months of consumption and, where metered, peak demand
Supplier comparison is not open in Virginia yet. The free bill check shows how much of your bill a supplier could even touch and what is worth a look today, which is the same first step whichever way you go.