FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALBANY, N.Y. — Empire Center’s Energy Data Bulletin shows New York households paid the fifth‑highest residential electricity prices in the country in June 2026, trailing only Hawaii, California, Massachusetts, and Maine.
Newly released U.S. Energy Information Administration data put New York’s average residential electricity price at 29.49 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is 60.8 percent above the national average of 18.34 cents per kilowatt-hour.
“Fifth‑highest price in the nation is a sign that New York’s energy policy is not working,” said Zilvinas Silenas, president of the Empire Center. “Since 2019, New York has ranked among the top 10 most expensive states for electricity every single month.”
New York’s residential electricity prices increased 11.1 percent over the past year—more than double the national rise of 5.0 percent.
Among the nation’s largest states, only California reported higher residential electricity prices than New York. New York households paid far more than those in Florida and Texas, and more than households in neighboring Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.
“Electricity prices in Texas and Florida are half of what they are in New York; electricity prices in Pennsylvania are a third lower. Clearly, those states are doing something right,” Silenas said.
New York’s average residential natural gas price reached $27.01 per thousand cubic feet in June 2026, compared to the national average of $24.09. New York households paid 12.1 percent more than the U.S. average—though the natural gas gap remains far smaller than the state’s electricity premium.
Natural gas prices in New York rose 18.8 percent from May and were 13.0 percent higher than a year earlier.
Read the September release of the Energy Data Bulletin.
Media contact:
Zilvinas Silenas
Empire Center for Public Policy
518.434.3100
[email protected]
About the Empire Center for Public Policy
The Empire Center is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank located in Albany, New York. Our mission is to make New York a better place to live and work by promoting public policy reforms grounded in free-market principles, personal responsibility, and the ideals of effective and accountable government.
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