Maine Electricity Rates per kWh: CMP, Versant and What 2027 Adds

Few states pay more per kWh than Maine, yet its yearly bill sits mid-table because homes use so little. The price you pay depends on your utility, and on a supply auction that finishes in November.

What the 2022 jump did to Maine prices

Maine homes paid 15.71¢ per kWh in 2010 and 29.59¢ over the latest 12 months, the fourth-highest price of any state. Most of that rise came in two years. The yearly price was 17.0¢ in 2021 and 27.4¢ in 2023, and it has not come back. Maine was about 25% above the US price in 2021 and about 61% above it in 2025.

The first eight months of 2026 ran about 10% above the same months of 2025, weighted by use. The January supply price drove that. A delivery cut on 1 July took some of it back, but those lower bills are only starting to reach the federal figures.

The same 550 kWh: $61 in Houlton, $157 on CMP, $178 around Bangor

The Maine Public Utilities Commission publishes every utility’s residential rates. We used its table as of 1 July 2026 to price the same month of use across the state. The 550 kWh column is the state’s own typical home. CMP carries 78.6% of Maine’s home use and Versant 17.4%, so most readers want the top three rows.

Every row uses the commission’s current rates, and the three big rows tie to published bills. CMP’s $157.13 and Bangor Hydro’s $177.81 match the state energy office, and Bangor Hydro’s $162.63 at 500 kWh matches Versant. For Maine Public we start from Versant’s $159.74 at 500 kWh. The state shows $173.53 at 550 kWh, about $1 lower than our figure, because the parts in the commission’s table add up to slightly less than its own delivery total. CMP says the first 750 kWh a month are free of sales tax, so tax can add to the 1,000 kWh column.

Consumer-owned utilities set the extremes. Their supply prices in the commission’s table range from 6.2¢ at Houlton and Van Buren to 16.8¢ on Isle au Haut, and Matinicus and Monhegan are exempt from Standard Offer rules. Federal figures for 2025 show the same pattern at larger scale: 27.41¢ on CMP, 30.15¢ on Versant and 19.36¢ at Eastern Maine Electric.

— in the last two columns: the utility reported no homes on delivery-only service to EIA for 2025, so none of its homes bought power from a supplier. It is a city utility, public district or co-op.

EIA-861 for 2025: each utility’s revenue from homes divided by the kWh they used, so monthly charges are spread into the price.

Why a small home pays 33¢ and a large one 27¢

CMP’s fixed charge is $27.37 a month and covers delivery of the first 50 kWh. Of that, $9.64 is stranded cost, a flat charge that the state says covers certain renewable energy programs, some storm recovery and energy assistance. It is the same for a cabin and a farmhouse, and the per-kWh stranded line is only a 0.1¢ credit, so using less barely touches it.

Divide the bill by the kWh and a 250 kWh home pays 33.2¢, the 550 kWh home 28.6¢ and a 1,000 kWh home 26.8¢. Each kWh you save is worth 24.68¢ on CMP, 30.35¢ on Bangor Hydro and 29.66¢ on Maine Public. Use those numbers to judge an LED swap or a new freezer, because the average overstates what cutting use will save.

Your 2027 supply price is being bought this month

Maine utilities do not sell power. If you make no choice, you get the Standard Offer, which the commission buys through bids and resets every 1 January. For 2027 it is buying in stages, and final bids run through 19 November.

We found no 2027 price on 5 November 2026. Last year the commission accepted bids on 18 and 19 November, so expect the figure soon after the final round. Every 1¢ moves a 550 kWh bill by $5.50 a month, or about $63 a year for a typical Maine home. The Public Advocate tied the 2026 rise to natural gas costs and wholesale market risk.

The Maine Public District sits outside the ISO New England grid and buys its supply separately, through a system run from New Brunswick and northern Maine. Its Standard Offer was about 2¢ above the rest of the state in 2026. No source we found gives one clear reason for that gap, so we do not offer one.

Every supplier on the state list is above the Standard Offer today

On 1 November 2026 the Public Advocate’s sample listed no fixed offer below the Standard Offer. For CMP homes the lowest was 13.75¢ for 12 months, against 12.721¢. For Bangor Hydro it was also 13.75¢, against 12.954¢. At typical use, that CMP gap is about $65 a year. The office says no competitive supplier was serving the Maine Public District as of its last outreach in November 2023.

Those offers run past January, so the fair comparison is with the 2027 Standard Offer. Wait for it before signing anything. History is not on the suppliers’ side, though. In 2025 the 53,129 Maine homes with a supplier paid 32.25¢ per kWh, when the same use at the Standard Offer would have cost 27.68¢. That is about $273 per home, or $14.5 million in all.

Worked out from EIA-861 for 2025: suppliers’ revenue from homes plus the utilities’ delivery-only revenue, divided by the kWh, against the same kWh at each utility’s default-service price per kWh. Aggregation programmes count as suppliers. The averages hide wide differences between contracts.

A January 2026 state advisory report put premiums above the Standard Offer at $156 million between 2016 and 2024. Suppliers including NRG and Constellation questioned its method. Lawmakers passed a bill in March 2026 to stop suppliers charging low-income assistance customers more than the Standard Offer, though we could not confirm the final signature. If you do sign a contract, put the end date in your calendar. The Public Advocate warns that you may be rolled onto a higher or variable price.

EIA-861 for 2025, Sales to Ultimate Customers (residential): every utility, supplier and retail provider’s own report.

CMP’s $189 million request, due around April 2027

Bills fell on 1 July 2026. A 550 kWh CMP home saved about $11.28 a month as storm costs from 2023 and 2024 were paid off and efficiency charges dipped. Versant’s 500 kWh bills fell $5.70 in Bangor Hydro and $1.77 in Maine Public.

The next step may go the other way. CMP filed on 17 April 2026 for $189 million in new revenue. On 6 October the commission unanimously refused a temporary rise of about $70 million, worth about $7 a month, because the amount was disputed. Chair Philip Bartlett called that “a delay, but it’s not a ‘no.’” He expects a final decision around April 2027, with some increase likely but probably less than CMP wants. One advocacy group put the full request at about $18 a month for an average home. Nothing is decided, so do not budget on that number.

Heat pump or EV on CMP? Check this rate before December

CMP’s Electric Technology rate swaps a higher fixed charge for a lower price per kWh. You do not need a heat pump to join, but CMP says the rate is scheduled to end on 31 December 2026 unless the commission extends it, and it is awaiting a decision.

CMP puts break-even at 642 kWh a month, and our sums agree. Because both rates are straight lines, what matters is your 12-month total: 7,704 kWh. If a heat pump takes you past that, the rate wins across the year even with cheap summer months. A typical Maine home at 6,336 kWh would pay about $44 a year more. Supply is the same on both.

Versant’s Home Heating Eco Rate is for homes meeting at least half their heating with heat pumps or a heat pump water heater. A fact sheet for the Maine Public District says use above 600 kWh a month from October to April is where it saves. Both companies also offer time-of-use rates, which pay off only if your use moves to off-peak hours.

About half of Maine homes still heat mainly with fuel oil, so a heat pump decision usually swaps an oil bill for a larger power bill. Compare it with a real oil price, not only the power bill.

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Bills peak in late winter, not summer

Use was highest in March at 669 kWh and lowest in July at 441. That is a flat year by US standards, where summer air conditioning drives many bills.

If a bill is out of reach, ask about the Low Income Assistance Plan, which is a credit on your bill and is usually handled with your Home Energy Assistance application. The Arrearage Management Program can forgive past-due balances for eligible customers who keep paying on time. MaineHousing’s line is (877) 544-3271.

New England’s second-lowest bill at a top-tier price

Maine ranks 2nd of 6 New England states on price. Yet at $1,875 a year, only Vermont spends less. Massachusetts pays about the same per kWh and spends $2,195. Connecticut pays 27.42¢, a little under Maine, and spends $2,311 because its homes use a third more. Across the US, Maine homes rank 49th on use and 26th on yearly bill.

Across the border: New Hampshire 26.95¢.

All 50 states and DC on one page, with a map.

Why the federal price rose in July when bills fell

The chart shows a 9.5% jump in July 2026 to 32.41¢, the highest month in the series, right after an approved bill cut. That does not mean bills rose. This measure divides revenue by kWh, and July was the lowest-use month of the year, so the fixed charge weighs more. Recent months are also preliminary and may be revised. For your real price, use the tables above.

Figures to August 2026 (EIA marks recent months preliminary), utility figures for 2025, refreshed 3 November 2026. How every number in this series is made and checked.

• Maine, every month since 2010 (CSV): price per kWh, kWh and bill per home, and the US price.
• Every state, DC and the US (CSV)
• Everything above with the utility and supplier figures (JSON)

EIA data is in the public domain: credit the U.S. Energy Information Administration. A link back is welcome.

Questions

Electricity rates in other states

Version history

• 1.1.1 (November 2026): wording and page heading tidied; no figures changed.
• 1.1 (5 November 2026): replaced a source link that no longer opens with Versant Power’s own eco rates page. No figures changed.
• 1.0 (November 2026): first published.