Electricity rates are up 9% year over year.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average revenue per kilowatt hour, a proxy for retail electricity prices, reached 14.36 cents/kWh in February 2026. In some states, the increases are significantly higher, with rates rising by more than 20%.
Residential electricity prices alone rose 7.4% over the same period.
This isn’t a one-off spike, but part of a broader pattern.
The part many homeowners miss
Electricity costs rarely jump all at once.By rising gradually, a few percentage points at a time, this change often happens without triggering a major reaction.
But month after month, year after year, the total cost adds up. And unlike most other expenses, there’s no long-term return. You continue to pay for energy, but you don’t gain any ownership or control over it.
What’s driving the increase
The EIA report points to several factors:
Increased electricity demand across most sectors
Regional weather patterns driving higher usage
Shifts in generation sources
Ongoing infrastructure and grid pressures
More electricity is being consumed, and the cost of delivering it continues to rise. And for homeowners, that translates into higher bills, even if their personal usage stays the same.
A better question to ask
When people start looking into solar, the question is usually:
“Is solar worth it?”
But as rates continue to rise, the more practical question becomes:
What happens if nothing changes?
Even if electricity prices continue to increase at a moderate pace, the long-term cost of doing nothing will be significant.
What solar actually changes
In some cases, solar can significantly reduce or even eliminate your electricity bill. But its real impact is how it changes your long-term exposure to rising rates.
Instead of being fully exposed to utility price increases, you begin to offset your own usage. You produce a portion of your energy, and in many cases, store and use it more efficiently with battery systems.
That provides something most homeowners don’t currently have: control.
It starts with getting the design right
Different homes require different solutions.
Energy usage patterns, roof layout, location, and utility structure all play a role in how a system should be designed. That’s why the process matters.
At Atma, we begin with a site-specific evaluation to understand how your home actually uses energy, so systems are built on real data, not assumptions.
When that groundwork is done properly, everything that follows becomes more predictable, from performance to cost.
What you can do
Electricity rates will continue to move.
The question is whether you stay fully exposed to that, or take a more active role in how your energy is produced and used.
If you’re considering solar, the most useful first step is understanding your current setup — and seeing what your best options actually look like.
We offer free, obligation-free support to give you that clarity.
Find out what solution fits your home — it takes less than 60 seconds.