Verified August 2026
Electricity cost calculator for businesses
Enter your monthly kilowatt-hours and this works out what you pay for supply. In Ohio it also shows what you would pay on the lowest competitive rate available, currently 7.6¢ per kWh against utility default rates of 9.38¢ to 13.33¢.
How the calculation works
Your supply cost is usage multiplied by rate: 4,000 kWh at 13.33¢ comes to $533.20 a month. That is the half of the bill open to competition, and the half this tool can speak to.
What it cannot see is the delivery half — the distribution charges, the riders, and above all the demand charge, which is billed on your single highest peak rather than on what you consumed. Two businesses using identical kilowatt-hours can pay very different bills because of it, and no calculator can tell them apart without the bill itself.
Where the numbers come from
| Figure | Source |
|---|---|
| Ohio utility rates | Each utility's tariff filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio |
| Competitive rate | Lowest offer on PUCO's Apples to Apples, verified August 2026 |
| State averages | EIA Electric Power Monthly, June 2026 average commercial price |
| Usage estimates | EIA Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey |
Typical usage by business type
Energy intensity varies enormously by what a building does. A fast-food kitchen uses roughly nine times the electricity per square foot of a warehouse.
| Business type | kWh per sqft/year | Typical monthly kWh |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant, full serviceat 2,500 sqft | 43.5 | 9,063 |
| Fast food or cafeat 1,800 sqft | 62.8 | 9,420 |
| Retail storeat 3,000 sqft | 14 | 3,500 |
| Officeat 2,500 sqft | 17 | 3,542 |
| Gym or studioat 4,000 sqft | 20 | 6,667 |
| Clinic or medical officeat 2,500 sqft | 24 | 5,000 |
| Warehouseat 6,000 sqft | 7.5 | 3,750 |
Intensity figures from the EIA Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey. Sizes are our own, chosen to represent a small business rather than the survey's mean, which is weighted by much larger sites.
Commercial rates vary more than most people expect
State averages run from 8.02¢ per kWh in North Dakota to 48.05¢ in Hawaii — a spread of roughly 6 to one. Of the 51 jurisdictions, 19 offer retail choice to commercial customers, meaning a business there can buy supply from someone other than the utility.
We analyse bills in Ohio today, where we hold every utility's filed tariff. See the Ohio rate table for what each one charges.
Common questions
How do I calculate my electricity bill?
Multiply your monthly usage in kilowatt-hours by your rate in cents per kWh, then divide by 100. A business using 4,000 kWh at 13.33¢ pays $533.20 for supply. Delivery charges, demand charges and taxes sit on top of that.
Where do I find my kWh usage?
It is printed on your bill, usually near the meter reading, as the difference between the current and previous reads. If you cannot find it, the estimator on this page works from your business type and square footage instead.
What is a good commercial electricity rate?
It depends entirely on your state. The US commercial average is around 13.5¢ per kWh, but state averages run from about 7¢ in North Dakota to 38¢ in Hawaii. In Ohio, competitive suppliers are offering as low as 7.6¢ against utility default rates of 9.38¢ to 13.33¢.
Why does this calculator only show savings for Ohio?
Because Ohio is the only state where we hold every utility's filed tariff, so we can state a real gap against a real competitive offer. Elsewhere we show the EIA state average, which answers what power costs but cannot support a savings claim.
Does this include my demand charge?
No. Demand charges are billed on your single highest peak rather than total consumption, they vary by utility and rate schedule, and they are invisible without the bill. That is one of the main reasons the estimate and the real number differ.