Natural Gas Prices Hit Peak
By Hank Russell
A recent report shows that New York residents pay the fourth-highest electricity prices in the nation. In fact, they pay more than half of the national average.
According to the Empire Center for Public Policy’s Energy Data Bulletin, New York residents were paying 29.45 cents per kilowatt hour (ct/kWh) in April, which was the fourth-highest in the nation. The state tied with Massachusetts and was behind Hawaii (46.62 ct/kWh), California (35.25 ct/kWh) and Connecticut (32.24 ct/kWh). Additionally, New York’s electricity rates were 56% above the national average, which was 18.83 ct/kWh.
The think tank also found that April’s prices were 3.15% higher than they were in March, when it was 28.55 ct/kWh, and up 14.64% from the previous April, when it was 25.69 ct/kWh. New York also saw an astronomical 67.9% jump in prices, compared to April 2019, when the price was 17.54 ct/kWh.
Citing data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Empire Center found that there was a 10.62 ct/kWh difference between the state and the national average, which is up from March, with a 9.99 ct/kWh difference, April 2025 (8.14 ct/kWh) and April 2019 (4.29 ct/kWh).
New York also hit an all-time high in natural gas prices in April, peaking at $21.15 per thousand cubic feet ($/MCF), despite being 15th in the nation, according to the report. Hawaii had the highest residential natural gas rates ($70.84/MCF), while Montana had the lowest ($8.61/MCF). New York’s price also exceeded the national average of $18.2/MCF.
April’s price was 11.9% higher than they were in March, when it was $18.9/MCF and 15.8% higher than it was the previous April, with a price of $18.3/MCF. It is also a major increase of 74/9% over the April 2019 price of $12.1/MCF, according to The Empire Center.
The think tank also found that the $2.63/MCF price difference between the state average and the national average was higher than it was in March ($2.56/MCF), April 2025 ($1.74/MCF) and April 2019 ($2.36/MCF), citing data from the Energy Information Administration.
“New York’s electricity prices show that Albany’s energy policies are not working,” said Zilvinas Silenas, president of the Empire Center. “Electricity demand is rising across much of the country, yet most states have significantly lower prices.”