Plain answers about your energy bill
Pick a topic, or start with the three questions people ask most.
Pick a topic
Your bill
Supply and delivery, and how to read the page.
Suppliers and switching
Contracts, fixed and variable prices, fees and renewals.
The standard price in your state
Price to Compare, Standard Offer, Basic Service and more.
Town programs
Aggregation, opting out, NOPEC and Community Power.
Natural gas
Gas prices, gas choice, and Ccf, Mcf and therms.
Scams, door-to-door sellers and complaints
Red flags, your rights at the door, and who to call.
Words to know
Every word on your bill, in plain words.
Quick answers
What's the Price to Compare on my bill?
It's your utility's own price for power, and the price to beat when you look at other plans. Look for it in the Supply part of your bill.
If I switch, who delivers my power?
Your utility, the same as now: the same wires and the same crews for outages. Changing your price never turns off your power.
Your utility still delivers the power to your home and sends the bill. Another company only sets the price. When does my price change?
Your utility's electric price changes on set days, often twice a year. If you signed a contract, check its end date, since many start again at a higher price.
Watch Judy explain it
What Is the "Price to Compare" on Your Electric Bill?
Say a letter in your mailbox offers you electricity at 9 cents a kilowatt hour. By the end of this video, you'll know where to find the Price to Compare on your bill. You'll also know how to hold any offer up against it, dollar to dollar, before you say yes.
Watch the video
Washington, DC: prices, rules and help
Newest guides
Budget billing on a fixed income: is it a good idea?
Budget billing evens out winter and summer bills. Here's how it works, the catch to watch, who it fits best, and how to ask your utility about it.
All states · Electric and gas · · 7 min read
How to check (and get access to) a parent's electric bill
Visiting Mom or Dad? A calm checklist to look over their electric and gas bills together, get copies of shutoff notices, and get permission to help.
All states · Electric and gas · · 15 min read
Washington, DC electric prices for November 2026
Every Washington, DC utility's standard electric price for November 2026, what changed since October, and new prices already announced.
Washington, DC · Electric · · 1 min read
More to read
Studies (4)
We check prices across many towns and companies, and publish what we find with the data.
- What a typical home pays on the standard price this winter, by utility
One month of the standard electric or gas price at typical winter use, utility by utility, from most to least. The supply part of the bill only.
- When standard electric and gas prices change in 2027
Every date in 2027 when a utility's standard electric or gas price is set to change, state by state: the date, what changes, whether the new price is announced yet, and when it usually is.
- Illinois town electricity deals compared with the utility price
239 of 377 Illinois town electricity deals we checked (63%) cost more than the utility's own price. See each town, how we checked, and the data.
- NOPEC towns compared with the utility price, by utility
In 212 of 220 NOPEC towns we checked, NOPEC's price is lower than the utility's own price. In the 8 towns with AEP Ohio homes, it is higher. See each utility, each town and the data.
Trusted help outside Judy Saves (5)
These are official state pages and groups that work for people who pay energy bills. They don't sell energy.
- DC Power Connect (dcpowerconnect.com)
dcpowerconnect.com · DC's price list (DC Power Connect).
- DC Public Service Commission: complaints and questions
dcpsc.org · Where to complain about a utility or a company that sells energy.
- DC Office of the People's Counsel
opc-dc.gov · A state office or group that speaks up for people who pay utility bills.
- AARP Washington, DC
aarp.org · AARP's page for your state.
- LIHEAP: help paying heating and cooling bills
acf.gov · The federal program that helps pay energy bills. It shows how to apply in your state.