Appliance running costs in Montana
Meter reading
per year
3,798 kWh certified × 14.67¢ per kWh ÷ 100 — one certified median for each of 9 appliance classes
Default: Montana residential average, 14.67¢ per kWh, EIA JUL 2026. Overwrite it with the rate printed on your own bill.
SOURCE·ENERGY STAR certified product data·tariff Montana residential average 14.67¢ — EIA Electric Power Monthly, retrieved 2026-07-28·REVIEWED JUL 2026
14.67¢ / kWh Residential electricity in Montana averages 14.67 cents per kilowatt-hour, against a national average of 19.41¢ — the 39th highest of the 51 states and DC.
Running one typical certified example of each appliance below would cost about $557.15 a year in Montana. That is a schedule total and not a power bill: heating, lighting and the standing daily charge are all outside it.
How this is worked out
- Take the certified annual consumption for the appliance class off the EPA's ENERGY STAR register — the median of every listed model, not a wattage anyone assumed.
- Take the residential tariff off the EIA's Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A. Here that is Montana's residential average, 14.67¢ per kWh.
- Multiply, then divide by 100 to come out of cents. Nothing is rounded before this line.
- Derive the rest of the schedule from that one figure: ÷ 12 monthly, ÷ 365 daily, × 10 for a ten-year life.
- Overwrite the tariff terminal with the rate printed on your own bill and the register re-reads. The certified consumption does not move — that is the half of the sum nobody gets to opinion their way out of.
annual cost ($) = certified kWh per year × tariff ¢ per kWh ÷ 100
The schedule, circuit by circuit
One certified median per appliance class, all on Montana's tariff.
| Appliance | Typical use | Per year | Per month | Best model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerators | 344 kWh | $50.46 | $4.21 | $6.16 |
| Freezers | 412 kWh | $60.44 | $5.04 | $20.10 |
| Clothes washers | 110 kWh | $16.14 | $1.34 | $5.72 |
| Clothes dryers | 608 kWh | $89.19 | $7.43 | $17.90 |
| Dishwashers | 239 kWh | $35.06 | $2.92 | $11.74 |
| Dehumidifiers | 343 kWh | $50.32 | $4.19 | $15.40 |
| Room air conditioners | 532 kWh | $78.03 | $6.50 | $40.15 |
| Water heaters | 1,015 kWh | $148.90 | $12.41 | $94.33 |
| Electric cooking | 195 kWh | $28.61 | $2.38 | $25.67 |
SOURCE·ENERGY STAR certified product data·priced at Montana's residential average, 14.67¢ per kWh, EIA retrieved 2026-07-28·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Schedule notes
What is the average electricity price in Montana?
14.67 cents per kilowatt-hour for residential customers, against a national average of 19.41¢ — the 39th highest of the 51 states and DC. That is the EIA's average revenue per kWh, retrieved 2026-07-28, not a plan advertised by one retailer.
What would all these appliances cost me a year in Montana?
About $557.15 a year to run one typical certified example of each of the 9 classes on this page — 3,798 kWh at 14.67¢ per kWh. It is a schedule total, not a power bill: heating, lighting, hot water beyond the certified figure and the standing daily charge are all outside it.
Why does my bill not match this?
Because a state average is an average. Your retailer's tariff, a time-of-use rate, fixed daily charges and how hard you actually run each appliance all move the real number. Type your own rate into the tariff terminal beside the register and every figure above re-reads on it.
