Utility Rate Increase Calculator

Use our Utility Rate Increase Calculator to see what a rate increase does to your monthly bill, work out the rate behind a change between two bills, or find how much less you’d need to use to keep paying the same.

Rate changes often apply only to the usage-based part of a bill, while the fixed charges — a monthly customer or service charge — stay the same. Choose “Only usage charges” and enter the fixed charges to take this into account. For example, a $180 electric bill with a $20 fixed charge and an 8% usage-rate increase becomes $192.80: $12.80 more a month, or $153.60 a year — a 7.11% rise on the whole bill. Choose “The entire bill” when everything goes up by the same percentage, so a $200 bill rising 20% becomes $240.

To offset an increase by using less, the cut needed is a little smaller than the increase, because what you still use is charged at the new rate: a 12% increase needs a 10.71% cut, and a 20% increase a 16.67% cut. With a rate cut, enter a negative percentage to see the lower bill, or how much more you could use for the same money.

Taxes, credits, tiered rates and changes in your usage from month to month can make a real bill differ, so treat the results as an estimate. To add up all your household bills on their own billing schedules, use our Utilities Cost Per Month Calculator; to see what a rent increase adds up to, our Rent Increase Calculator. To work out your electricity rate per kWh or what an appliance costs to run, try our Cost Per kWh Calculator.