Residents in White Salmon, WA who request quotes on the EnergySage Marketplace spend an average of $184 monthly on electricity. That adds up to $2,208 per year. A different way to look at it is that a typical White Salmon, WA resident uses 1,354 kWh of electricity per month and 16,248 kWh over the year.
(For what it’s worth: White Salmon, WA residents shopping for solar on EnergySage may use more electricity than a typical household.)
The easiest way to compare electricity costs across regions is to look at the electricity rate. In the U.S., residential rates generally range from 11 ¢/kWh all the way up to 34 ¢/kWh.
As of February 2026, the cost of electricity in White Salmon, WA is 14 ¢/kilowatt-hour (kWh)—roughly 31% lower than the national average cost. That number is based on real-world electric bills shared with EnergySage over the past 12 months. You can compare that number to the most recent average state electric price reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The Washington electricity market is regulated, which means you can’t choose which company supplies your electricity. Instead, the state determines your electric utility company based on where you live. There are three main utility companies in Washington, all of which are Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs), meaning they're private for-profit companies:
Avista serves eastern Washington.
Pacific Power serves the greater Walla Walla and Yakima areas.
Puget Sound Energy serves all of Kitsap, Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom counties; parts of Island, King (not Seattle), Kittitas, and Pierce (not Tacoma) counties.
Based on your address, you may have a Municipal Light Department instead of an IOU. Municipalities are owned and operated by the local government or the community and have slightly different regulations. You may secure a lower electricity rate, but they don't always offer net metering.
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When you pay your electric bill, you’re not only covering the costs to produce that electricity, but also the costs of running and maintaining the electrical grid, as well as public benefit funds that promote things like renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Electric bill costs are rolled into fixed (monthly customer charges) and variable charges (¢/kWh that you use).
Fixed charges, like the flat fee for having a meter, generally remain the same monthly unless your utility makes a policy update.
Your variable charges will change every month and depend on your electricity rate and how much electricity you use.
Your electric bill's variable charges will include a supply (or generation) charge and a transmission and distribution (or delivery) charge. The supply charge covers the cost of electricity generation, while the transmission and distribution charges cover the cost of delivering it to your home.
You can expect to pay a flat fixed rate per kWh of electricity from most utility companies in Washington. Your bill total may change each month depending on your usage, but the rate does not change throughout the day. Some utilities, like Pacific Power, offer demand charges or time-of-use energy plans where you can save money by shifting usage to lower demand periods. But, they're uncommon for residential customers.
How clean is the electricity in Washington?
While it's hard to pin down a precise estimate, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, about 66% of the electricity on Washington's utility grid comes from renewable sources, as of July 2025. This is significantly more than the average state in the U.S., which is only about 20% of renewable sources. But, if you go solar in Washington, you'll still contribute to the state’s 100% clean energy goals.
Energy suppliers, like Puget Sound, offer programs to match your electricity usage with renewable energy by purchasing from independent resources. While you may pay a fee to participate, it's a great way to lower your carbon impact and encourage more renewable power without installing solar panels. It just won't save you any money in most cases. (Though occasionally it could if it’s through a municipal group-buy program).
As long as you have a suitable roof, one of the surest ways to save on energy is to go solar—ideally with a vetted contractor offering a competitive price.
Solar panels will reduce or even eliminate your electric bills in the short term and protect you against rising electricity costs in the long run, too. The amount you save depends on how much you spend on electricity now and how much of your electric bill you can offset with solar energy.
Solar panels are a big investment, but White Salmon, WA homeowners who install them can often lower their electric bill costs.
Does Washington offer net metering?
On sunny days, your solar panels will usually produce more than enough energy to power your home at any given moment.
That extra energy doesn't go to waste. The biggest utility companies in Washington (Avista, Pacific Power, and Puget Sound Energy) offer net metering, a solar buyback program that provides energy credits for all the solar power you send to the grid. When you need to pull electricity from the grid, like at night, the utility company pulls from your banked credits.
The exact credit rates may vary by utility, but most are equal to the retail rate. If you are a Grays Harbor customer, the benefits are slightly less favorable, only providing credit at 50% of the retail rate—you might consider pairing your solar panels with a battery to see the higher savings.
In Washington, your net metering credits reset on March 31st each year. If you don’t use your credits before then, you lose them. By this time of year, you’ll probably have used all your credits, so don't worry about it too much.
How much can you save with solar?
Like most of the country, electricity rates in Washington are rapidly increasing. Between rising electric bills and valuable net metering programs, your savings stack up quickly if you go solar in White Salmon, WA.
Just take a look at how much you'll spend on electricity over time based on your current bill. It’s easy to see how going solar can pay off quickly.
Electricity cost over time in Washington
Current monthly electric bill | 10-year electricity cost | 20-year electricity cost | 30-year electricity cost |
|---|---|---|---|
$50 | $7,000 | $17,000 | $30,000 |
$100 | $14,000 | $33,000 | $60,000 |
$150 | $21,000 | $50,000 | $90,000 |
$200 | $28,000 | $66,000 | $120,000 |
$250 | $35,000 | $83,000 | $150,000 |
Assuming a 3% annual increase based on inflation and average annual electric rate increases in Washington.
Let's assume you pay $184 for electricity monthly (the White Salmon, WA average) and that electricity prices increase by 3% annually. Let's also assume you buy your solar panel system upfront and that it costs you $31,000 before any available incentives.
In the first year with solar, you'll avoid spending $2,200 on electric bills. Over five years, you'll avoid $11,800; by 10 years, you'll have avoided $25,700. Solar panels are usually covered under warranty for 25 years—by then, you'll have avoided spending $83,900 on electric bills in White Salmon, WA.
Your solar savings depend on you
How much your utility company charges for electricity is a big indicator of how much you'll save with solar. But your exact solar savings depend on your unique situation—including your energy usage, roof layout, system size, and how you pay for your system.
Here are some reasons your savings could be below average:
You don’t use much electricity, or your roof is small or has a less-than-ideal layout. You might have a relatively long payback period, so you'll save a little less over time.
You don't install enough solar panels to 100% offset your energy use. You’ll pay less up front but save less in the long run.
You finance your solar panel system with a loan or sign a lease or power purchase agreement (PPA) instead of paying up front. These types of arrangements can make a lot of sense for keeping your capital flexible and will allow you to start saving sooner. But they will cut into your long-term savings.
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