California energy profile

Manufacturing energy costs in California

California plants pay 19.87 cents per kWh for industrial power as of Apr 2026, which puts the state 129.4% over the national average and 47 of 51 in the country, counting from the cheapest.

Current prices in California

  • Industrial electricity: 19.87 cents per kWh (Apr 2026, EIA).
  • Commercial electricity, the rate a warehouse or distribution center in California typically pays: 25.75 cents per kWh.
  • California does not report an industrial natural gas price for the latest month; plants there should use their utility contract rate.
  • Just below California on the price ladder: New Hampshire at 17.14, Connecticut at 17.93, Massachusetts at 18.55 cents. Just above: Rhode Island at 20.75, District of Columbia at 22.39, Alaska at 24.87 cents.

What the rate does to operating cost

  • A 10 kW machine running a 4,000 hour year costs about 7,948 in electricity at California rates versus 3,464 at the national average; at 50 kW the gap is 39,740 versus 17,320, and at 200 kW it is 158,960 versus 69,280.
  • Power costs here punish waste. In California, load-shifting, waste heat recovery, and idle-time elimination pay back quicker than the national math suggests, and quotes for energy-heavy work should use the local rate, not a national default.

What factory labor pays in California

  • Industrial production managers: $63.76/hr median in California versus $60.61 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial engineers: $59.90/hr median in California versus $49.25 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Tool and die makers: $37.04/hr median in California versus $30.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Production supervisors: $36.94/hr median in California versus $35.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial machinery mechanics: $35.77/hr median in California versus $31.02 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Welders, cutters, and brazers: $27.91/hr median in California versus $25.84 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • California employs about 1,204,000 manufacturing workers as of May 2026 (BLS).

Sources and update cadence

  • Prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and refresh automatically when the agency publishes; this page also archives each month's California observation so the local price history deepens over time.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.