Pennsylvania energy profile

Manufacturing energy costs in Pennsylvania

As of May 2026, industrial electricity in Pennsylvania runs 10.31 cents per kWh. That is 18.4% more expensive than the U.S. average and places the state 37 of 51 nationally.

Current prices in Pennsylvania

  • Industrial electricity: 10.31 cents per kWh (May 2026, EIA).
  • Commercial electricity, the rate a warehouse or distribution center in Pennsylvania typically pays: 13.56 cents per kWh.
  • Pennsylvania does not report an industrial natural gas price for the latest month; plants there should use their utility contract rate.
  • Just below Pennsylvania on the price ladder: Minnesota at 9.8, Ohio at 9.87, Illinois at 10.2 cents. Just above: Virginia at 10.53, Delaware at 10.69, Maryland at 11.22 cents.

What the rate does to operating cost

  • A 10 kW machine running a 4,000 hour year costs about 4,124 in electricity at Pennsylvania rates versus 3,484 at the national average; at 50 kW the gap is 20,620 versus 17,420, and at 200 kW it is 82,480 versus 69,680.
  • Power costs here punish waste. In Pennsylvania, 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 Pennsylvania

  • Industrial production managers: $52.47/hr median in Pennsylvania versus $60.61 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial engineers: $47.87/hr median in Pennsylvania versus $49.25 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Production supervisors: $36.05/hr median in Pennsylvania versus $35.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial machinery mechanics: $30.69/hr median in Pennsylvania versus $31.02 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Tool and die makers: $29.40/hr median in Pennsylvania versus $30.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Machinists: $27.79/hr median in Pennsylvania versus $28.24 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Pennsylvania employs about 560,000 manufacturing workers as of Jun 2026 (BLS).

Manufacturing base in Pennsylvania

  • Pennsylvania has 13,231 manufacturing establishments employing about 564,394 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).
  • Largest sectors by establishment count: fabricated metal products (2,798), food manufacturing (1,355), machinery manufacturing (1,089), wood product manufacturing (981), printing and related support (906).

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 Pennsylvania observation so the local price history deepens over time.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.