Rhode Island energy profile

Manufacturing energy costs in Rhode Island

The current industrial power rate in Rhode Island is 20.75 cents per kWh (Apr 2026, EIA), ranking 48 of 51 states and sitting 139.6% above the national average.

Current prices in Rhode Island

  • Industrial electricity: 20.75 cents per kWh (Apr 2026, EIA).
  • Commercial electricity, the rate a warehouse or distribution center in Rhode Island typically pays: 22.31 cents per kWh.
  • Industrial natural gas: 6.14 per Mcf (Apr 2026), 25.3% above the national average.
  • Just below Rhode Island on the price ladder: Connecticut at 17.93, Massachusetts at 18.55, California at 19.87 cents. Just above: District of Columbia at 22.39, Alaska at 24.87, Hawaii at 38.29 cents.

What the rate does to operating cost

  • A 10 kW machine running a 4,000 hour year costs about 8,300 in electricity at Rhode Island rates versus 3,464 at the national average; at 50 kW the gap is 41,500 versus 17,320, and at 200 kW it is 166,000 versus 69,280.
  • Power costs here punish waste. In Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island

  • Industrial production managers: $59.67/hr median in Rhode Island versus $60.61 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial engineers: $52.57/hr median in Rhode Island versus $49.25 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Production supervisors: $39.25/hr median in Rhode Island versus $35.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial machinery mechanics: $31.14/hr median in Rhode Island versus $31.02 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Tool and die makers: $30.49/hr median in Rhode Island versus $30.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Machinists: $27.77/hr median in Rhode Island versus $28.24 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Rhode Island employs about 40,000 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 Rhode Island observation so the local price history deepens over time.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.