For public power, affordability is a core value. Our members work hard to keep prices down for their customers while ensuring they continue to make smart investments in the systems that will serve their communities well for many years to come. As shown in the 2026 Public Power Statistical Report, public power residential customers continue to have the lowest average electric bill, saving more than $20 a month, or $246 per year compared to customers of other utility types. Yet cost pressures continue around power supply, general inflation, supply chain, and other factors.
While our nonprofit structures are a benefit, maintaining our affordability edge means having to stay fresh on the array of options and innovations available to keep costs low and to structure rates fairly for our communities. This issue of Public Power dives into these innovations to address costs, from how technology and artificial intelligence is being used in utility finance and accounting to strategies for rate design. It also examines how financing mechanisms uniquely accessible to public power (for which APPA strongly advocated), such as elective pay with tax credits and prepay with municipal bonds, are helping deliver long-term savings for public power customers.
As members work to improve their systems, every choice has an effect on the bottom line. Programs offered by APPA, such as the Reliable Public Power Provider, or RP3, designation, help utilities determine how to specifically prioritize limited resources to maintain operational excellence in safety, reliability, system improvements, and workforce development.
At APPA, we also educate policymakers in Washington, D.C., about how policy and regulatory moves affect affordability or could contribute to uneven cost burdens. We are pushing for reforms at the Federal Emergency Management Agency for quicker reimbursement around disasters, and for reforms to federal permitting of generation and transmission to address supply constraints that are affecting power costs. We also work to ensure you are aware of opportunities for funding your much-needed work, including $1.9 billion for the next round of GRIP grants, announced as part of the SPARK program, and our cooperative agreements with the Department of Energy providing grant dollars to public power utilities.
Thank you for continuing to share the stories included here, and across the national public power network, including on APPA Engage, about how you are navigating economic pressures and delivering value to the communities you serve.
