Data in the Monthly Energy Review for November 2025 from the U.S. Energy Information Office suggest coal may not be out as a source for electricity generation, but could be heading in that direction.

 Data from 1949 to 2024 shows coal produced about 2 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) at its peak around 2007, but since then has steadily declined to about 648 billion kWh in 2024. At the same time, since roughly 2014, natural gas has supplanted coal as the primary source of electricity, at 1.7 trillion kWh by 2024, and it continues to rise.

Renewable energy is the second-most source of electricity, at 948 billion kWh, while nuclear energy, at 782 billion kWh, is just ahead of coal.

Another noteworthy statistic is the total amount of electricity generated from utility-scale facilities since 1950. In that year, the United States generated 334 billion kWh and didn’t surpass 1 trillion until 1965 (1.058 trillion). In 2024, the U.S. generated 4.309 trillion kWh.

As of August 2025, the country had generated 2.998 trillion kWh. Comparatively, in the same 8-month period in 2024, it had generated 2.932 trillion kWh; in 2023, that number was 2.828 trillion kWh.

The average price of electricity also continues to rise. In 2024, the United States averaged 12.94 cents per kWh (including taxes) across primarily residential, commercial, industrial and transportation sectors. That’s up by almost 2 cents since 2021 (11.10 cents). 

Through August 2025, the country was averaging 13.59 cents per kWh, which is a steady jump from the same time period in 2024 (12.94 cents) and 2023 (12.69 cents).

What is significant is the price increases from January to August 2025. A kilowatt-hour for a residential property in January was 15.94 cents; that number was up to 17.62 cents in August. A kilowatt hour for a transportation application in January was 12.13 cents; by August it was 13.69 cents.

Those prices are a far cry from 1950, when the United States averaged 1.80 cents per kWh across mostly residential, commercial and industrial. The country did not exceed 10 cents per kilowatt hour until 2013 (10.07 cents).