Duke Energy Ohio rates: today's price, how it moved and what beats it

It is 10.49¢ per kWh, and it covers only the power itself. PUCO posts it on the Energy Choice Ohio chart for Duke. Duke delivers power in southwest Ohio, including the Cincinnati area, and sends one bill, whoever sells the power. If you have not chosen a supplier or joined a town program, this is the power price on your bill.

Duke's own page says the price to compare is the yearly amount you stop paying Duke when you pick another seller, divided by your yearly kWh. That amount is made of six riders, which are line items Duke adjusts from time to time: retail capacity, retail energy, alternative energy, regional transmission, supplier cost reconciliation and fuel and reserve reconciliation. When Duke changes one, the price to compare can change.

Why the number on your bill can differ

The state's chart shows one price for a typical home. Duke's price for you depends on how much you use and how you heat. On Oct. 25, 2026, Duke's page listed these averages for homes billed on its standard residential rate, Rate RS.

Duke's page also has a calculator that works out your own number from 12 months of kWh. Use your bill's number in the tool below, because it is the one an offer has to beat for you.

Type the offer's price, its monthly fee and how many months it lasts. Then see what it costs next to Duke's price, fee included. A $19.99 fee at 900 kWh adds about 2.2¢ to every kWh, so a 9¢ offer behaves like an 11.2¢ offer. The tool also shows what happens if Duke's price falls later, because a fixed offer can lose when the default price drops.

1. 1
   Find Duke's price.

   It is in the electric part of your bill. The box starts with the latest price we have.

2. 2
   Type the offer's price.

   Use cents per kWh, such as 9.99.

3. 3
   Add the monthly fee.

   Type 0 if there is none.

4. 4
   Pick the term.

   Then press the button.

5. 5
   Try a later price.

   Type 8 to see what a drop in Duke's price does to the result.

The result is an estimate of the power price only. It leaves out delivery, taxes and any price after the first term. Nothing you type is sent or saved.

It has climbed from about 5.5¢ to more than 10¢, and the biggest step was in June 2023. PUCO's chart for Duke lists a price for every month back to 2019. Its news release of May 4, 2023 said default prices at all Ohio utilities would jump on June 1, "because of upward pressure on wholesale electricity markets." For a home using 1,000 kWh a month, PUCO listed Duke's price rising from 6.44¢ to 10.17¢.

The chart shows a pattern. In every year from 2022 through 2026 it lists a step in June and another in October. Duke also moved in April in each of those years. Between June 2025 and June 2026 the price rose from 10.45¢ to 10.70¢. The price now is 10.49¢ (from October 1, 2026). The one before it was 10.69¢, good from July 1, 2026 through September 30, 2026.

PUCO warns that past prices do not predict future ones. The Ohio Consumers' Counsel says the standard offer price has risen as capacity costs, which are fees to keep power plants available, have reached some of their highest levels in recent years. A fixed price can feel safer after swings like these. It can also look bad when the default falls, which is why the tool above lets you try a lower price.

43 of 150 offers are priced under Duke's price, which is 29%. That falls to 22 once monthly fees are added in. Only 4 are fixed for 12 months or more with no fees at all. 47 different sellers are on the chart, and 19 of the offers are variable, which means the seller can change the price.

Three sellers that have their own guides here are shown below, straight from the chart. Cheapest is not the same as best, so check any name with our supplier guide, and see our Apples to Apples guide to read every column of the chart.

Read each seller's guide for fees and terms: IGS Energy, Energy Harbor and Direct Energy. This table is not a score or a ranking.

A plan finder shows the plans it sells, and the state's chart shows every certified offer. The free finder on this page lists plans for your ZIP and names Duke's default price beside them. The Energy Choice Ohio chart is larger, because PUCO requires every certified seller to post its offers there. Check both, and then run the best price through the test above with its fee and term.

If a finder shows few plans for your ZIP, that is not a sign nothing is out there. It means the finder has fewer plans than the state's chart does. A city program may also beat both lists. Our Cincinnati program guide compares the city's rate with Duke's.

Power is the part you can shop, and delivery is the part you cannot. The Ohio Consumers' Counsel lists three parts on a Duke bill: supply, which is the cost of the electricity you use; transmission, which moves power over high-voltage lines; and distribution, which pays for the poles, wires and local system. Your seller sets only the first. Duke also adds charges for infrastructure investments that PUCO has approved.

Duke has asked PUCO to raise the delivery part. The Ohio Consumers' Counsel, the state's residential watchdog, says a typical home would pay about $8.32 more a month, starting in 2027 if PUCO approves. The Counsel listed public hearings on December 1, 2026 in Middletown, and on December 10, 2026 in Cincinnati and Hamilton. The Counsel says Duke has about 500,000 residential customers.

Status on October 25, 2026: PUCO had not ruled and the public hearings had not been held. A rate case moves in steps, and this page does not follow them day by day. The live record is the Duke rate case record at PUCO.

A delivery increase hits your bill whoever sells your power. Our high bill guide shows how to tell a delivery rise from a power-price rise on your own bill.

Your service, your meter and your outage number stay the same. Duke's customer-choice FAQ says Duke still maintains the lines, you still call Duke for an outage, and you need no special meter. A seller decides whether you get one bill or two, so ask before you sign. There is no enrollment deadline, and you may have one electric seller per account.

• If a seller can no longer serve you, Duke says customers return to its standard service offer and can pick another seller later.
• Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP) customers are not eligible to choose a seller. Customers on Duke's Residential Low Income Service rate are.
• Budget Billing is still offered if you switch.
• Net metering still works with a seller, but the seller decides whether to offer a net metering contract.

Compare, call, read and watch for your letter. PUCO's steps are to find your price to compare on your bill, compare offers on the chart, contact the sellers you like and read the contract. Your utility then sends a letter confirming the switch. You have seven days from the postmark date to stop it.

1. Find your priceIt is on your bill. The state's chart shows 10.49¢ for the current period.
2. Test the offerUse the tool above with the fee and the term.
3. Read the contractCheck the term, fees and what happens when it ends.
4. Watch for the letterDuke confirms the switch. You have seven days to stop it.

Already in a town program? Check it before you leave. Already have a seller? Our contract ending guide shows the notices you are owed.