Data Sources

Official source standards

Energy Bill Lab uses official public datasets for energy rate benchmarks. Residential electricity rates are sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Electric Power Monthly Table 5.3 / ES1.A (national residential benchmark) and Table 5.6.A (state residential rates), based on Form EIA-861M monthly retail sales reports. Residential natural gas rates are sourced from EIA Natural Gas Monthly Table 20 (Average price of natural gas sold to residential consumers, by state).

Published rate pages identify the primary source, dataset name, geographic scope, unit, publication date, and the date Energy Bill Lab validated the snapshot.

Data validation & integrity

If an upstream import fails or is in transit, the product maintains the last validated snapshot and displays its update date. It does not replace valid information with empty, partial, or invented values.

Data validation gates enforce geographical separation (50 states evaluated separately from the District of Columbia), sector isolation (residential sales isolated from commercial or industrial tariffs), and boundary checks against non-positive numbers.

Data update history & snapshot log

• July 2026 Natural Gas Snapshot — EIA Release: September 30, 2026 | Imported: October 13, 2026 | Validated: October 13, 2026 | Deployed: October 13, 2026 | Records: 43 reporting states + District of Columbia ($31.62/Mcf) + U.S. national benchmark ($26.45/Mcf; 7 states withheld: CT, FL, KS, LA, NH, OH, WV) | Source: EIA Natural Gas Monthly Table 20 — Average price of natural gas sold to residential consumers (underlying survey: Form EIA-857; series N3010US3) | Status: Published Live Benchmark

• July 2026 Electricity Snapshot — EIA Release: September 24, 2026 | Imported: September 25, 2026 | Validated: September 25, 2026 | Deployed: October 13, 2026 | Records: 50 states + District of Columbia (25.21 ¢/kWh) + U.S. national benchmark (18.31 ¢/kWh) | Source: Electric Power Monthly Table 5.3 / ES1.A & Table 5.6.A (Form EIA-861M) | Status: Published Live Benchmark

• June 2026 Natural Gas Snapshot — EIA Release: August 31, 2026 | Imported: September 29, 2026 | Validated: September 29, 2026 | Records: 44 reporting states + District of Columbia ($27.28/Mcf) + U.S. national benchmark ($24.09/Mcf; 6 states withheld) | Source: Natural Gas Monthly Table 20 | Status: Superseded / Historical Archive

• June 2026 Electricity Snapshot — EIA Release: August 24, 2026 | Imported: August 27, 2026 | Validated: August 27, 2026 | Records: 50 states + District of Columbia + U.S. national baseline (18.37 ¢/kWh) | Source: Electric Power Monthly Table 5.3 & Table 5.6.A | Status: Superseded / Historical Archive

• May 2026 Natural Gas Snapshot — EIA Release: July 31, 2026 (Preliminary $19.83/Mcf); August 31, 2026 (Revised $19.73/Mcf) | Imported: August 2, 2026 | Validated: August 2, 2026 (Initial) / September 29, 2026 (Revised) | Records: 46 reporting states + District of Columbia ($22.01/Mcf) + U.S. benchmark ($19.73/Mcf; 4 states withheld) | Source: Natural Gas Monthly Table 20 | Status: Revised / Historical Archive

• May 2026 Electricity Snapshot — EIA Release: July 24, 2026 | Imported: July 27, 2026 | Validated: July 27, 2026 | Records: 50 states + District of Columbia + U.S. national baseline (18.44 ¢/kWh) | Source: Electric Power Monthly Table 5.3 & Table 5.6.A | Status: Superseded / Historical Archive