Myrtle Beach residents pay more for electricity than other Americans. Here’s by how much

Residents in Myrtle Beach are paying above average prices for the electricity, a new study found.

Households in the Myrtle Beach metro have a median monthly total of $150 for electricity costs, according to a new report from Commodity, a site that explains how commodities are traded and what drives their prices. That number accounts for nearly 74% of total utility costs and about 17% of total housing costs.

The median monthly electric costs in the United States is $140. Those bills make up 59% of a household’s total utility costs and 12.5% of total housing costs.

Part of the reason for the increased energy usage is the coronavirus pandemic, which forced families to work and learn from home during hours when houses and apartments were previously empty, the study said. It also mentioned the rising summer temperatures, which caused energy bills to go up.

“Amid this new reality, heat waves blanketed the country, causing a spike in energy use as Americans tried to keep their homes cool,” the report stated.

The metropolitan areas researched in the study were categorized by size, putting Myrtle Beach in the midsize group, which includes places with 350,000 to 999,999 people.

In South Carolina, the median monthly electricity costs is $170, according to the study released in July.

Other states that have median electricity bills that are more than $160 per month are Texas, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee.

This story was originally published August 4, 2021 at 12:00 AM.