How do I find electricity rates for my address?

Use the `get_rates_by_address` tool with your full street address. The API will geocode your location and return all applicable utility rates (residential, commercial, industrial). For example, enter '1617 Cole Blvd, Golden, CO 80401' to see rates from Xcel Energy and other providers serving that area.

What's the difference between residential, commercial, and industrial rates?

Residential rates (sector 1) are for homes and typically have simple tiered or time-of-use structures. Commercial rates (sector 2) serve businesses and include general service and large power tariffs with demand charges. Industrial rates (sector 3) are for heavy manufacturing with the lowest per-kWh costs but complex demand and power factor adjustments. Use the specific sector tools or filter with the sector parameter.

Can I get complete rate structures with time-of-use details?

Yes. Set the detail parameter to 'full' when calling get_utility_rates or get_rate_detail. This returns the complete tariff structure including energyratestructure (time-of-use periods and seasonal blocks), demandratestructure, fixed charges, minimum charges, and tax adjustments. Essential for accurate solar ROI calculations and detailed energy cost modeling.

OpenEI MCP Connector for Claude

A+

US electricity rate intelligence — query utility rates by location, sector, and tariff via AI for solar and energy analysis.

10 tools Official Updated Oct 1, 2026 Official Vinkius Partner

More Details Connect to Claude

Access the National Utility Rate Database through OpenEI — the most comprehensive source for US electricity rate data maintained by the Department of Energy. Connect OpenEI to your AI agent to instantly query utility rates by address or coordinates, analyze rate structures across residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, retrieve complete tariff details including time-of-use periods and demand charges — all through natural conversation.

What you can do

Location-Based Rate Lookup — Find all applicable utility rates by providing a street address or GPS coordinates.
Sector-Specific Rates — Query residential, commercial, or industrial electricity rates separately.
Complete Tariff Analysis — Retrieve full rate structures including time-of-use periods, seasonal variations, demand charges, and energy charges.
Utility Company Research — Search and browse US electric utilities, get company details and service territories.
Solar Feasibility Studies — Instant rate quotes for solar ROI calculations and net metering analysis.
Energy Cost Modeling — Access detailed rate structures for accurate energy cost projections.
Demand Charge Analysis — Understand demand charges for commercial and industrial facilities.
Rate Comparison — Compare rate options across different utilities and locations.

How it works

Subscribe to this server
Enter your OpenEI API Key
Start querying electricity rates through Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client

Who is this for?

Solar Installers — instant rate quotes for customer proposals and ROI calculations.
Energy Consultants — detailed rate structures for energy cost modeling and feasibility studies.
Facility Managers — compare rates across locations for site selection and budget planning.
Researchers — access comprehensive US electricity rate data for academic and policy analysis.

utility-rateselectricity-tariffsenergy-analysissolar-datatariff-structure

10 tools expose this connector's capabilities to your AI agent.

get_residential_rates

Perfect for homeowners comparing electricity costs, evaluating solar ROI, or understanding time-of-use rate options. Returns all residential tariffs including tiered rates, time-of-use plans, and electric vehicle charging rates. Get residential electricity rates for a location

get_commercial_rates

Use lat/lon or address to identify the location. Returns all available commercial tariffs including general service, large power, and time-of-use rates. Essential for commercial solar installations, demand response analysis, and business energy cost modeling. Get commercial electricity rates for a location

get_industrial_rates

Industrial rates typically include the lowest per-kWh costs but may have complex demand charges and power factor adjustments. Use for heavy manufacturing energy cost analysis, load forecasting, and industrial facility site selection. Get industrial electricity rates for a location

get_rate_detail

Returns the full rate structure including energy charges, demand charges, fixed charges, minimum charges, time-of-use periods, seasonal variations, and applicable taxes. Use this after identifying a rate ID from get_utility_rates to get exhaustive details for cost modeling or bill analysis. Get detailed information about a specific utility rate/tariff

get_rates_by_address

Simply provide a street address and the API will geocode it and identify the serving utility and applicable rates. Perfect for solar installers providing instant rate quotes to customers, or homeowners checking their electricity rates. Returns all available rate options at that address. Get utility rates for a specific street address

get_rates_by_coordinates

Automatically identifies the serving utility for that location and returns applicable rates. Essential for solar installers, energy consultants, and site selection analysis. Returns residential, commercial, and industrial rates if available. Set detail=full for complete rate structures. Get utility rates for a location using GPS coordinates

get_utility_detail

Returns the utility name, address, contact information, service territory, owned generation resources, and associated rates. Use this to research utility companies, understand their generation mix, or identify all rates offered by a specific utility. Get detailed information about a specific utility company

get_utility_rates

Provide either latitude/longitude coordinates or a physical address to find applicable utility rates. Filter by sector (residential, commercial, industrial) to get specific rate types. Use detail=full to retrieve complete rate structures including time-of-use periods, seasonal variations, demand charges, and energy charges. This is essential for solar analysis, energy cost modeling, and economic feasibility studies. Sector values: 1=Residential, 2=Commercial, 3=Industrial. Get utility rate information for a specific location

list_utilities

Filter by state, country, or utility name to find specific companies. Returns utility names, addresses, company IDs, and service territories. Use this to identify utility companies for research or to get company IDs for further queries. Use limit and offset for pagination through large result sets. List electric utility companies in the OpenEI database

search_utilities_by_name

Useful for finding the correct utility when you know part of the company name but not the ID. Returns matching utilities with their IDs, addresses, and service areas. Use the returned IDs for detailed queries. Search for utility companies by name