The States That Import The Most Electricity
Electricity rarely stops at state lines. A home in New York may draw power generated in Canada, while California relies on supplies routed through Nevada and Arizona. Even states known for producing more electricity than they consume can import power when demand rises or local generation falls. These exchanges are made possible by interconnected grid, but the reasons behind them vary widely: geography, weather, energy resources, and limits of local power systems all play a role. The states importing the most electricty, like New York, Vermont, and Minnesota, reveal how closely America's energy needs are tied together and why producing plenty of power does not always mean a state can meet its own demand. Here are the 12 American states importing the most electricity based on the dollar value of electricity imports in 2025.
1. New York: $540.2 million
New York imports the most electricity within the United States annually. Although the state produces electricity on a massive scale (it generated 129 terawatt-hours in 2024), it still remains the largest importer of electricity. It relies primarily on Canada, New England, and mid-Atlantic states to meet its energy demands to keep its massive economy afloat.
It should be no surprise that the vast majority of electricity consumption takes place within New York City. The Big Apple is one of the largest cities on Earth, and keeping the lights on is not cheap. Close to 60% of all electricity is consumed by New York City.
The state government is making plans to expand wind farms and construct more hydroelectric dams upstate to help reduce reliance on imported electricity. However, these changes will not take place overnight, and it appears for the immediate future that most New Yorkers will be counting on imported electricity to keep the lights on.
2. Vermont: $335.5 million
Vermont is in a much similar situation to New York in terms of where they get their power. Vermont imports close to 70% of its power from out of state, with the vast majority of that coming across the Canadian border thanks to Hydro-Québec.
Hydro-Québec is one of the largest exporters of Canadian energy into the American market. The province of Quebec is lucky enough to have access to many waterways that can be dammed and then convert said energy into electricity.
Of the little power that is generated within Vermont, most of it comes from its own hydroelectric dams, solar farms, and wind farms. There has been a huge emphasis within Vermont to only use renewable and clean energy sources.
3. Minnesota: $327.6 million
Minnesota has almost zero fossil fuel supplies that can be found within its borders. Therefore, it is reliant on Canadian energy and out-of-state supplies to meet demand.
There have been significant initiatives by the Minnesota government in the past 20 years to help ease this energy dependency by pushing out plenty of wind and solar farms. Minnesota's relatively flat geography makes it an ideal place to construct wind farms in particular, as it can utilize the wind currents that flow across the Great Plains.
4. Maine: $248.9 million
Despite being so high on this list, Maine does supply its residents with most of their electricity. It is just that they import a considerable amount. This is mostly to supply its northernmost residents who rely on a shared grid with the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
Maine's largest energy source is natural gas, which accounts for close to 44% of total electricity produced in the state. Of all the energy that is produced within Maine, over half comes from a renewable source.
Since the early 2000s, there has been a conscious effort to move away from things like coal and oil and to turn towards cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable sources of energy.
5. Washington: $223.5 million
Washington is the largest producer of hydroelectric power in the whole of the United States. It actually exports large amounts of energy to 8 other states and even back into Canada. But if Washington generates so much energy, then why does it import so much at the same time?
Since so much of Washington's electricity is created with the use of hydroelectric dams in times of drought, it can have an enormous impact on energy exports. When reservoirs run dry or drop in volume, Washington is often reliant on other states or hydroelectric power from British Columbia to fill the gap.
Outside of hydroelectrics, Washington uses natural gas and coal. Nearly all of the natural gas comes from Canada, whereas the coal is shipped in from Montana and Wyoming.
6. California: $153.7 million
California generates nearly 75% of its own power. This is done with a combination of solar, wind, and hydroelectric dams that dot the vast California landscape. Thanks to its sunny climate, solar actually makes up a considerable contribution at close to 33% annually and up to 50% at its peak months.
The remaining 25% of the electricity used within California comes from out of state. Places like Nevada and Arizona funnel in a significant amount. California gains just over half of all the energy that is generated at the Hoover Dam in Nevada.
The overwhelming majority of power generated in California comes from renewable energy sources. Something that the state has been working towards for years and has now become a point of pride for many residents.
7. Michigan: $141.3 million
Michigan is the beating heart of the American automotive industry and is a power-hungry state as a result. Michigan consumes some of the most energy in the United States and often needs to rely on the help of its neighbours to keep up.
The surrounding states of Indiana and Ohio contribute the most towards Michigan's power imports, with a small amount of electricity coming from Ontario in Canada. However, the Canadian contribution here is quite small, not exceeding more than 1%.
Michigan has made drastic cutbacks on its usage of coal in the past 20 years. Cleaner and more reliable sources of energy like nuclear and natural gas have stepped in to fill the void.
8. Nevada: $42.3 million
Nevada is typically an electricity exporter within the American Southwest. With enormous hydroelectric projects like the Hoover Dam churning out 4 billion kilowatt-hours each year. Thanks to the sunny climate that Nevada is known for, massive solar farms such as the Nellis Solar Array II are also large contributors.
Much of the power that Nevada exports goes to places like California. However, the power that is imported into Nevada is usually fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas that come from Texas and elsewhere.
Nevada has done well to take advantage of their geography to power its day-to-day lives. It is only in the realm of fossil fuels that it falls short. However, as technology improves, it is likely that any sort of dependency on fuel imports will fade.
9. North Dakota: $39.5 million
North Dakota is another net energy producer and exporter. North Dakota generates close to 35% of its energy from wind farms, and another 55% from coal-fired plants. In 2025, it exported $237.5 million worth of electricity, making it the third largest electricity exporter in the country.
What little electricity is imported often comes across the border from the neighbouring provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. This is achieved through a series of cross-border power lines.
North Dakota is a bit of an outlier as it still uses coal at a level that is well above the national average. Whereas much of the United States has left coal in exchange for natural gas, North Dakota has remained loyal to coal while also branching out into wind.
10. Arizona: $31 million
The sunny state of Arizona mainly produces its own power through a combination of natural gas, nuclear, and hydroelectric power generated from places like the Hoover and Glenn Canyon Dam.
The power that is imported into Arizona comes mostly from its neighbours such as Nevada, California, New Mexico and Utah. Strangely enough, a small amount of Arizona's power comes from British Columbia thanks to sharing the Western Interconnection grid.
Like many warm and sunny states, Arizona has made considerable efforts to invest in solar energy as the region receives some of the most sun in the whole of the United States.
11. Montana: $22.3 million
Montana is a massive energy producer and is a net exporter rather than an importer, but that does not mean Montana does not take in energy from anyone else. Of the energy that does enter Montana, most of it does so in times of emergency or at particularly high seasons.
It is estimated that Montana consumes only around 60% of the electricity that it generates and exports the rest westward to states like Washington and Oregon.
Montana produces large quantities of coal and oil that it exports to other parts of the country. The majority of domestic energy is created from fossil fuels, but there have been large initiatives to invest in things like hydroelectric and wind.
12. Oregon: $20.9 million
Just like other members of the Pacific Northwest, Oregon is tied to the Western Interconnection grid and takes plenty of electricity from its neighbours like Washington, California, and, of course, British Columbia in Canada.
Oregon does export energy as well. Much of the energy that is sold to other states is created in hydroelectric dams and wind and solar farms. Whereas all of the nuclear energy consumed in Oregon comes from out of state.
Oregon has a rather robust clean energy sector that has taken decades to establish. It is likely to continue to be a net energy exporter whilst only really taking in the types of energy that it is unable to produce within its own borders.
Due to the interconnected nature of power grids, many states use and borrow electricity from one another, which is produced in every way imaginable. These grids are not even confined by international borders, as many American states buy power from Canada as well.
