Utility Cost

I didn't say that electricity cost don't impact the cost of groceries. I was only referring to the total cost of monthly utilities when compared to the mainland. Grocery costs vary from store to store, city to city, region to region and are affected by many factors such as electricity costs, state taxes, transportation costs, employee costs (union store vs non-union) and even what area a store is located in (upscale vs down market). Electricity is only one cost driver in the territory with transportation costs, gross receipts tax, litigious customers and other factors. The OP was asking specifically about UTILITY costs not grocery costs.

OP...for my 5 bedroom, 3800 sf house with pool and hot tub, we pay $500/month on average with no solar or AC.

I totally agree. My bills total almost exactly to the dollar as my Arizona bills did. AZ also has a fairly cheap cost of living soooo..... Some things are more some are less. We do conserve much more than we did in AZ and have become aware of our footprint much more, which I love.