Overview
- Democrats won governorships in New Jersey and Virginia and flipped two Georgia Public Service Commission seats after campaigning on lowering electricity costs.
- Gas and electric utilities sought or secured more than $34 billion in rate increases through the first three quarters of 2025, as 36% of U.S. adults call power bills a major stress.
- The EIA projects residential electricity prices will climb to about 17.7 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2026, with natural gas costs rising on strong LNG export demand.
- In the PJM region, bills are set to absorb billions in higher wholesale costs next June to attract new power plants, prompting governors to pressure the grid operator to contain increases.
- Georgia Power bills have risen six times in two years to an average of $175 a month, and the utility is proposing roughly $15 billion in new generation to meet data center demand as regulators question who should pay.