Blue state energy policies driving higher costs despite national price drops
'The Big Money Show’ panel discusses President Donald Trump’s push to sell falling inflation, lower gas prices and rising manufacturing growth ahead of the midterm elections.
Americans are facing rising electricity costs around the country as winter weather and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers increase demands on the electric grid.
Electricity prices have risen faster than the pace of inflation in the last year. January consumer price index (CPI) data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed electricity costs were up 6.3% from a year ago, while CPI was up 2.4% in that period.
Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that, as of December, electricity prices rose nationally from 12.82 cents per kilowatt-hour to 13.72 cents, an increase of 7.1%. The data covers electricity use across all sectors of the economy, including residential, commercial, industrial and transportation.
Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at the Price Futures Group and a Gxstocks contributor, said that electricity prices are rising in part because of a regulatory environment that favored renewable energy sources like solar and wind over more reliable sources like natural gas, coal or nuclear.
TRUMP ADMIN RAMPS UP EFFORT TO REVIVE COAL INDUSTRY AS POWER DEMAND SURGES
Electricity costs have jumped double digits in a number of states from a year ago. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
"They forced the grid away from reliable and cheap baseload power and made it nearly impossible to upgrade power plants, build new pipelines and, in some cases, mandated new builds be powered with electricity instead of natural gas," Flynn told Gxstocks.
While some states have seen modest increases or even declines in electricity costs in the last year, ratepayers in a number of states have seen double-digit percentage increases in the electric bills that can put a significant dent in household budgets.
The District of Columbia saw the biggest spike when compared with the 50 states, with its electricity prices rising 26.29%.
Here's a look at the 10 states that saw the largest increases in overall electricity costs from a year ago and those that experienced the smallest increases or declines, according to EIA data.
CALIFORNIA GAS PRICES SURGE 40 CENTS IN JUST 2 WEEKS AS IMPACT OF REFINERY CLOSURES WEIGHS
The power grid is under increased strain due to the rise of AI data centers and winter weather. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
Largest electricity price increases
- Pennsylvania +18.93%
- Rhode Island +16.32%
- New Jersey +15.74%
- Maine +14.97%
- Ohio +14.45%
- Maryland +12.97%
- Washington +12.24%
- California +12.18%
- Indiana +11.13%
- New York +10.7%
ENERGY SECRETARY SAYS GRID MUST BE BUILT FOR 'PEAK DEMAND' AS THREE MILE ISLAND PLANS RETURN
Several states saw electricity prices decline year over year in December, bucking the national trend. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Largest electricity price declines or smallest increases
- Nevada -7.68%
- Connecticut -7.57%
- New Mexico -2.91%
- Tennessee -1.75%
- Hawaii -0.27%
- North Carolina 0.0%
- Arizona +0.16%
- South Dakota +0.65%
- Iowa +1.25%
- West Virginia +1.42%
