Soaring electricity bills could be the sleeper campaign issue of 2025

[dalton99a]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/10/15/energy-prices-politics-virginia-jersey/

Soaring electricity bills could be the sleeper campaign issue of 2025
As costs continue to grow, voters are turning their ire toward politicians, shaking up this year’s governors races.
October 15, 2025 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
By Evan Halper

...

Cheap, reliable electricity is no longer a given, with an energy crunch taking hold far and wide, and forecasts showing no price relief in sight. Average bills have jumped over 10 percent since last year in more than a dozen states — with some seeing increases beyond 20 percent — and more rate hikes have already been announced. Voters are demanding solutions, bringing to the forefront issues that long simmered in the political background, including the massive expansion of energy-hungry data centers, obscure surcharges on electric bills and mandates for clean energy generation.

Voters in GOP strongholds like Ohio, Indiana and Louisiana are among the hardest hit, putting President Donald Trump’s allies on the defensive in the run-up to next year’s midterm elections as his cuts to energy programs drive prices up further. In Utah, where rates are also rising fast, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox lashed out at the Trump administration in a post on X, saying its decision to cancel a massive solar project in the Nevada desert “is how we lose the AI/energy arms race with China.”

Voters in New Jersey and Virginia, who will choose new governors in November, are equally annoyed, campaign officials said, making electricity prices a key issue in states where Democrats have heavily influenced energy policy. Summer rates jumped 21 percent in New Jersey, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and rates for most Virginians will go up an average of 15 percent under increases utility Dominion plans to cover rising fuel costs and infrastructure upgrades.

Candidates in those two states are promising dramatic interventions into energy markets that are unaccustomed to political interference, including freezing prices by declaring an emergency, controlling data center development, abandoning clean energy pacts with other states, shaking up regional power grid operators and fast-tracking new power plants.

“It is absurd,” said Maureen Harrison, a 30-year-old nurse in Waynesboro, Virginia, who wrote to state regulators protesting the planned rate hike by Dominion that will cost the average customer around $20 per month. “These big utility companies are making money hand over fist. The money is there. Take care of it. Why is it always coming out of our pockets?”

Residential rates are creeping up in Virginia amid the state’s boom in data centers that are supporting artificial intelligence. Studies reach conflicting conclusions over the role of those data centers in everyone else’s rates, with Dominion pointing to a state study that found they risk pushing prices up in the future but have not yet. But Harrison has made up her mind. She says the tech companies building them need to pay for more of the new energy infrastructure they require.

The rate hikes come at the same time her health care premiums are going up far more than the three percent raise she got at work this year. Harrison is voting for Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger, who she is confident will put more regulations in place to protect consumers. Spanberger has suggested on the campaign trail that data center companies are not paying their “fair share” and that Trump’s attacks on clean energy projects will lead to more price hikes.

...


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[Alice B.]

1. In a matter of months, ours went from 50 to 80 to 140.

I’m enraged.

[dalton99a]

2. +1. It is a huge problem for many Americans

[surfered]

3. Data centers, AI, and bit coin mining use large amounts of electricity.

My contracted rate per kW is up 20% over my previous contract.

[dalton99a]

4. +1. Homeowners are paying more to make the tech bros richer

[sop]

5. 'Trump administration cuts nearly $8B in clean energy projects in states that backed Harris'

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is cancelling $7.6 billion in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects in 16 states, all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election.

The move comes as President Donald Trump threatens deep cuts in his fight with congressional Democrats over the government shutdown.

The Energy Department said in a statement Thursday that 223 projects were terminated after a review determined they did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs or were not economically viable. Officials did not provide details about which projects are being cut, but said funding came from the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and other DOE bureaus.

The cuts are likely to affect battery plants, hydrogen technology projects, upgrades to the electric grid and carbon-capture efforts, among many others, according to the environmental nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council.

Russell Vought, the White House budget director, highlighted the cutbacks in a social media post late Wednesday, saying money “to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled.”

Continued at link:

https://apnews.com/article/trump-clean-energy-hydrogen-hub-newsom-0223cb4469508bcea4f689c18c9ab65d

[dalton99a]

6. +1

[D_Master81]

7. 35% for me

Indiana has thrown the doors open for data centers and our bill has gone up by 35%.

[NJCher]

8. They also raised the delivery rate

So it’s more like a 42% increase, but it only kicks in when you use a certain amount of electricity. When you use the amount I use, it’s something like 11%. I studied my bill extensively and called 3 times to clarify information.

I could tell from the way they answered that there had been many a consumer call.

My increase was around $46 a month on the equal monthly payment plan. That’s where your bill is averaged every month.

[leftstreet]

9. DURec

[Tree Lady]

10. Ours went up 25%

This use to be our down time no heat or air conditioning and cheaper bill for just two of us in small home. Bill is $120 use to be a lot less.

[IronLionZion]

11. China and India have been investing heavily in solar and wind and other renewables

but "Trump digs coal" according to the dumbest MAGA voters.

AI data centers use tons of electricity and water. Those things are popping up in lots of places, especially here in Virginia. Local governments want these data centers for the jobs and tax revenue but don't want to admit it's causing electricity prices to increase. It's quite obvious. "AI First" is a policy priority for this presidential administration. There are many executive orders and directives on this.

Energy lobbyists spewing lies doesn't help since they like to deliberately confuse voters. Oil/Gas lobby doesn't like Dems very much.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

12. Other than Dems, I'm not sure Americans give a crap about the soaring costs of anything.

Most everything across the board is higher than a year ago, and folks seem to be lovey-dovey with the abject price gouging going on. Weird.