"These increases, a lot of them have not actually hit people's wallets yet,"
"So that shows that, in 2026, the utility bills will likely continue to rise, barring some major sweeping action."
"We believe it is no longer enough for utilities to say they care about affordability; regulators and investors will demand proof of proactive behavior,"
"Utilities that fail to demonstrate concrete mitigants face reputational risk and may warrant a credibility discount in valuations."
Utilities requested a record $31 billion in rate hikes for 2025, more than twice the near-record requests from 2024. Aging infrastructure, extreme weather, and natural gas price spikes have driven electricity prices up 40% since 2001, and the surge in electricity demand from AI data center construction is adding further upward pressure. Residential retail electricity prices rose 7% in 2025, and piped gas prices increased 11% last year. Most requested hikes have been approved, but nearly half remain pending into 2026 and may face heightened scrutiny from state regulators and political pressure ahead of the midterm elections.
Read at Fortune
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