Sh*t Costs Too Much: Electricity
Household electric bills are up 18% nationally while paychecks stall — and blocked energy projects plus tariffs on grid components are driving the squeeze.
Sh*t Costs Too Much.
Fact sheet · July 2026
18%
Rise in household electric bills nationally over the past year and a half
84%
Of Americans are concerned about the cost of electricity
32%
Spike in utility bill debt balances over the past four years
Americans are paying more for everything these days — especially electricity. Utility bills are through the roof, and paychecks aren’t keeping pace. For millions of families, making ends meet has gone from hard to impossible. Over the past year and a half, electricity has risen faster than overall inflation as hundreds of millions of Americans face record-breaking heat this summer.
Key points
- Household electric bills are up 18% nationally over the past year and a half, with some states seeing spikes as high as 30%.
- Nearly eight in 10 Americans say their electricity and heating bill went up in 2025. The vast majority (84%) of Americans are concerned about the cost of electricity.
- Americans are more worried about energy costs than at any point in nearly two decades.
- High energy costs impact working families the most. Households earning under $50,000 a year spend nearly 6 times more of their income on energy than households earning more than $150,000 a year.
- Utility bill debt balances have spiked 32% over the past four years.
Core drivers
Funding for new energy projects ripped away amid soaring demand
The federal government ripped away tens of billions of dollars in funding for clean energy projects, resulting in a loss of over 34 gigawatts worth of energy capacity, which could have powered an estimated 17 million homes. Blocking new clean energy projects constrains the country’s electricity supply, driving up costs amid soaring demand from consumers facing more extreme climate conditions and the explosive growth of AI data centers.
Tariffs raising costs for utility rates
The federal government’s imposition of tariffs on key grid components like aluminum and steel raised costs for utility companies, which pass on higher costs and capital investments onto ratepayers everywhere.
Every figure here is sourced and linked to public reporting, government data, and independent analysis.
More research.
View all- Report
The Affordability Crisis Is Slamming Older Americans
Americans 50 and up are paying more for everything — health care, housing, prescriptions, and care — while Social Security checks fall further behind. A look at what the squeeze looks like for older Americans, and the policy choices driving it.
9 pages · PDF
- Fact Sheet
Sh*t Costs Too Much: Health Care
Over 8 million Americans lost coverage and ACA premiums spiked 114% after $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
Fact sheet · July 2026
- Fact Sheet
Sh*t Costs Too Much: Gasoline
Gas topped $4 a gallon in every state and American drivers have paid $32 billion more at the pump since the war with Iran began.
Fact sheet · July 2026