by Kevin Killough
Always On Energy Research and the Institute for Energy Research performed an analysis last year showing that blue states have higher rates than red states.
Proponents of renewable energy often claim that wind and solar are the cheapest forms of energy and will drive down electricity rates. However, electricity costs continue to rise faster than inflation, with no sign the trend is reversing, even as the amount of wind and solar grows in the grid.
Last December, the Always On Energy Research and the Institute for Energy Research completed an analysis of electricity rates and found that residents of blue states see higher electricity bills than those of red states.
Using data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the analysis found that 86% of states with electricity prices above the national average voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020 and 2024. By contrast, 80% of the 10 states with the lowest electricity prices voted for the Republican candidate in those same elections.
In that analysis, the researchers highlighted five states to illustrate that the common factor between high-electricity-rate blue states was they tended to adopt stricter renewable energy requirements and climate policies.
The researchers are now taking a deeper dive into the other 45 states, and they released the first batch for the 13 original colonies on the Fourth of July.
“We wanted to have a one-stop shop where people could kind of get a feel for what's the energy mix in their state, what policies are being implemented, and what's the impact of those policies on what they’re paying at the plug,” Isaac Orr, vice president of research for Always On Energy Research, told Just the News.
‘Wonky’ for the layman
In the original report, the researchers wrote spotlight narratives on policies impacting electricity rates in California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana and New York.
The narratives compared the red states with the blue states, showing that the red states with lower electricity rates lacked renewable portfolio standards, zero emissions targets, net metering and other climate policies impacting electricity rates.
While blue states had higher electricity rates, the picture gets more complicated than just the two figures. States such as Oregon and Washington, which are deep blue states, have lower electricity rates owing to the large amount of hydroelectric power available in the region.
The new report, “Blue States High Rates,” shows these deeper dives, with references, in an interactive index that provides information on specific policy areas impacting electricity rates in each state, allowing readers to easily compare rates and policies across states.
Sarah Montalbano, energy policy analyst with Always On, told Just the News the report offered the team an opportunity to get “wonky” about the subject. But they wanted to present the findings in a way that’s easy for the layman to understand and assess.
“We obviously have a perspective, but the ingredients are right there on the label for people,” Montalbano said.
Policy areas analyzed
The report examines if the state has renewable portfolio standards, which mandate that utilities supply a minimum percentage of their power from renewable energy sources by specific target dates.
They also look at electricity providers’ net-zero pledges. Utilities earn more profit when they spend more money, and these pledges increase utility profits by incentivizing them to build larger portfolios of new infrastructure than would otherwise be necessary if reliability and affordability, rather than emissions reductions, were the primary goal.
They also look at the state’s net metering policies, which credit homeowners with rooftop solar for surplus power they produce from their panels and put onto the grid. The report also looks at carbon pricing and cap and trade schemes, infrastructure policies that impact access to natural gas, and data center protection policies.
“The map shows these kinds of subtle distinctions in the price of electricity for each of these states, and we wanted to be able to demonstrate why that is from a policy perspective,” Orr said.
Resource for voters
The project has required an extensive amount of analysis and documentation, and so it’s being released in phases. For the 13 colonies, the full state profiles are available by clicking on the state, then clicking the link on the box that appears.
For the other states, basic information on the state’s average electricity rates and its ranking among states is available. Alex Stevens, manager of policy and communications for the Institute for Energy Research, said that the full profiles for the other states will follow in the “near future.”
Stevens said the original report has gotten considerable response. Besides the media attention, he said, the IER has conducted a number of Zoom meetings with state officials concerning its findings. Stevens has also testified before the Maryland Legislature on how the blue-state policies impact energy costs.
With the midterms approaching, concerns about affordability will be near the top of voters’ priorities. Stevens said this will make electricity rates a national concern, and he thinks voters will start looking closer at the relationship between state policies and their utility bills.
Tom Pyle, president of IER, said in a statement that federal figures show U.S. electricity prices rose 27% from January 2021 through January 2025, with an additional 11% increase from January through September 2025.
Under the Federal Power Act, states have exclusive authority over generation portfolios, siting, retail pricing, and resource adequacy, giving them direct control over which power sources supply the grid and at what cost to families and businesses.
“Americans deserve transparent information on how state decisions directly affect their wallet," Pyle said. "The bottom line is that the decisions that states make, good or bad, have consequences for American families and businesses when it comes to electricity affordability."
Kevin Killough
Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/blue-states-have-higher-electricity-costs-and-net-zero-policies-are-blame
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