State policies are a monumental factor in electricity costs, and Democrat-led states have driven prices upward through pushing aggressive mandates and choking reliable power supply, according to a new report by the Institute for Energy Research (IER).
The new report, first provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation, found that blue states generally have higher electricity costs than red states. Titled “Blue States, High Rates. Electricity Prices: Elections Have Consequences,” IER’s report notes that all but one of the top 10 most expensive states for energy — measured by cost per kilowatt hour — are governed by Democrats.
In contrast, 80% of the states with the most affordable electricity costs per kilowatt hour are “reliably red,” according to IER. Twenty of the 25 states with the lowest electricity prices are red states, while only four are blue, and one is purple, the report states.
Always on Energy Research partnered with IER on the report.
“This is a blue state problem,” IER President Tom Pyle told the DCNF, arguing that prescribing any blame to President Donald Trump for soaring electricity costs is misplaced. “[America needs to] put an emphasis on providing dispatchable electricity generation, namely by keeping coal plants open, even building new coal plants, nuclear and particularly natural gas. I think the administration is doing everything they can in spite of what the blue states have been doing over the years. Other words, Trump’s trying to save them from themselves.”
Blue States, High Rates – Long – Final by audreystreb
IER drew data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) as well as the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to compare state electricity prices and evaluate how policy decisions might have influenced costs. Several states, which are generally Democrat-led, have set strict “ideological mandates,” according to IER, to phase out coal and rig their power grids to reflect specific emissions goals.
“More than almost any other product, electricity prices are a direct result of state energy policies because states have the exclusive power to decide which resources supply their grids,” the report states. “Electricity prices are especially high in traditionally liberal areas of the country. In total, 86% of states with electricity prices above the national average in the continental U.S. are reliably blue, having voted for the Democratic nominee for president in the 2020 and 2024 elections.”
IER notes that the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs report confirmed that “each of the top five most expensive states for electricity have mandates requiring 100% of their power to come from renewable or carbon-free sources, making their electricity unnecessarily more expensive.”
The report points to these emissions goals, the premature retirement of coal and nuclear plants, natural gas restrictions and other mandates like net metering requirements as price-inflating factors.
Affordability has become a major Democrat talking point and appeared to be a winning message in the November New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections. As Democrats continue to hammer the affordability angle, IER notes in the report that Democrat-led states are devastating for affordability when it comes to energy policy.
“Americans pay dramatically different electric bills depending on which party controls their state capitol. High electricity prices are not an inevitability; they are a choice,” the report states. “And in state after state, they are a choice made by left-wing policymakers who have prioritized climate symbolism over working families’ budgets.”
Outliers like Alaska and New Mexico — one a red state with high rates, the other a blue state with low rates — illustrate that some other factors also contribute to electricity costs, according to Pyle. Alaska’s isolated terrain and dispersed communities drive up transmission costs, whereas New Mexico’s plentiful natural gas resources help keep prices low, Pyle said.
The report highlights some example states to illustrate how policies impact the local energy market and affect affordability, which include New York, California, Florida, Louisiana and Kentucky.
New YorkÂ
IER states in the report that New York’s electricity prices are 58% higher than the national average. New York has set several stringent green energy mandates, with New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act requiring the state to generate 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 100% by 2040.
Notably, New York is also a part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro recently moved to exit.
New York also decommissioned the Indian Point nuclear power plant in 2021 under former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which had provided 25% of New York City’s electricity, according to a local news outlet. Environmental activists championed the move, though Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is now exploring nuclear power expansion in her state in the name of reliability and affordability.
IER noted that the state also “suffers from natural gas supply issues due to its decision to ban hydraulic fracturing.”
California
IER identifies California’s policies that have “deliberately sidelined reliable, conventional fuels” as driving its steep electricity costs.
California’s electricity costs are the second-highest in the nation, behind Hawaii, and its ratepayers pay twice the national average for electricity, according to the report. The Golden State has set a whole host of green energy mandates as it “prioritizes emissions reduction over affordability,” the report states.
While wildfires play into California’s utility bills, Pyle told the DCNF that Florida also faces intense weather seasons and the state does not have exorbitant energy costs.
Florida and LouisianaÂ
The report shows that red states like Florida and Louisiana are not burdened with exorbitant electricity costs.
“Americans struggling with utility bills need the same thing Florida and Louisiana residents already have: state leaders willing to put affordability and reliability ahead of ideological mandates,” the report states, warning that “until more states follow the red-state model, millions of households and businesses will continue to pay the price for expensive electricity as a deliberate political choice.”
“Florida keeps rates below the national average despite near-universal air conditioning demand and frequent hurricanes,” the report continues. “Louisiana enjoys the third-lowest rates in the nation while utilizing its abundant natural gas resources. Both states have done so under sustained Republican governance that has largely rejected the renewable mandate model.”
KentuckyÂ
Kentucky’s electricity rates are 21% lower than the national average, the report states.
“The reasons are straightforward — 67% of Kentucky’s electricity is generated by coal and 26% by natural gas,” IER notes in the report. “Unlike states such as California or New York, Kentucky has not burdened ratepayers with the carbon dioxide reduction mandates or renewable energy requirements that inflate electricity costs.”
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