Americans Face More Rate Hikes as Trump Claims Energy Costs are Going Down 

According to Climate Power’s February Energy Crisis Snapshot, Trump has canceled or delayed enough projects to power more than 14 million homes

Washington, DC – As the Trump administration desperately tries to spin their disastrous economic record, customers in North Carolina and Oregon are facing rate hikes as high as $16.61 per month. The hikes come just days after Trump spent almost two hours gaslighting Americans by saying the economy is booming in his State of the Union address. 

Donald Trump and Republicans have taken energy projects offline as demand skyrockets, including in North Carolina. Last November, Pine Gate Renewables, a solar energy developer, blamed Trump’s energy policies for their decision to lay off 78% of their workforce. Earlier last year, Natron Energy, a battery company, closed their factory in eastern North Carolina, canceling 1,000 good-paying jobs. 

Climate Power Senior Advisor Jesse Lee issued the following statement: “Donald Trump is bragging that he ‘won affordability’  while Americans open higher utility bills on his watch. Thom Tillis warned that Trump’s budget bill would raise costs for North Carolinians, but Trump’s handpicked puppet to replace him, Michael Whatley, continues to cheerlead the bill that is taking energy options off the grid while utilities soar. Republicans like Trump and Whatley can keep trying to gaslight the American people, but with these rate hikes, they aren’t buying it.” 

Donald Trump’s reckless energy policies are causing utility rates to skyrocket across the country: 

• Duke Energy has already proposed a rate hike that would cost North Carolinians $20 to $30 a month on average, despite reporting $5 billion in earnings.  

• In North Carolina, Piedmont Natural Gas customers were upset about sudden increases in their monthly bill, with some ratepayers complaining that their bills had doubled.

• Kentucky Power submitted an application to the Kentucky Public Service Commission to add $4.59 to the average customer bill by 2029 to pay for the replacement of a cooling tower at one of its coal plants.

• The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved revised rate increases for FirstEnergy companies, which will go into effect on March 1. Illuminating Company customers were expected to see an $11.60 monthly increase and Ohio Edison customers were expected to see a $2.88 monthly increase. 

• North Dakotans will see their electricity bills increase by nearly $12 per month after the North Dakota PSC approved a rate hike for Xcel Energy. 

• The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved rate hikes for customers of Wellsboro Electric, Valley Energy, and Citizens’ Electric Co. of Lewisburg that will raise electricity prices by as much as 18%. 

• Peoples Gas, which supplies natural gas to nearly 900,000 Chicagoans, is seeking a rate hike that would raise the average monthly bill by $10 to $11.

• Nicor Gas, which has 2.3 million customers in northern Illinois, is seeking a rate hike that would raise the average monthly bill by around $6. 

• Atmos Energy is asking the City of Dallas to approve a 10% rate hike for gas customers that would raise the average monthly bill by $11.25.