ROUND UP: Americans Face Rate Hikes as Trump Insists He Doesn’t Think About Americans’ Financial Situation

Washington, DC –  While Donald Trump doubles down on not caring about the impact of soaring energy costs, American families continue to face soaring utility bills and canceled projects. Trump’s reckless energy policies have canceled or delayed 375 clean energy projects across the country, taking enough energy to power 16.8 million homes off the grid. 

As Trump’s approval ratings sink to record lows, he isn’t even trying to hide the fact that economic pain for Americans is the last thing on his mind. But there’s one group he is definitely thinking about: his ultra-wealthy fossil fuel donors. Big Oil has cashed in more than $40 billion in profits in the first quarter of the year. From taking a sledgehammer to Big Oil’s clean energy competition to launching a reckless war that has sent gas prices through the roof, Trump has always put the needs of billionaires over the American people. 

West Virginia

• The West Virginia Public Service Authority approved a 4% base rate hike for Appalachian Power Company residential customers, which is expected to increase monthly rates by $4.84.

Utah

• Bright Planet Solar announced it would lay off 60 workers in Provo, Utah. The solar installation company attributed the layoffs to a “rapid collapse in business” caused by the repeal of federal solar incentives for the residential solar market and the loss of its dealer agreement with Sunrun. Bright Planet Solar’s chief executive officer, Mikey Heinz, said that the turmoil in the solar industry was ironic because “you turn on the TV, and all you’ll hear is the energy crisis [and] that we need more energy.”

South Dakota

• The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission approved a 9.5% rate hike for Xcel electricity customers that will go into effect on July 1, 2026.

Alaska

• Alaska Electric Light and Power Co. requested a two-step rate increase for residential customers that will increase rates by nearly 20% in August 2027. The rate request would first increase rates by 11.5% for off-peak months (June to October) and 11.8% for peak months (November to May) starting in 2026. The second hike would result in a cumulative rate hike of 19.7% in off-peak months and 18.7% rate hike in peak months.

Oregon

• Pacific Power requested an immediate interim rate hike that would result in a net 1.9% increase in customers’ electricity bills in 2027.

Virginia

• Columbia Gas of Virginia requested a two-phase rate hike, which would increase the average residential customer’s gas bill by $10.81 or 11% starting in October 2026 and by an additional $3.30 or 3% starting in October 2027.