ROUND UP: More Rate Hikes As Home Cooling Costs Skyrocket Amidst Record High Heat  

Electricity prices have spiked by 18% on Trump’s watch, making it more expensive for Americans to cool their homes during increasingly frequent dangerous heat waves

Washington, DC – Rate hikes continue to pile up as Trump and congressional Republicans’ budget bill takes clean energy projects off the grid across the country. The rate hikes came as hundreds of millions of Americans faced extreme heat that canceled Fourth of July events and killed 25 people. According to a recent report, the average U.S. household is expected to spend almost $800 on keeping their homes cool this summer. 

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to slash electricity prices in half, but instead, a new analysis from Energy Innovation revealed that he is doing the exact opposite. The analysis found that American households will pay $460 more for their energy costs by 2035, and up to $490 more per household by 2040.

Louisiana

• Air Products said it terminated its Louisiana Clean Energy Complex project in Ascension Parish. The company attributed the cancellation to a review finding that the project was uneconomical. The company’s closure was also linked to President Trump’s reversal of clean energy policies. If completed, the Clean Energy Complex would have produced hydrogen with natural gas and captured the carbon it produced. Air Products had planned to invest $4.5 billion in the complex, which was expected to support 170 permanent jobs.
• SunGas Renewables canceled development of the Beaver Lake Biofuels project, a proposed wood-to-low-carbon methanol production facility near Alexandria, Louisiana. The company cited slower market adoption of low-carbon marine fuels, carbon capture uncertainty, and a lack of regulatory clarity as reasons for the project’s cancellation. If completed, Beaver Lake would have required a $1.8 billion investment and supported 109 full-time jobs and 1,150 construction jobs.

Florida

• The JEA Board of Directors approved an electric rate increase ranging from 1.6% to 3.1% based on consumption. The average residential customer was estimated to pay $2.41 more per month for electricity.

Oklahoma

• The Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) proposed an interim rate increase that would add an estimated $11 to the average residential electric bill.

Utah

• Rocky Mountain Power submitted a 4.2% rate increase proposal to the Utah Public Service Commission that would raise the average residential customer’s electric bill by $3.44 a month.

Delaware

• The Delaware Public Service Commission voted to approve an interim electric rate increase for Delmarva Power of approximately $34 million, which would raise the average monthly electric bill by $3 for a typical customer.

Maryland

• BGE sought a $156 million rate increase that would increase the average residential customer’s electric bill by $8 a month.

Oregon

• The Central Lincoln People’s Utility District approved a 3% rate increase, raising the average monthly residential electric bill to $120.10.

Washington

• Alpha Technologies Services, Inc., a power transmission manufacturer that provides energy equipment for various industries, announced that it is closing its Bellingham facility, laying off 75 employees.