ROUND UP: Utility Bills Continue to Skyrocket as Trump Spends Millions to Prop Up Expensive, Dirty Coal Power

New report from Climate Power shows that Trump and Republicans in Congress have canceled enough clean energy projects to power over 17 million homes

Washington, DC – Last week, Donald Trump escalated his war on clean energy by announcing that his administration is investing $700 million in taxpayer dollars to prop up the coal industry, even though keeping coal plants open could saddle Americans with as much as $6 billion by the end of 2028. Trump’s announcement comes on top of the fact that electricity prices have spiked on his watch, as he and Republicans in Congress gut clean energy projects across the country. 

According to a new report from Climate Power, 382 clean energy projects have been canceled or stalled since Trump’s election, putting 143,775 jobs on the chopping block and squeezing energy supply as demand skyrockets. At the same time, Trump is spending taxpayer dollars to keep energy options off the grid, paying energy companies almost $2 billion to walk away from their offshore wind projects. 

Michigan

• Consumers Energy filed an application seeking a $456 million annual rate increase for its nearly 1.8 million electricity customers in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, making it the largest proposed increase in more than 20 years. The rate increase would raise residential electric rates by 9%.

North Carolina

• Southport City Manager Noah Saldo proposed a 7% increase in electrical rates for Southport customers included as part of the total budget package that required July 1 approval.

Ohio

• Duke Energy asked the Ohio Public Utilities Commission to raise the delivery charge on electric bills by 4.5%, a move the company said would add roughly $8 to the average monthly bill for homes that use 1,000 kilowatts of electricity each month.

Pennsylvania

• The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission approved a settlement with PPL Electric Utilities that would increase the utility’s distribution rates, raising the average customer’s electricity bills by about $7 a month.

Colorado

• A proposed settlement agreement would grant Xcel Energy a $225 million rate increase that would raise the average household electric bill by $6.13 a month.

Connecticut

• Eversource planned to send a request to the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for a 13% residential rate increase that could add roughly $25 per month to the average Connecticut household’s electric bill.

Indiana

• The Osgood Town Council approved a rate hike for gas customers over a three-year period that would amount to around 39%, amounting to roughly $19.00 extra per month to the average household.

Maine

• Northern Utilities Maine filed a request with the Maine Public Utilities Commission to increase its annual revenue base by roughly $10.4 million through customer rate increases of roughly $11 per month to the average residential gas bill.

Mississippi

• The Oxford Board of Aldermen on Tuesday approved a 4% electric rate increase for Oxford Utilities customers, with customers set to see an increase of roughly $4 per month.

New York

• Temporary rate hikes went into effect for customers of Rochester Gas & Electric and New York State Electric and Gas, with RG&E electric bills set to go up 2.9%, and gas rates rising around 1.2%, while NYSEG electric bills were set to increase by 0.2% and gas bills were set to go up 1.7%.

Oklahoma

• The Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) sought to add as much as $25 to the average resident’s monthly electric bill.