Electric bills are outpacing food inflation as utilities pass rising natural gas prices and grid upgrade costs onto consumers, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Electricity prices rose 4.5% over the past year, compared to a 2.2% increase for groceries, according to the Labor Department. That trend isn’t expected to reverse this summer. The Energy Information Administration projects household electric bills will average $784 from June through September—up 4.2% from last year, even after inflation adjustments.
Driving the spike are multiple factors: costly infrastructure investments, surging demand from AI-fueled data centers, and expensive natural gas. Exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas are also pushing domestic prices toward global levels. Analysts and regulators expect elevated power costs to persist through at least next year.
Utilities say steep spending on storm resilience, solar capacity and new gas-fired generation is necessary, but customers are feeling the strain. Nearly one in six households is behind on payments, owing more than $24 billion. Meanwhile, states like Pennsylvania are warning of double-digit price hikes as regional electricity demand hits unprecedented levels.
