Electricity is not optional. It is a bill families cannot escape. Prices are climbing, and the cause is not mysterious: When politicians replace markets with mandates, consumers pay more.
President Trump has been clear about this fight. He says his administration seeks “not only American energy independence but American energy dominance.” That vision of abundance, lower costs, and national strength is being vindicated by today’s soaring power bills.
The recent Energy Affordability Report from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) lays it out in plain numbers. States that impose Renewable Portfolio Standards, join cap-and-trade programs like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, mandate net metering, or force utilities into Energy Efficiency Resource Standards have some of the highest electricity prices in America. These policies are not about saving the planet. They are about control. The people paying for that control are ordinary Americans opening utility bills they can barely afford.
Renewable Portfolio Standards sound noble. In reality, they force utilities to buy unreliable energy and to build costly backup systems to keep the lights on when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine. Californians now pay more than 22 cents per kilowatt-hour. Families in Wyoming and North Dakota, states without these mandates, pay less than half of that. The mandate is not progress. It is punishment.
Cap-and-trade is another tax dressed up as reform. Utilities have to buy permits to keep producing the energy people need. They do not eat that cost. They pass it straight to customers. States tied into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, like Connecticut and New Jersey, sit near the top of the price charts. These programs do not cut emissions in a meaningful way. They bleed families dry and push jobs out of state.
Net metering is a subsidy disguised as fairness. Utilities are forced to buy excess rooftop solar power at retail prices while still paying to maintain the grid. The math is simple. If one customer is paid more than the power is worth, another customer is footing the bill. In Maryland and Massachusetts, working families end up subsidizing their wealthier neighbors. Politicians call it clean energy. The truth is that it is a wealth transfer and – not surprisingly – liberal states are leading the way.
Energy Efficiency Resource Standards are no better. They require utilities to spend on state-mandated efficiency programs. Supporters promise future savings. The costs are guaranteed. Utilities collect them through higher rates whether or not anyone actually saves. Ratepayers are stuck funding political bragging rights.
All four of these programs share the same flaw. They replace choice with command. They put politicians and regulators in charge instead of competition and innovation. They drive up costs, weaken reliability, and punish the very families they claim to help. The ALEC report shows the other side of the coin. States that avoid these mandates, like Idaho, Wyoming, and North Dakota, enjoy some of the lowest rates in the nation. That is not a coincidence. That is proof.
Meanwhile, demand for electricity keeps climbing. States are banning gas stoves, mandating electric cars, and forcing households to switch to electric heating. They are piling more weight onto a fragile grid while shutting down the dependable sources of power that can carry the load. The result is more shortages, more blackouts, and higher bills.
Trump sees this storm clearly. His policy is simple and strong. Cut red tape. Expand production. Trust the market. Under his leadership, America is once again the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas. Prices stay stable because supply is abundant. That does not happen by accident. It comes from leadership.
The contrast could not be sharper. Trump promises abundance. Progressives deliver scarcity. Trump promises lower costs. Progressives deliver higher bills. Trump promises independence. Progressives deliver dependence on foreign supply chains for wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries.
This is not a theory. Families live it every month. Higher bills mean less money for groceries, for savings, and for the future. Businesses live it too. Higher costs mean fewer jobs and less growth. A weak grid threatens not just comfort but national security. You cannot project strength abroad if you cannot keep the lights on at home.
The way forward is clear. Repeal Renewable Portfolio Standards. Get out of cap-and-trade. End net metering mandates that punish families who cannot afford solar. Roll back Energy Efficiency Resource Standards that use ratepayers as cash machines for political projects. Unleash competition. Unleash innovation. Trust American energy.
Trump is right. Energy dominance is not a slogan. It is the foundation of prosperity and freedom. Lawmakers who care about families should follow his lead. Strip away the mandates. End the hidden taxes. Let markets work. That is how we restore affordable power, grow our economy, and keep America strong.
Ken Blackwell is the Chairman of the Conservative Action Project and the President of the Council for National Policy. He is an adviser to the Family Research Council and the America First Policy Institute, Washington, D.C.
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