For Midterm Voters, the Issue of Rising Electricity Bills “Transcends Party Lines”

Among the issues in 2026’s midterm election cycle, one in particular stands out as a bipartisan cause: the rise of electricity costs across the country.

About one in five Americans report cutting back on groceries to afford electricity bills, while about a quarter have resorted to uncomfortable air conditioning or heating levels to lower costs, according to a new Consumer Reports survey cited by CBS News. Meanwhile, about 80 percent of those who have lived in the same home for at least three years report an increase in electricity bills during that span. And of those consumers, the largest share says that increase is in the 20-to-49-percent range.

Federal data shows electricity prices in U.S. cities have increased 14 percent on average in the last three years, and researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR) report that nationwide energy prices are rising at nearly twice the rate of inflation.

“We’re hearing a lot of folks who don’t know what they can possibly do to afford rising [electricity] rates,” Sara Enright, senior director of safety and energy at Consumer Reports, told CBS News. “Vulnerable populations like students and retirees who live on a fixed income don’t have a lot of flex in their budgets, and so when they get a surprise bill in the heat of the summer, it can be frightening.”

Enright also explained that Americans “across party lines” are increasingly wary of whether government officials are looking out for them. “Everyday people, as the cost of living is rising, are concerned that their needs and interests are not being centered by the politicians and legislators that are supposed to represent them,” she said.

Amid those concerns, energy affordability is becoming a crucial issue in 2026’s midterms. A Hart Research study released in the weeks ahead of the election found that the cost of utilities is the third most important voting issue, up several points in importance from just five months prior. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted at the end of August found that for Democrats, Republicans, and independent or otherwise-affiliated voters, the cost of living was the most important factor their 2026 congressional voting decisions, ranking above democratic values and norms, immigration, and crime. So it’s not surprising energy affordability is one of the most frequent talking points for candidates running for public office this November.

“As the midterm elections approach, delivering affordable, reliable power is a priority that transcends party lines,” said Tim Pawlenty, CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association.

The midterms are coming nearly a month after the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted that power consumption in the United States will rise to yet another record high in 2027, going from a record 4,195 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2025 to 4,288 billion kWh in 2026 and 4,356 billion kWh in 2027, per the Associated Press.

Much of that demand comes from data centers, and polling results the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago released last month found that most Americans are concerned about data centers’ potential impact on electricity prices in their communities.

Fortunately, the continued rise of renewable energy is helping to lower electricity prices for consumers. In the first half of 2026, solar and battery storage comprised 70 percent of the United States’ new electricity-generating capacity, according to an SEIA report. And while some critics link the increase in electricity costs to the increase in renewables, CEEPR’s research finds that renewable portfolio standards “have virtually zero impact on prices and utility scale renewables are modestly associated with lower prices.” Even better, utility-scale solar “is strongly linked with lower prices,” the researchers said.

E&E News reported in 2025 that politicians had already started focusing on energy affordability ahead of the 2026 midterms — and that American Clean Power Association data showed that all 10 U.S. the states with the lowest deployment of renewable energy had seen price increases that year, while the states with the highest solar and wind deployment had seen price decreases.

“The average American simply does not know how much cheaper clean energy has gotten and how much clean energy is already serving the grid,” Adrian Deveny, founder of Climate Vision, told the outlet.

Public policy expert Paul Bledsoe, a professorial lecturer at American University’s Center on Environmental Policy, added that politicians could promote solar as an answer to the country’s rising electricity demands, and not just for its affordability.

“It’s not just about costs, it’s not just about emissions reductions, it’s also the speed at which electrons can be brought to the consumer, and solar does that better than any other energy source,” Bledsoe told E&E News.

Altus Power is one of the solar providers bringing those electrons to consumers. As one of the largest owners and operators of commercial-scale solar in the United States, Altus Power has solar projects in 30 states and the District of Columbia, more than 1.3 gigawatts of operating solar assets, more than 450 enterprise customers, and more than 40,000 community solar subscribers. Learn more about Altus Power’s commercial solutions and its Community Solar Program.