Across the country, energy prices continue to skyrocket under President Biden's agenda that strangled American energy independence. It's being felt at the gas pump, where Americans are paying the most — ever — after the national average cost per gallon recently doubled under Biden's policies.
But in another less-obvious way, electricity rates have also been spiking under Biden. There's no illuminated sign on the corner showing the price Americans pay per kilowatt hour, but the burden of increasing residential electricity rates is hitting wallets.
Townhall reviewed the latest available data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to find which states' electricity costs made the biggest jumps by comparing average residential retail price of electricity (RRPE) in cents per kilowatthour between January 2021 and March 2022 when Biden took office — and the pain caused by the combination of Biden's inflation and energy crises is abundantly clear.
For all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, RRPE has increased slightly more than 14 percent since President Biden took office. The U.S. Energy Information Administration groups states into several regions as well. The percentage change in rates between Biden taking office and the latest data from March 2022 — and each state within — are listed below.
New England — 16.67% increase since Biden took office.
Connecticut — 20.29%
Maine — 39.58%
Massachusetts — 13.49%
New Hampshire — 21.34%
Rhode Island — 0.21%
Vermont — 7.67%
Middle Atlantic — 9.77% increase since Biden took office.
New Jersey — 4.57%
New York — 8.05%
Pennsylvania — 12.30%
East North Central — 11.38% increase since Biden took office.
Illinois — 19.66%
Indiana — 16.56%
Michigan — 3.01%
Ohio — 8.61%
Wisconsin — 8.19%
West North Central — 11.40% increase since Biden took office.
Iowa — 7.81%
Kansas — 12.31%
Minnesota — 7.37%
Missouri — 17.57%
Nebraska — 10.10%
North Dakota — 6.03%
South Dakota — 3.28%
South Atlantic — 15.93% increase since Biden took office.
Delaware — 11.71%
District Of Columbia — 14.52%
Florida — 15.88%
Georgia — 17.82%
Maryland — 12.20%
North Carolina — 15.47%
South Carolina — 16.01%
Virginia — 13.48%
West Virginia — 19.11%
East South Central — 12.28% increase since Biden took office.
Alabama — 10.74%
Kentucky — 14.42%
Mississippi — 16.36%
Tennessee — 10.69%
West South Central — 14.41% increase since Biden took office.
Arkansas — 15.71%
Louisiana — 15.34%
Oklahoma — 25.53%
Texas — 12.28%
Mountain — 8.18% increase since Biden took office.
Arizona — 8.38%
Colorado — 12.11%
Idaho — 0.20%
Montana — 0.37%
Nevada — 16.13%
New Mexico — 7.26%
Utah — 5.08%
Wyoming — 2.20%
Pacific Contiguous — 15.95% increase since Biden took office.
California — 24.64%
Oregon — no change
Washington — 4.00%
Pacific Noncontiguous — 21.94% increase since Biden took office.
Alaska — 6.39%
Hawaii — 30.83%
Despite increased costs, power customers in more the half of the country are relying on a grid that is literally at its breaking point. In a previous column, Townhall outlined a report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) that warned more than half of the country is in danger of rolling blackouts taking out their power supplies this summer.
A combination of above-average season temperatures paired with other Biden crises — the broken supply chain, coal shortages, and over-reliance on solar generation — means that "forced outages for generation and some bulk power system equipment" are likely this summer from the Midwest to the West coast. Already, authorities in Texas and California have sounded the alarm in confirming the threat reported by NERC.
The rest of the area facing rolling blackouts this summer — all of America west of the high risk area — is under threat when conditions are "extreme" due to drought, fires, floods, or heat waves. pic.twitter.com/3WxK74MWxQ
— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) June 9, 2022
Americans living in a swath of the heartland stretching from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan south to Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico face power disruptions even under normal summer conditions when the grid faces peak demand. That is, pretty much any time summer temperatures put a strain on the grid — forced outages may follow.
That crisis, along with the soaring prices, continue to go apparently unnoticed and definitely unaddressed by President Biden. What could go wrong?