America’s strength has long depended on building – farms, factories, power plants and the infrastructure that allows communities to grow. That tradition is now colliding with a different reality: Electricity is becoming more expensive, and policy is a significant reason why.
Across the United States, power bills are rising. Families feel it every month, small businesses see margins shrink and local governments face higher operating costs that ripple through the broader economy. Inflation and fuel markets play a role, but they do not tell the full story. Increasingly, electricity prices are being driven by policy decisions that constrain supply, raise costs, and slow the development of new energy resources.
The United States is not short on low-cost energy. It is short on the ability to build it quickly and at scale.
In a functioning market, prices fall when supply expands and competition increases. Today’s electricity system, however, is shaped as much by tariffs, permitting delays and regulatory uncertainty as by market forces. The result is predictable: Fewer projects get built, costs rise and consumers pay more.
Renewable energy illustrates the problem clearly. Wind and solar are now among the lowest-cost sources of new electricity generation available. In a competitive system, utilities would be adding these resources rapidly to meet growing demand at the lowest possible cost.
Instead, recent federal actions have disrupted several major offshore wind projects, including developments that were already permitted and under construction. Work stoppages, funding cancellations and shifting regulatory signals have delayed projects representing significant new capacity. These disruptions carry real financial consequences – from stranded investment to legal disputes and, in some cases, federal compensation commitments – with taxpayers and ratepayers ultimately absorbing part of the cost.
When some of the lowest-cost new sources of electricity are delayed, higher prices are an inevitable outcome.
Tariffs add another layer of cost. Duties on imported solar panels and key components have significantly increased the price of building new generation. Utilities do not absorb these increases; they pass them on to customers through higher rates. The effect is fewer projects that pencil out economically and a slower expansion of affordable power.
Permitting delays compound the problem. Major energy projects – whether renewable generation, transmission lines or conventional plants – can take years to move from proposal to operation. Each delay adds financing costs and uncertainty, which ultimately show up on customer bills. Transmission constraints are especially costly, preventing low-cost power from reaching the communities that need it and forcing continued reliance on older, more expensive generation.
Reliable electricity requires a mix of resources. Natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydropower and geothermal provide consistent, dispatchable power. Wind and solar, while variable, can deliver very low-cost electricity over decades because they have no fuel costs. When these resources are combined thoughtfully – along with storage and modern grid infrastructure – the result can be both reliable and affordable.
But that outcome depends on allowing all resources to compete on cost and performance. The current administration’s policy choices have limited competition and delayed investment, causing the system to be more expensive.
Consumers are already seeing the effects. Electricity prices have risen significantly in recent years, in some areas outpacing inflation. Colorado reflects these broader trends, with utilities facing higher wholesale costs and growing infrastructure needs.
Locally, La Plata Electric Association is holding rates flat for 2026 despite these pressures, due in part to temporary factors such as asset sales and retained capital credits from Tri-State – conditions that are unlikely to persist, particularly given recent additional debt.
The economics are straightforward: When supply is constrained and competition is limited, prices rise. The United States has abundant energy resources capable of delivering affordable electricity, but policy barriers are preventing them from reaching consumers.
If policymakers are serious about lowering electricity costs, the path forward is clear: Streamline permitting, reduce artificial cost barriers and allow the lowest-cost resources – whatever their source – to compete. Until then, Americans will continue to pay for an energy system that is more constrained – and more expensive – than it needs to be.
Susan Atkinson of Durango volunteers with the Durango Chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby.