Affordability

Utilities

Energy bills are rising nationwide. In Georgia, they’re on the ballot.

Critics claim the state's utility regulator is too passive. Two Democratic challengers say they’ll change that — and push for more cheap, clean energy.

By Jeff St. John . 31 October 2025
Utilities

Why utility regulators need to do more than call ‘balls and strikes’

Marissa Gillett, pioneering former head of Connecticut’s utility commission, talks about how regulators need to step up amid rising costs and climate concerns.

By Sarah Shemkus . 27 October 2025
Utilities

The complicated reality behind rising power prices

Post-disaster repairs and continued fossil-fuel reliance aren’t helping power prices, but data centers may not spell doom after all.

By Kathryn Krawczyk . 24 October 2025
Energy efficiency

Cuts to Rhode Island energy-efficiency plan bad for residents, study says

Rhode Island has long led on efficiency. A proposal to slash funding may cost the state $90 million in benefits — while saving each household less than $2 a month.

By Sarah Shemkus . 22 September 2025
Policy & regulation

California just passed a suite of bills to tackle rising energy costs

The state’s lawmakers got serious about reducing electricity rates this session, with measures to help with summer bills and enable public financing for power grids.

By Jeff St. John . 17 September 2025
Utilities

Why power bills are rising — and why that’s not changing soon

Ending support for renewables and keeping fossil fuel power plants are the wrong tactics for addressing skyrocketing electricity rates

By Kathryn Krawczyk . 22 August 2025
Utilities

California lawmakers have a radical idea for lowering electricity bills

Two bills would replace $15 billion in utility power-grid investments with cheaper public financing — a new approach to cutting sky-high electricity rates.

By Jeff St. John . 7 August 2025
Policy & regulation

New York to scale back key energy-efficiency program

EmPower+ helps New Yorkers insulate their homes, get new boilers, and make other efficiency upgrades. The state could cut its funding by nearly two-thirds.

By Colin Kinniburgh . 22 July 2025
Heat pumps

Electrifying this affordable housing complex made financial sense

In Sacramento, California, property owner BRIDGE Housing moved ahead with a heat-pump-plus retrofit designed to save both itself and its residents money.

By Alison F. Takemura . 30 May 2025
Clean energy

Chart: Top 15 states where IRA repeal could raise energy bills

The climate law’s tax credits encourage developers to build clean energy, the cheapest form of power around. Without those incentives, bills would climb.

By Dan McCarthy . 4 April 2025