The Left is attempting to shift responsibility for rising electricity prices, but thankfully President Donald Trump’s commitment to energy abundance will make electricity more affordable.
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel blames the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s clean energy subsidy phaseouts, which go into effect in 2028, for inviting today’s energy crisis. Instead, most people blame rising electricity demand, utility companies, and state governments for higher prices over either major party.
BESSENT: RISING POWER COSTS A ‘BINDING CONSTRAINT’ OF TRUMP AI BOOM
Net-zero climate policies mandating a transition to 100% renewable energy invited this problem. Energy abundance can therefore deliver lower electricity prices.
Energy abundance calls for maximizing the production and consumption of reliable, abundant, and secure energy sources here in America. Sources such as coal, natural gas, and nuclear — not solar and wind — are being prioritized to maintain our first-world living standards and power artificial intelligence data centers, air conditioning, transportation, and technology. Existing coal, natural gas, and nuclear power plants produce lower-cost electricity compared to renewables.
Despite receiving billions in government subsidies, solar and wind energy don’t supply most electricity today: 78% of total U.S. electricity generation comes from natural gas, nuclear, and coal. Globally, the share of fossil fuel use only decreased 0.1% across 30 years — down from 76.6% in 1995 to 76.5% in 2025.
As more renewables are added into the grid, power outages are 93% more likely to occur. Solar is the most unreliable energy source available, functioning optimally only 24.9% of the time, compared to 34.5% for wind. Battery technology could solve this problem, but existing technology won’t meet the current demand.
Higher electricity prices, therefore, can be attributed to ill-conceived federal and state climate policies mandating a 100% renewables target.
The Inflation Reduction Act and Biden-Harris climate regulations led to a 30% spike in energy prices. Regulations such as the Clean Power Plan 2.0 rule to prematurely shut down existing coal and new natural gas plants unless they decarbonize bore troubling consequences. Last year, 7.5 gigawatts of mostly coal and natural gas generation — enough to power 5.6 million homes — was retired.
Twenty-eight states and Washington, D.C., have Renewable Portfolio Standards mandating a certain amount of the electricity that utilities sell comes from wind, solar, and other renewable sources. RPS programs promise to lower electricity costs but often result in electricity prices that are 11% higher compared to non-RPS states.
Americans want to see reliable energy projects approved in the U.S. Unfortunately, bottlenecks such as red tape and overregulation present obstacles to the abundance agenda. That’s where permitting reform comes into play.
With increased electricity demand and the need for reliable domestic energy and critical minerals, the U.S. must build and approve more energy infrastructure projects. This includes more baseload power plants (natural gas, nuclear, and coal), pipelines, and liquified natural gas export terminals.
Due to bureaucratic red tape and frivolous lawsuits, however, it often takes seven to 10 years to complete environmental reviews before construction begins for new energy projects. To construct new mines in America, the process is even more daunting. The average approval time takes an astounding 29 years. The Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda and utilization of the FAST-41 Program to speed up the environmental review process is helping. Executive actions aimed at modernizing permitting, however, won’t last unless codified by Congress. Sixty-six percent of people want lawmakers to reform the process and see new energy infrastructure projects approved in a timely fashion.
FORMER DOE OFFICIAL PRESSES GOP FOR RELEASE OF OVER $40B IN LOANS
At his recent United Nations address, Trump laid out the failures of net-zero policies. His message resonated with many — including the International Energy Agency. The intergovernmental organization, responsible for setting global energy policies, announced it is deprioritizing net-zero policies and scaling up oil, gas, and nuclear energy investments.
An abundance mindset will allow the U.S. to meet our energy needs without sacrificing conservation of the environment. Let’s charge forward and leave net-zero in the past.
Gabriella Hoffman is the director of Independent Women’s Center for Energy and Conservation. Follow her on X at @Gabby_Hoffman.
