According to a new Canary Media analysis, the energy affordability crisis gripping the U.S. has deep structural roots that predate the current administration. The report notes that electricity costs have been rising steadily for years because the physical grid needs major repairs almost everywhere, climate-driven disasters are damaging infrastructure, higher interest rates make financing more expensive, and key equipment like high-voltage transformers is hard to obtain. These factors, not any single policy, set the stage for today's record-high power bills.
The analysis also highlights how the Trump administration's actions have made things worse. The war with Iran has throttled oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing gasoline to $4.36 a gallon and diesel to an all-time high of $6.53. Because utilities pass fuel costs directly to customers, states like Hawaii — which relies heavily on oil for electricity — are hit especially hard. Tariffs have raised the price of copper, steel, and batteries, while the administration stripped consumer tax credits for heat pumps, rooftop solar, and EVs, and froze billions in clean-energy funding for low-income communities.
Trump's emergency orders forcing seven coal plants to stay open have also put costs onto consumers in affected grid regions, even where the plants were physically unable to produce power; a court recently ruled the first such order illegal. Looking ahead, the report warns that the administration's success in blocking offshore wind and paying developers to abandon Atlantic Coast projects will deprive the Eastern Seaboard of fuel-free power for years, with few ready alternatives for large-scale generation.
Overall, the article argues that political candidates often frame the issue in expedient terms, blaming opponents or data centers, but the real causes are complex and nuanced. The analysis does not offer a single fix, but it makes clear that both long-standing structural problems and current policy choices are driving up what Americans pay for energy.