The new report from clean energy think tank Energy Innovation suggests higher energy bills will continue for the next decade, tied directly to Trump’s policies. It comes as energy affordability is emerging as a key issue in this year’s midterm elections.
A year ago, Republicans in Congress killed a clean energy law that had contained billions in subsidies for renewables, electric vehicles, rooftop solar and household batteries. The administration has made it harder to permit clean energy projects and has tipped the scales in favor of more expensive coal-fired power.
Trump and congressional Republicans are making it tougher “to build these sources of electricity right when we need to add all this generation to meet growing demand,” said Robbie Orvis, Energy Innovation’s senior director of modeling and analysis. “There’s just a direct line from that set of policies to increasing energy bills.”