Why It Matters
The U.S. electricity system is undergoing a dramatic transformation that Congress must reckon with, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on electricity overview and issues for Congress.
Electricity prices grew nominally at 29 percent between 2019 and 2025, straining household budgets and drawing scrutiny to affordability. Yet utilities report 13.4 million residential disconnections in 2024 out of 143 million customers served, signaling distress among lower-income households who spend a disproportionate share of their income on energy.
At the same time, the Trump administration has paused Inflation Reduction Act disbursements and Congress has scaled back incentives for efficiency and renewables, even as market forces continue driving the energy transition.
The Big Picture
Solar accounts for 51 percent of planned utility-scale capacity additions in 2026, with battery storage representing 28 percent. Wind comprises 14 percent, while natural gas accounts for just 7 percent. Price declines for solar panels and wind turbines, driven by technology innovation and global production expansion, have made these sources competitive regardless of federal support.
The retirement of dispatchable coal, nuclear, and natural gas plants combined with the growth of intermittent wind and solar generation has created ongoing reliability challenges. Weather events including hurricanes, wildfires, winter storms, and heat waves have exposed grid vulnerabilities. Cyberattacks remain a persistent threat, though none have yet caused power outages in the United States.
Natural gas price volatility, especially the 2022 spike, is a primary driver of electricity price increases. Rising transmission and distribution maintenance costs have become a primary driver as well. Inflation-adjusted electricity prices in 2025 were 3 percent higher than in 2019 nationally, though 29 states saw real price declines during that period.
The Bottom Line
Executive Order 14154 directed federal agencies to immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and the 119th Congress reduced or eliminated some federal incentives for electricity efficiency and renewable energy via P.L. 119-21, the fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation law.
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