Full Breakdown
Trump’s Unmet Promise to Halve Household Electricity Costs
7/22/2026, 1:42:19 AM
Core Event: Deadline Passes Without Achieving the 50 % Cut
President Donald Trump set a self-imposed deadline of 12-to-18 months after taking office in January 2025 to slash residential electricity rates by half. The deadline elapsed this week, and the latest US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data show that rates have risen instead of falling.
Policy Factors Contributing to Higher Prices
The administration’s trade war, rapid expansion of AI-driven data centers, and cancellation of renewable-energy projects have been cited as obstacles. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act repealed clean-energy tax credits that previously helped lower bills. Energy-sector analysts also note that the president’s cancellation of solar and other projects could add roughly $460 per household annually by 2035.
Data & Statistics
- April 2025: average residential price = 17.55 cents/kWh.
- April 2026: average residential price = 18.83 cents/kWh (? 18 % increase since January 2025).
- Over the past 12 months, the average electricity bill rose 7.3 %, outpacing inflation.
- In the second quarter of 2026, utilities filed $9.2 billion in rate-hike requests, a 26 % increase from the same period in 2025.
- The Century Foundation reports the national average utility bill reached $280 in early 2026, a 12 % rise since the end of 2024, with 18 states seeing monthly bills exceed $280.
- Data-center electricity use added $6 billion to PJM Interconnection’s capacity auction costs, which are passed to ratepayers.
Verbatim Quote
- “The bottom line is what the data shows,” — Joel South