Residential electricity rates are rising as utilities try to keep up with demand from data centers as well as climate change and aging equipment

• Residential electricity prices hit 18/kWh on average in April 2025a 35% increase over five years.

• Utilities requested or received approval for $29 billion in rate increases in just the first half of 2025.

• Data centers, aging infrastructure, extreme heat, and regulatory changes are fueling rising costs nationwide.

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Demand for poweris rising steadily and dragging electricity rates along with it. The giant new data centers going up around the country are exacerbating the problem, with many using as much power as a small city. Electricity rates across the U.S. are climbing faster than inflation, causing growing concern for consumers and policymakers alike. In April 2025, the average cost hit 18 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh)a 35% jump since 2020, and the trend shows no signs of tapering off.

According to the most recent data from the Consumer Price Index, under the Trump administration, electricity prices are up nearly 5 percent from the start of the year and up by almost a full percentage point in June 2025. Prices are expected to climb even further, with the average electric bill in the U.S. during this years air conditioning season projected to hit record highs.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts continued rate hikes: retail electricity prices are expected to rise 2% in 2025 and surge 13% from 2022 through 2025.EIA also projects increases of up to 18% regionally in 20252026, driven by infrastructure upgrades and rising natural gas costs.

Several factors are fueling the upward pressure:

• Exploding power needs from AI-driven data centers and tech infrastructure, which could absorb up to 9% of all generation by 2030.

• Aging grid infrastructure, with many utilities investing heavily in upgradescosts that are passed directly to customers.

• Severe summer heat waves, which surged peak demand and prompted emergency policy responses by grid operators.

Record rate requests and consumer strain

In the first half of 2025, utilities demanded or secured $29 billion in rate hikes, more than double the amount requested during the same period in 2024. The second quarter alone saw $9billion in requests affecting around 40 million customers, particularly in the South and West, according toPowerLines.

PJM Interconnectionserving 13 states including Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvaniawarned that wholesale capacity costs rose sharply in auctions, potentially upping monthly electric bills by 5% for 67 million customers.

• Minnesota leads its region with February 2025 average rates of 14.62/kWh, while Pacific, Mid-Atlantic, and New England residents are bracing for higher-than-average increases (U.S. Energy Information Administration).

• Utilities in states like California and Pennsylvania face public outcry as emergency rate hikes take effect in response to wildfires and infrastructure liabilities.

The policy divide

Policy shifts are reshaping the energy landscape. The Trump administration's "Big Beautiful Bill" rolled back many incentives for renewables, potentially slowing clean energy deployment and raising long-term costs by $40$300 per household annually by 2030.Meanwhile, states like Virginia and Ohio are pushing backproposing new tariffs that would make Big Tech and data center operators shoulder more of the infrastructure burden to shield residential users from rate hikes.

Pressure is also coming from Democrats in Congress.Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and several colleagues wrote to Trump last month, calling for changes in White House Policy.The Administration must reverse its path of increased energy prices and instead work to cut energy costs for American families,wrote the lawmakers.

Despite Donald Trumps campaign promise to cut the price of energy and electricity in half, consumers are facing higher electricity prices than when President Biden left office, the lawmakers said.

At the same time, the Trump Administration is cutting programs that help families afford higher electricity costs and lower their energy usage, all while utility CEOs receive massive payouts, Warren said. A combination of the Administrations regulatory decisions, the impacts of tariffs, and the Administrations reversal of key energy investments is driving up energy bills for Americans around the country.

The lawmakers cited key examples of Trump administration actions which have exacerbated the energy cost crisis, including:

• The Presidents Big Beautiful Bill makes cuts to existing clean energy and manufacturing tax credits that will lead to the estimated loss of 1.6 million jobs and elimination of $980 billion in GDP growth. The final law will result in an estimated $280 increase in average American household energy costs per year over the next decade.
  
• President Trumps efforts to sell more gas overseas risk creating a domestic price surge due to draining domestic supplies.
  
• The Trump Administration is forcing states to keep defunct, unwanted, and unneeded coal plants open in several states, foisting tens of millions of dollars of new maintenance and retention costs onto consumers in 15 states.
  
• President Trumps tariffs policy is increasing costs for building materials for transmission lines and electrical equipment, and virtually every other segment of the supply chain, imposing additional costs on consumers.
  
• The Administration has proposed entirely eliminating funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) after firing the entirety of the programs staff, which provides $4 billion in assistance to approximately 6 million low-income families who rely on this funding to pay their utility bills.
  
• The Energy Department is in the process of rolling back energy efficiency and water conservation standards, which save households close to $600 annually on water and gas bills.

What consumers can do

Amid rising rates, consumers are feeling the squeeze. According to PowerLines, 75% are worried about their utility bills, 80% feel powerless, and two-thirds say higher bills are causing financial stress. Some states are taking actionthough 33 states lack protections against utility shut-offs during summer heatwaves.

That doesn't leave much room for consumers to maneuver, although a new study from Stanford University finds that most U.S. households could reduce their electricity costs and endure power outages by installing rooftop solar panels and battery packs, according to a new Stanford University study, though people may need to buy the equipment by Dec. 31 to cash in on current incentives and rebates.

With electricity rates now rising in most states, shaving utility bills can help people quite a bit, but the ability to ride out local or regional blackouts is becoming very important to many families, said the studys senior author,Ram Rajagopal, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and of electrical engineering at Stanford. Thats because U.S. electricity infrastructure is old and getting replaced slowly, while the extreme weather events like hurricanes and heat waves that cause blackouts are becoming more frequent, intense, and longer lasting.

New biosensor device accurately detects breast cancer via saliva, offering a potential breakthrough in at-home, low-cost screening

By Truman Lewis of ConsumerAffairs

• Handheld saliva test detects breast cancer and even identifies its type, University of Florida researchers say.
• The device uses glucose test strips and transmits its findings to a smartphone via Bluetooth.
• In a test of 29 samples, it correctly identified cancer tissue 100% of the time.

University of Florida researchers have developed a handheld saliva test that can accurately detect breast cancer and even identify its type using a device that fits in the palm of your hand.

Published in the journal Biosensors, the study highlights how this pocket-sized biosensor, refined by UF scientists in dentistry and engineering, simplifies early detection by analyzing biomarkers in a patients saliva in real time. The team says the technology could vastly expand access to breast cancer screening, particularly in rural or low-income communities.

We were able to shrink the sensor platform so it fits in the palm of your hand, which was our whole drive: to make this accessible and portable for patients, said senior author Dr. Josephine Esquivel-Upshaw, a professor in UFs College of Dentistry and member of the UF Health Cancer Center.

The device uses commercially available glucose test strips and a reusable printed circuit board to analyze saliva samples. Within seconds of inserting the sensor strip into a saliva sample, the device displays and transmits results to a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth.

In a test involving 29 patient samples, the device correctly identified breast cancer cases 100% of the time and correctly ruled out cancer in 86% of non-cancer patients effectively minimizing false negatives. It also distinguished between healthy individuals, those with early-stage carcinoma in situ, and those with invasive breast cancer.

Affordable, rapid and personal

Esquivel-Upshaw collaborated with chemical engineering professor Fan Ren, graduate student Hsiao-Husuan Wan, and international partners at Taiwans National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and Taidoc. Their innovations included a multi-channel test strip capable of detecting multiple biomarkers simultaneously, which could significantly reduce testing costs.

The implications of such a device are personal for Esquivel-Upshaw. My mother died from breast cancer, so Im at high risk, she said. I get either a mammogram or an MRI every six months. Its a hassle and it can be discouraging. I would much rather give a simple saliva sample at home that would inform the next steps in screening.

Dr. Coy Heldermon, a breast oncologist at UF Health and co-author of the study, said the biosensor could become a companion screening tool alongside traditional mammograms or MRIs or even a first-line test to guide further diagnostics.

This device could improve access to breast cancer screening and significantly reduce health care costs, Heldermon said. If all holds true, it would be a game-changer.

He likened the test to the at-home Cologuard kits for colon cancer, envisioning a future where patients could receive the biosensor by mail, submit a saliva sample, and be referred for further imaging if needed.

Whats next

The UF team is now researching additional saliva biomarkers to improve diagnostic accuracy and expand the biosensors capabilities to detect other diseases. Several patents have already been filed, and the project has received support from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and UFs College of Dentistry.

With approximately 1 in 8 women developing breast cancer in their lifetime, and barriers to screening still common, the UF biosensor offers a glimpse of a future where early cancer detection may be just a saliva sample away.

It marks a major shift in policy towards coverage of obesity drugs

By Truman Lewis of ConsumerAffairs

• Proposed experiment would allow states and Medicare drug plans to cover GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy for obesity, The Washington Post reports.

• Marks a major shift in public insurance policy as costs, benefits, and long-term outcomes are evaluated.

• Final decision still pending; coverage could begin as early as 2026 for Medicaid and 2027 for Medicare.

The Trump administration is preparing a five-year pilot program that could pave the way for millions of obese Americans on Medicare and Medicaid to gain access to popular and expensive weight-loss drugs, including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound.

According to internal documents from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), obtained by The Washington Post, the plan would allow states and Medicare Part D insurers to voluntarily cover these drugs for obesity management. Currently, Medicare only covers GLP-1 medications for Type 2 diabetes, while some private insurers cover them for weight loss.

The proposal, expected to launch in April 2026 for Medicaid and January 2027 for Medicare, would be overseen by the CMS Innovation Center (CMMI), which pilots novel healthcare payment and care models aimed at lowering costs and improving outcomes.

A reversal From previous policy

The experiment comes just months after the administration officially rejected a Biden-era proposal to allow Medicare and Medicaid to cover GLP-1 drugs for obesity treatment. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, CMS Administrator under Biden, praised the plan as potentially transformative. Increased coverage of anti-obesity medications in Medicare and Medicaid was a priority during my tenure, she said.

While the plan isnt finalized and may bypass public comment, it reflects a growing openness among federal policymakers to treat obesity as a chronic disease deserving pharmaceutical intervention.

Despite the optimism among some officials, the proposed expansion is facing political and financial headwinds. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost of Medicare covering these drugs for obesity could hit $35 billion from 2026 to 2034.

Trump officials appear divided. CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz has publicly praised GLP-1s, while HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has warned about their cost and the risk of using them in place of healthy lifestyle changes.

Health influencers in Trump-aligned wellness circles including Jillian Michaels and Mark Hyman have also criticized the drugs, citing concerns over metabolism disruption and weight regain once treatment stops. Critics argue the nation cant afford a lifelong drug regimen for the estimated 100 million obese Americans.

David Rind, chief medical officer at the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, said the drugs offer immense individual health benefits and are priced reasonably, with annual costs ranging from $5,000 to $7,000. But, he added, In the aggregate, this is terrifying. I just dont know how our nation is going to pay for this.

The road ahead

It remains uncertain how many states and Medicare plans will opt into the voluntary experiment, or whether the Trump administration will finalize the proposal. Insurers have reportedly lobbied hard against broad coverage due to financial concerns.

Still, the test program could be a first step toward reshaping how the U.S. health system tackles obesity not just as a lifestyle issue, but as a condition requiring ongoing medical treatment.

Some key categories took a hit

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Electronics (smartphones, laptops, tablets)
  Imports from China faced tariffs of up to 145%, leading to price hikes as high as 46% for laptops and tablets, and 26% for smartphones.

• Automobiles and auto parts
  A 25% tariff on imported vehicles and auto parts led to price increases ranging from $3,500 to $15,000 per vehicle.

• Steel, aluminum, construction materials and appliances
  Steel and aluminum tariffs doubled to 50% in June, raising prices for building supplies and major household appliances.

Americans faced more price increases in July as a wave of new tariffs on imported goods took hold, pushing up the cost of electronics, cars, appliances, food and more. The price hikes are among the most significant ripple effects of U.S. trade policy changes in recent years, according to economists and industry analysts.

The Yale Budget Lab estimates that U.S. tariffs could raise shortrun consumer prices by roughly 1.7% to 2.3%, depending on assumptions, and impose a household purchasing power loss ranging from about $2,300 to $3,800 annually, measured in 2024 dollars.

Where prices rose the most

Electronics
Smartphones, tablets and laptops saw some of the steepest increases, with retail prices rising 15% to 46%. The tariffs, aimed at Chinese imports, hit consumer tech especially hard.

Automobiles and auto parts
A 25% import tariff that took effect this spring translated into sticker shock for buyers of some cars and trucks. New and used vehicle prices rose by thousands of dollars, while parts and repairs became more expensive as well.

Construction materials and home appliances
Tariffs on steel and aluminum, which doubled by 50% in June, sent prices soaring for building materials. Home appliances, including refrigerators and washers, also climbed in price due to added import duties.

Furniture and household goods
Imports of furniture and kitchenware were hit with tariffs as high as 145%, resulting in price increases of 10% to 30%. Retailers reduced discounts and inventory levels as margins were squeezed.

Groceries and food items
Tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico led to higher prices on produce including avocados and tomatoes, along with other staples such as maple syrup and certain meats.

More Increases Expected in August

Many of the tariffs set to affect goods from the European Union, Canada and Mexico were scheduled to take effect Aug. 1. Experts say July's increases may represent only the beginning of a broader wave of inflation.

Some retailers and manufacturers have temporarily absorbed costs to ease the impact on consumers, but that buffer is expected to shrink in the coming weeks.

Tariff impact at a glance

Whats next?

With another round of tariffs taking effect in August, analysts expect some prices to continue rising through the fall. Bargain hunters may find fewer deals, and families already stretched by rising costs in housing and energy are likely to feel further pressure.

Lawmakers have proposed targeted relief, but no exemptions or rollbacks have been approved.

Only 73,000 new jobs were created last month

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• The U.S. economy added only 73,000 jobs in July, well below the projected 100,000. Job growth estimates for May and June were also revised downward.
• Job gains were concentrated in healthcare (+55,000) and social services (+18,000), while the federal government saw a loss of 12,000 jobs.
• Average hourly earnings rose by 0.3% to $36.44, with a 3.9% year-over-year increase. Nonsupervisory workers earned $31.34 on average. Labor force participation held steady at 62.2% in July but has declined 0.5 points over the year, and the employment-population ratio was unchanged at 59.6%.

The U.S. economy produced 73,000 jobs in July, significantly fewer than the 100,000 that were predicted. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised the job creation totals for May and June sharply lower, suggesting a softening in the job market.

As in previous months this year, job applicants had the best chance of being hired if they were seeking work in healthcare or social services. The unemployment rate was 4.2% in July.

In July, the number of long-term unemployed those out of work for 27 weeks or more increased by 179,000 to 1.8 million. The long-term unemployed accounted for 24.9 percent of all unemployed people.

The labor force participation rate, at 62.2%, changed little in July but has declinedby 0.5 percentage points over the year. The employment-population ratio, at 59.6 percent, alsochanged little over the month but was down by 0.4 percentage point over the year.

Top sectors

Heres where the jobs were and where they werent:

• Healthcare (+55,000)

• Social services (+18,000)

• Federal government (-12,000)

Employment showed little change in July in other major industries, including mining,quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retailtrade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional andbusiness services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.

People with jobs earned a little more last month. Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 12 cents, or 0.3%, to $36.44 in July. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.9%.

In July, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 8 cents, or 0.3%, to $31.34.