Why Home Electricity Prices Are Out Of Control In The U.S.

It's not your imagination. Electricity prices really are climbing higher in the U.S – at least in some states. And the staggering increases in the costs to keep our lights on at home are causing some Americans to make difficult choices about where their money goes. Do you keep the heat on during winter or buy food to put on the table? Even those of us who don't question our abilities to pay all our monthly bills often find ourselves wondering just why the price of power is so high. There are two main factors that are currently to blame for our over-the-top electric bills — inflation and updates to the utility grid.

If you're one of the lucky ones who hasn't noticed a rise in your household electric bill, you may wonder what the fuss is about. On the other hand, if you live in California, you may have seen your power bill go up over 30 percent during the last 6 years, which is more than can be accounted for with inflation. States in New England are also looking at large price hikes. If you're like the majority of Americans who are experiencing financial stress due to hefty utility statements, then you too want to know why this is happening.

While the rise in your electricity bills is a justifiable concern, you've probably also observed that food, clothes, furniture, and appliances are coming at steeper prices too. Inflation is high in the U.S., and both retail goods and energy prices follow the trend, leaving consumers shelling out more of their hard-earned pay and wondering what's going on. But as mentioned earlier, in some areas, power costs are rising at a much faster rate than other goods and services, which leads us to the other cause behind utility rate increases.

Updates to the power grid also take a huge responsibility for higher electrical bills for our homes. In many places, things like poles, overhead wires, towers, and conductors need to be replaced due to aging, and those costs get passed on to the consumer. However, an old infrastructure isn't the only motivation behind these updates. Climate change is also forcing utility companies to invest in upgrades due to extreme weather. Wildfires, blizzards, hurricanes, and heat waves all take their toll and cause damage to the electric system. Many utilities are reacting by burying power lines or taking other steps to protect the grid from extreme weather and wildfires. And of course, these costs get handed down to us in the form of higher energy bills.