For years, electricity prices broadly tracked inflation. New pressures may be changing that.

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Electricity prices have become a major political issue in the United States, with policymakers increasingly focused on rising utility bills and the costs of meeting growing electricity demand. At the same time, renewable energy has often been blamed for driving prices higher.

But what does the data actually show?

Ryan Hledik of The Brattle Group discusses research conducted with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on U.S. electricity price trends. The research finds that, nationally, electricity prices have largely tracked inflation, though significant regional differences tell a more complicated story. Hledik explains the factors that really drive electricity prices, the role of renewable energy, natural gas, and infrastructure investment, and why electricity costs vary so dramatically across the country.

Hledik also explores whether 2025, when electricity prices rose faster than inflation nationally, marks the beginning of a new era of rising electricity prices, or a temporary departure from a longer-term trend.

Ryan Hledik is an alumni policy advisor with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and a principal with The Brattle Group.

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Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.