US household electricity prices have risen more than 10% since 2024, when President Donald Trump was elected alongside Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, making utility costs a prominent issue in this year’s midterm elections. Prices have outpaced broader inflation nationally and risen even faster in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where data-center development is also accelerating. Candidates are proposing rate freezes, lower guaranteed returns for utilities and, in Ohio, a data-center moratorium. Nine state public utility commission seats are up for election, while governors will be chosen in 36 states and can appoint regulators where commissioners are not directly elected. Utilities are on track to match last year’s record $31 billion in rate-increase requests, and investor-owned companies are expected to undertake nearly $1.3 trillion in capital spending over five years. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro pressured PECO Energy Company to withdraw a proposed rate increase, while Ohio candidates Amy Acton and Vivek Ramaswamy offered competing responses to rising bills and data-center demand. Industry advocates warn that curbing rates and returns could reduce grid investment, and Fitch downgraded the North American utility sector to "deteriorating" from "neutral."