Who’s to Blame for Your Higher Power Bill?
Plug prices are the new pump prices, and the midterms are at stake.
On the boil.
Photographer: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images
At his Senate confirmation hearing, Energy Secretary Chris Wright confessed he was new to politics. He is a fast learner. Wright lamented in a recent interview with Politico that President Donald Trump’s administration would be blamed for rising electricity bills, even though it was really Democrats’ fault. His instinct about a brewing midterms energy backlash is sound. His simplistic take on what’s happening with prices needs work.
Plug prices are the new pump prices for economic anxiety, and they feature in state elections already. US presidents are traditionally, and usually wrongly, blamed for higher gasoline prices. Electricity is more complicated, mixing regulated and market prices that are subject to state and regional forces. Ironically, Trump can be directly blamed in this case. Before getting to that, though, some misguided preconceptions need addressing.