Energy Bills Are Squeezing Swing-State Voters Ahead of the Midterms, and the Decisions Behind Them Are Made in Washington
Households in the states most likely to decide control of Congress are paying $50 to $60 more a month for power and gasoline than a year ago, Reuters reported, in a squeeze tied in part to the PJM grid that also serves Washington, D.C., and to policy decisions made in the nation's capital.
Energy inflation is squeezing voters in the states most likely to decide control of Congress, where households are paying $50 to $60 more a month for power and gasoline than a year ago, Reuters reported in a guide to swing-state energy politics published Saturday. Across Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Ohio, combined household spending on power and motor fuel rose between 13% and 17% in the first seven months of 2026 from a year earlier, according to the Energy Information Administration figures Reuters cited, and costs are up by more than a third compared with 2019 in every one of those states.
In the first seven months of 2026, the average American household spent about $456 a month on electricity and gasoline combined, roughly $54 a month more than a year ago, Reuters reported. Gasoline spending has been driven up by the war with Iran and disrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, while electricity bills tell a slower story: average residential power bills in the swing states have risen between 15% and 58% since 2019. Pennsylvania and Ohio sit inside PJM, the country's largest power grid operator, serving 13 states and Washington, D.C., whose capacity auctions have set three consecutive pricing records this year, Reuters reported - the same grid whose prices reach the capital region.
Who gets the blame is split, Reuters reported: electricity rates are generally approved by state utility regulators, wholesale power costs are shaped by regional grid operators that answer to federal regulators, and gasoline prices are set largely by global crude markets. But the policy decisions driving the spikes, Reuters noted, are not decided in swing-state capitals - they are decided in the nation's capital. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found 78% of Americans blame President Donald Trump's policies for rising prices that are outpacing their earnings, with tariffs and the Iran war bearing the brunt of the blame, Reuters reported.
