A study by the Institute of Energy Research (IER) in the USA shows how voting for Democrats can lead to monster electricity prices. Wind and solar energy are practically free (as the experts keep telling us) but somehow states with the most ambitious renewable policies have the eye-watering electricity bills. Though there are exceptions when Democrats accidentally have big mountains and can make hydroelectric dams. (See Oregon and Washington, north of California).

The original study came out in December 2025 with a close analysis of just five states. In the latest update they have analyzed another 13 states in detail. Full state profiles are available by clicking on the state, then clicking the link on the box that appears. 

According to Lawrence Berkeley National Labs:

…each of the top five most expensive states for electricity have mandates requiring 100% of their power to come from renewable or carbon free sources, making their electricity unnecessarily more expensive. 

In contrast eight out of ten states with the lowest electricity prices are reliably red [Republican] and seven of those states have no '100% carbon free' mandate.

Higher electricity rates in Blue States are linked to renewable energy policies

In Blue States have High Rates — the cost of electricity in Democrat states is 42% more expensive on average than in states that vote Republican (see the map below). I took the liberty of adding the costs for the cheapest and most expensive states in cents per kilowatt hour on the map, just so Australians can gawk at all sector retail electricity prices that we haven't seen for 20 years. "All Sector" prices are an average of industrial, commercial and residential prices. These state costs are listed in the report.

There are dramatically different bills on each side of some state borders. It must be tempting to use a long extension cord…

Imagine paying 10c a KWh? A lot of America does. It's no wonder companies are moving to the USA.

Blue states have higher electricity costs, and net zero policies are to blame, analysis shows

By Kevin Killough, JustTheNews

Using data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the analysis found that 86% of states with electricity prices above the national average voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020 and 2024. By contrast, 80% of the 10 states with the lowest electricity prices voted for the Republican candidate in those same elections.

As the original report says: Expensive Electricity is a choice.

Electricity affordability is a function of state-level policy choices. States that have embraced aggressive renewable mandates, 100% "carbon-free" targets, premature coal and nuclear retirements, rooftop-solar cost shifting, and restrictions on natural gas infrastructure routinely deliver the nation's highest electricity prices. California and New York, the poster children for this approach, now charge their residents and businesses significantly more than the national average, with price increases that have consistently outpaced the rest of the country.