Electric utilities have requested $9.2 billion in rate increases in the second quarter of 2026 alone, breaking the quarterly record of $7.2 billion set last year. Utilities have asked for a total of $18.6 billion in rate hikes since 2026 began, according to PowerLines, a nonpartisan consumer education nonprofit organization that aims to lower utility bills.
“Summer is when Americans pay attention to what electricity costs because their utility bills are often higher,” said Charles Hua, Founder and Executive Director of PowerLines. “The amount of utility rate increase requests in these filings shows the pressure on household energy bills isn’t easing. As we gear up into a political cycle where energy affordability is a defining issue, all eyes will be on these regulatory decisions.”
At the same time, investor-owned utilities are planning at least $1.4 trillion in capital expenditures by 2030, so the pipeline of rate increases may break still more records yet.
These latest rate increases will affect more than 56 million US customers at a time when customer anxieties over higher bills are growing, especially during periods of high heat, according to PowerLines.
“Investor-owned utilities are planning to spend at least $1.4 trillion in capital expenditures by 2030, which could be felt for years to come through future rate increase requests,” according to a release from PowerLines.
More than 2 in 3 customers say they have seen higher bills, and more than 3 in 4 are concerned about future rate hikes, according to the organization.
The impact is being felt the hardest in the US South, where utilities have asked for a total of $4.5 billion in increases across 26.1 million customers — increases twice as steep as the next highest region, the Midwest.
The largest single increase in rates comes from Oncor in Texas, which asked for $1.2 billion mostly to help it pay for its transmission and distribution upgrades.
Dominion Energy in Virginia, also in the South region, asked for $1.5 billion across three requests.
In the Midwest region, there were $2.7 billion in hikes across 14 million ratepayers, while Western and Northeastern customers face an additional $1.5 billion and $500 million, respectively.
Consumers Energy, DTE Energy and Wisconsin Electric Power were the biggest spenders in the Midwest region, each of which are asking for $500 million in rate increases.
In North Carolina, Duke Energy’s Carolinas and Progress units requested over $800 million in rate increases after fuel costs spiked following a period of severe cold this winter.
Eversource Energy in Connecticut asked for another $500 million, saying it needs the money to keep up with inflation and to spend on new power grid upgrades.
PowerLines says 58% of the total costs requested by utilities in the past two years have been approved, with very few rejected outright. A PowerLines analysis of 2025 rate requests, for instance, found just two of 83 requests were rejected, though nearly half remained pending by the start of 2026.