NEWS: So far this year, utilities have asked for nearly $19B in rate increases.

The numbers: This figure includes a record $9.2B in rate increase requests filed during Q2 alone, according to a new PowerLines report. That’s 26% higher than the previous Q2 record. Last quarter’s filings could impact upcoming bills for over 56M US customers.

The regional divide: The largest rate increase requests came from Southern utilities—these totaled $4.5B across 26M customers. Next up, Midwest utilities asked for $2.7B in increases across 14M customers. The biggest single increase this past quarter? An ask for $1.2B from Oncor, mostly to fund its five-year T&D spending plan to serve data centers and the oil & gas industry.

So, what do ratepayers think? We recently dug into this question—hear why the public trust gap may be even bigger than many utility leaders realize.