We’re just under a month away from what could become the most watched (and challenged) US election in history—and rising power prices are on everyone’s minds. That’s why candidates spanning the top to the bottom of the ballot are campaigning on bringing down bills.
Energy affordability has become an especially prominent topic in gubernatorial races. Some of the tightest contests—including those in Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin—have emerged in states where residents are seeing particularly sharp bill increases (and ratepayers are notably vocal against data center development).
The big question: How much power do governors actually have over energy costs? Not a ton, experts told us. (And our sources think that’s a good thing).
The numbers: State governments can typically only impact roughly a quarter of a utility bill. This includes the costs of distribution and certain state programs (like energy efficiency and payment assistance initiatives).
As for the rest? Most charges stem from supply and transmission, which are handled at the regional and federal levels. And these officials’ reach only goes so far—with commodities like natural gas, “no one person or entity can control prices that are set, in essence, in the world market,” said Paul DeCotis, a senior partner at consulting firm West Monroe and former chair of New York’s Energy Planning Board.
As for the costs that states can influence, these largely fall to public utility commissions. They can set rates and regulate resource plans, among other factors that impact bills.
“The system is designed for the governor not to have control” over these processes, electricity market consultant Frank Felder told us. Without those guardrails, we would likely see erratic decisions leading up to elections. (Case in point: Ahead of the midterms, several governors have changed up their positions on data centers.)
What governors can do: Each state’s head honcho still has some sway over energy bills. They can:
Appoint public service commissioners (except for the 10 states where they’re elected, and the two where they’re chosen by the legislature)
Set a legislative agenda and align state agencies around it
Roll out executive orders, an increasingly popular strategy amid the data center buildout (See: PA Gov. Josh Shapiro, VA Gov. Abigail Spanberger, and TX Gov. Greg Abbott)
Zooming in on PJM: In a region where the data center boom has driven a nearly 76% year-over-year spike in wholesale power costs, governors have become especially involved in the (literal) power struggle. These include Spanberger, Shapiro, Wes Moore of Maryland, and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, who have wielded lawsuits, data center moratoriums, and other tools at their disposal to bring down bills.
The region’s governors and other state officials have criticized PJM for shutting them out of critical decision-making processes, and claim this has contributed to rising costs. FERC ordered them to fix this broken governance system—but they (unsurprisingly) can’t agree on solutions.
The message for voters: As people head to the ballot box, they should be aware of these nuances, said Ted Thomas, senior advisor at nonprofit PowerLines and former chairman of the Arkansas PSC. And it’s up to officials to clear things up.
“One of the key skills for a governor is to engage publicly on the issue,” Thomas told us. This includes “talking about the limitations of what they can actually do.”