Rising electricity rates are hitting consumers just about everywhere as utilities struggle to build enough power plants to meet rising demand from data centers.
But the effects on prices vary a lot by state.
Federal electricity data released on Tuesday helps to identify where the increases in bills have been the most drastic. I found several surprises.
As of July, the average household price of electricity in the United States has risen by 9.5 percent this year, according to the Energy Information Administration. You might guess that the largest increases were in states known for high electricity costs, such as California, or those that are part of the PJM Interconnection, a multistate grid region embroiled in controversy over rising prices.
But the largest percentage increase this year was in Missouri, which rose 38.3 percent. Several of the state’s utilities raised rates, including Ameren, which had a 12 percent rate increase that took effect this summer.
The rest of the top five are North Dakota, with 33.6 percent; New Jersey, with 28.6 percent; Iowa, with 27.5 percent; and Montana, with 25.3 percent.
Of those five, only New Jersey is in PJM, which covers parts of the Mid-Atlantic, South and Midwest.
California, with a 7.8 percent increase, trails the national average.
(ed: Owners of properly sized microgrids have zero impact)