A Tale of Two Types of States: Those with Dumb Energy Laws, and Those with Smart Laws

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A Tale of Two Types of States: Those with Dumb Energy Laws, and Those with Smart Laws
By William Murray
June 01, 2026

“It was the best of energy policies; it was the worst of energy policies” – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities. (Apocryphal)

Higher electricity prices and a lack of cheap energy are in the news. Even before the start of the Iran war, consumers over the winter of 2025-2026 experienced some of the highest energy prices on record, especially electricity consumers in the Northeast and New England.
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The cheapest states for electricity – North Dakota at 7.93 cents (kWh), Louisiana at 8.80 cents (kWh) and Nebraska at 9.07 cents (kWh) – get the gold, silver and bronze medals for affordability in this year’s rankings. All three are either natural gas-rich or import low-sulfur coal from neighboring states.

But low electricity prices aren’t just a case of geological inheritance or lucky geography. Blue states like Washington, which placed 13th in the rankings, and Oregon, which placed 22nd, benefit from far-sighted 20th-century leadership that built out massive hydroelectric capacity along the Columbia and Snake River systems. Illinois ranks 31st, having benefited from the construction of 11 commercial nuclear reactors in the 1960s and 1970s. All three have average prices in the 10-, 11-, or 12-cent-per-kilowatt-hour range.

Meanwhile, all states to the north and east of New Jersey are disappointments. New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine have electricity prices well above the national average. Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island each have prices over 23 cents a kilowatt-hour. They’re at the back of the pack.

The ALEC study found that the presence of three pernicious types of legislation in all these places: a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), participation in a carbon cap-and-trade scheme, and statutorily mandated net metering requirements. When implemented together, these laws consistently lead to higher electricity costs.
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Electricity is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Smart legislation should replace dumb legislation based on a horribly flawed vision of the 21st century. It’s time for state legislators to step up and do what Congress has failed to do: pass affordable, reliable, and clean energy legislation.

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