re: People complaining about increased electric bill cost

It’s a perfect storm of massively accelerating demand caused by AI and the decreased ability to generate caused by the “renewables” hoax. Utility customers going to get hit hard.

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How much of this is related to stopping building gas and coal power plants and trying to force the shift

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..don’t forget everyone pushing electric everything. Where do they think the power to charge it comes from?

..also, the electrical infrastructure is finite. Once load approaches equipment thresholds: conductors, transformers, etc, it sparks upgrades that are extremely expensive. You start dumping EV chargers everywhere, it forces those upgrades that would have never been needed in areas that are 100% built out.

Most new neighborhoods are UG distribution and usually the loops are 1/0 UG which has a limit of 157A. If customers start adding home level 2 chargers (240V 40/50A) it will eventually lead to the entire loop to be reconductored, and potential upgrades of the transformers (7620/120-240V or 19920/120-240V). Typically one transformer supports 5-7 homes and range from 50KVA-100KVA.

A new substation today: one transformer and 2-3 distribution breakers, and the distribution conductors, will cost up to $40 million.

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How much of this is related to stopping building gas and coal power plants and trying to force the shift

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Probably next to 0

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Really? Even with blue states being 9 of the 10 most expensive states for electricity? And blue states paying on average 37% more for electric power?

I’m suuuuuuuuuuuure that’s just coincidence.

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Some red states have the most renewables on the grid homie

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A lot of it has to do with ai costs

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You're actually on to something that isn't discussed like it should be.

There was a report from the EIA that projects AI data centers and commercial users will consume more electricity than residential users for the first time in 2026.

AI data centers being built are huge and use 10 times more energy than traditional data centers.

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1. State Regulated Status
Regulated vertically integrated utilities dominate the Southeast region, including: Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Missouri.

Texas (ERCOT) has a competitive, energy-only market. Utilities do not have guaranteed profits.

Arkansas is primarily under the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), mostly vertically integrated with some market participation.

2. Approximate Guaranteed Profits
Guaranteed profits in regulated states are typically derived from revenue multiplied by the allowed rate of return, often around 6-11% depending on the state regulatory commission.
Using revenue data from July 2025 (GridInfo):
State
Electric Revenue (2025)
Typical Allowed Rate of Return
Approx. Guaranteed Profit
Alabama
$1.2B
8%
$96M
Georgia
$2.1B
8%
$168M
Florida
$3.5B
8%
$280M
Mississippi
$577M
8%
$46M
Tennessee
$1.3B
8%
$104M
Arkansas
$549M
8%
$44M
South Carolina
$1.1B
8%
$88M
Texas
$5.4B
Not regulated / market-based
N/A (competitive market, no guaranteed profits)
Missouri
$1.1B
8%
$88M
Notes:
The table assumes the allowed rate of return is 8% as a common regulatory estimate; actual rates vary by utility and state.
Revenue figures are monthly totals; annual profits can be extrapolated by multiplying by 12, though seasonal adjustments exist.
Texas electricity companies operate under ERCOT’s competitive wholesale market, so there is no guaranteed profit—profits depend on market prices and risk exposure.
3. Summary
In regulated markets (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina, Missouri), utilities are allowed a predictable return on assets; approximate guaranteed profits range from $44M to $280M per month, based on July 2025 revenue and an 8% rate of return.
In deregulated/competitive markets like Texas, “guaranteed odds” do not exist; profits are market-dependent.

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This AI summary averages the guaranteed profit by several southern states. The actual guarantees are higher. For instance Alabama Power is set between 13% and 14.5%.

That means that even if every consumer did everything right as a consumer to reduce usage (like, IDK, switching to LED bulbs), the bills will continue to go up.

AI is just the current reason that they are pulling the wool over your eyes with. It's these guaranteed Rate of Returns that actually kill consumers as they are far higher than actual wage growths for the regions.

Gotta love those smart meters. They are so smart they can charge you one rate during peak time and another rate during off-peak time.

Can you even imagine a gas station being able to charge you a higher rate when it gets busy?

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How much of this is related to stopping building gas and coal power plants and trying to force the shift

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But have you considered Orange Man Bad? I bet you've never heard that one before

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A lot of it has to do with ai costs

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And there are youngins that keep it on conversation mode where it's working 24/7 and eating up data/electricity.