Driving Up The Cost Of Energy While Claiming To Promote "Affordability"

A fair criticism of politicians is that they all lie, at least to the extent of engaging in extreme levels of spin and/or exaggeration to put the best face on their proposals and programs.  But some political lies are worse than others, in that they go far beyond mere spin or exaggeration and get into the blatantly counter-factual.  In that category are the claims of many of the governors of the Northeastern states that they are promoting energy “affordability.”  These lies are particularly consequential in that they involve very large economic effects and vast waste of resources.

In late 2025, the talking point of energy “affordability” became a major theme of the successful candidacies of Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill for the governorships of Virginia and New Jersey, respectively.  Elsewhere in the region, the governors’ offices were not up for election in the off year, but the sitting governors have equally been talking up their energy “affordability” agendas.  See for example, Governor Maura Healey of Massachusetts here on March 16 (“Governor Maura Healey today is setting strong new targets for bringing more energy into Massachusetts and lowering energy bills.”); and Governor Kathy Hochul of New York here on May 7 (“[Governor Hochul] Tackles Energy Costs With Sweeping Affordability Package.”). 

And yet somehow, it’s hard not to notice that the electricity rates in the Northeastern states are among the highest in the country.  The federal government’s Energy Information Administration puts out regular reports of state-by-state comparisons of “Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers.”  The latest such chart has data from February 2026.  The national average rate for residential customers for that month (shown at the bottom of the chart) was 17.65 cents/kWh.  Look through the list of average rates by state for residential customers, and it is readily apparent that the rates in the Northeastern states are uniformly above the national average, with many close to double:  New York (29.99 cents/kWh); Connecticut (30.77 cents/kWh); Massachusetts (30.46 cents/kWh); Rhode Island (29.45 cents/kWh).  Outside the Northeast, only a few outliers (California, Alaska, Hawaii) break the 25 cents/kWh level.  Alaska and Hawaii have the excuse of being geographically remote.  The Northeastern states and California do not have that excuse.