FERC rejects reform, leaves customers paying for utility trade associations FERC kept rules letting utilities pass trade association political costs onto customers. Congress can step in to solve the issue.

Federal energy regulators voted yesterday to keep accounting rules in place that allow monopoly utilities to charge customers for trade association activities - rejecting calls from a diverse coalition to protect customers from these expenses. energyandpolicy.org/ferc-rejecti...

In a new analysis that is surprising to...? Two incumbent candidates for the AL PSC received the majority of their donations from three PACs that get a sizable amount of their money from utility-related interests. Read it here: energyandpolicy.org/utility-link...

In case you want to read the analysis cited in the piece - here it is: energyandpolicy.org/its-not-just...

Thanks for including @ncnewsline.com

AEP CEO's compensation could hit $36.6M, topping region's highest-paid public company leader - Columbus Business First AEP CEO Bill Fehrman’s total compensation in his first full year totaled nearly $11 million more than Central Ohio’s highest-paid leader at a public company.

At a time when affordability concerns + rising energy costs are foremost on the minds of consumers, AEP reports that total compensation for its CEO Bill Fehrman could reach $36.6M for 2025, his first full year on the job www.bizjournals.com/columbus/new...

Florida Power & Light Profit Margins Top Other Utilities’ Nationwide, Report Says - Inside Climate News Utility profit margins are one reason why electricity bills are rising, the report says. Advocates say low-income communities are hardest-hit by the costs.

“Really where customers can make the most impact is asking the Florida Public Service Commission why utilities are making so much profit when so many Floridians are going without."
@shelbyisgreen.bsky.social of EPI told @insideclimatenews.org

insideclimatenews.org/news/0304202...

When utilities ask to raise rates, customers pay the legal fees. A bill in Mass. would change that Lawmakers are considering legislation that would prohibit utilities from passing on rate case expenses to their customers. Instead, the utility would foot the bill, taking the money out of its shareho...

When your utility asks state regulators to let them raise rates, they often hire expensive consultants and outside lawyers to help them make their case.

Then you, the ratepayer, foot the bill.
www.wbur.org/news/2026/04... @wbur.org #energysky

Utilities lobby for re-regulation across PJM: Timeline tracks private meetings, legislation, advertising A timeline of events shows the campaign by utilities, including Exelon, FirstEnergy, and PPL, to build power plants, which could further increase profits.

EPI documented an aggressive campaign by utilities like Exelon, FirstEnergy, and PPL for re-regulation: laws that would let them own power plants again–and potentially further increase their profits. Read the full timeline and sources here: energyandpolicy.org/utilities-lo...

Energy and Policy Institute's Sue Sturgis on ratepayers footing the bill for soaring utility profits • NC Newsline Energy and Policy Institute Research and Communications Manager Sue Sturgis on her new report that tells consumers just how much of their monthly energy payments go to utility company profits

Last week, we released our report "Paying for Their Profits: How Ratepayers Foot the Bill for Soaring Utility Profits." Co-author of the report, @suesturgis.bsky.social, sat down with @robschofield.bsky.social to discuss the findings and what it all means. Take a listen:

Thousands in NC call for independent audit of Duke Energy after high bills One new calculator claims to show how much of your own energy bill Duke Energy keeps in profit.

Utility bills keep going up while utility company profits soar.

Families shouldn’t be worried about keeping their lights on while shareholders see their profits rise. It’s time for a change.
www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article315085...

In an Election Decided by Acreage, Data Centers Are Shifting the Balance of Power With developers buying up large swathes of land in the Salt River Project service area, its governance is less certain than ever.

New from @jeva.bsky.social: The Salt River Project utility board has started early voting, but what happens when voting rights are decided by land acreage, Turning Point enters the chat, and data centers could throw the balance of power on its head?

heatmap.news/energy/salt-...

How much do DTE, Consumers customers pay in utility profits? Lower shareholder returns, consumer advocacy are needed to improve affordability, former utility regulator says.

Lower shareholder returns, consumer advocacy are needed to improve affordability, former utility regulator says.

Welcome to Utility Watch: Let's Talk Utility Profits Politicians of both parties are honing in on utility profits in their plans to lower voters’ electric bills. That's smart. It’s good policy and good politics.

I started [gulp] a substack. It’s called Utility Watch, and will feature @energyandpolicy.org's research, with opinions and analysis from me. My first post is on utility profits, and why the politicians increasingly going after them are smart to do so. utilitywatch.substack.com/p/welcome-to...

Utility profits rise as household bills soar, new analysis finds • Stateline Investor-owned utility profits have soared as consumer utility bills have skyrocketed in recent years, according to a new analysis of dozens of electricity providers.

Investor-owned utility profits have soared as consumer utility bills have skyrocketed in recent years, according to a new analysis of dozens of electricity providers.

stateline.org/2026/03/12/utility-profi...

Your rising power bill is fueling some sweet, sweet profits for Minnesota utilities • Minnesota Reformer The 110 investor-owned utilities included in the report had an average profit margin of 12.8% from 2021 to 2024 and 14.6% in 2025. Xcel and Otter Tail were in the top 40 both years.

Xcel Energy’s electric subsidiaries earned about 17 cents on the dollar in 2024 and about 15 cents on the dollar in 2025.
minnesotareformer.com/2026/03/12/y...

The traffic to our new calculator tool that tells ratepayers how much of their monthly electric bill goes to utility profits is so high it just crashed our site. We're back online now, but love the enthusiasm!

We hope this report changes that. It’s a conversation that’s long overdue. Read the full report here: energyandpolicy.org/utility-prof...

The share of households’ electricity bills that gets funneled to corporate profits is rarely discussed publicly – for a reason: It’s not a conversation investor-owned utilities want to have.

Our findings suggest a substantial share of what customers pay for electricity consistently flows to investors as profits.

Some utilities reported profit margins far higher than average. The worst offenders averaged over *20%* profit share of customer bills.

Want to know how much of your hard earned cash goes to utility profits each month? We built a calculator that will tell you: energyandpolicy.org/utilityprofi.... Share your results and we’ll repost them!

Last year, corporate electric utilities kept around 15 cents of every dollar they collected as profit. To put that in perspective, if a family forks over around $200 a month to its utility, around $30 of that goes to corporate profits.

Our initial review of 79 investor-owned utilities that reported their 2025 financials to the SEC in time for this report showed utility profits are going up.

Our first of its kind analysis examined financial data for 110 investor-owned utilities operating in the U.S. between 2021 and 2024. During this period alone, those utilities reported $186B in profit, or around 13 percent of all the money they collected from customers.

🚨: Ever wonder how your utility bill is calculated or why it feels like it keeps rising year after year? Our new report, “Paying for Their Profits: How Ratepayers Foot the Bill for Soaring Utility Profits,” has answers. energyandpolicy.org/utility-prof...

PECO’s profits skyrocket almost 50% after 2025 rate hikes Critics say investor-owned utilities, which enjoy a monopoly, earn too much at the expense of ratepayers. PECO says the increased rates fund needed infrastructure upgrades.

It can't get any clearer than this.

@whyy.org @susanphill.bsky.social

https://whyy.org/articles/peco-rate-hikes-profits/

However, in the midst of an energy affordability crisis, utility regulators have the ability to lower bills and stop approving rate hikes that include excessively high profits for monopoly utilities. Perhaps it’s best to skip the whiskey next time.

And listen, we know most regulators are trying to do their best under challenging circumstances.

The article also tells the story of regulatory capture that whistleblowers allege happened at Whiskey Caucus event last year.

Power Brokers, by Nick Bowlin What’s really behind your soaring utility bills

The “Whiskey Caucus” is a previously unpublicized recurring extracurricular event “where attendees drink fancy liquor, with a prize awarded to whoever brings the most popular bottle.” harpers.org/archive/2026...

This week NARUC held its winter meeting — where regulators, commissioners and - let’s be honest, a lot of utility lobbyists - come together to talk shop. But as you may have seen in an exposé by @harpers.bsky.social, there are also some extracurricular things that happen, too.