Blog Published June 18, 2026 · 3 minute read
Summer Preview: New Analysis Shows Pennsylvanians Should Expect Price Spikes on Summer Electric Bills
Every summer, energy demand surges nationwide as Americans cope with rising temperatures. More and more Americans experience extreme summer heat and need to power on air conditioners to cool down. For many families, it’s an annual tradition: higher temperatures mean higher energy bills—this summer, price hikes will hit even harder.
New analysis shows Pennsylvanians’ total electricity bills for summer 2026 could exceed $800.
New projections show that this summer will be even more expensive. The United States is currently experiencing record energy demand driven by data center growth, domestic manufacturing, and electrification. And we simply aren't bringing on new energy quickly enough or in large enough quantities to affordably meet rising demand.
All that demand is placing further strain on our already-burdened electric grid, which is aging and long overdue for major infrastructure repairs.
These factors combined—seasonal demand spikes made worse by climate change, arriving amid already record-high electricity demand and putting additional stress on a strained energy grid—mean Americans are in for a summer of scorching temperatures and steep energy bills. In Pennsylvania, two utilities—Citizens Electric and Wellsboro Electric—have experienced significant price fluctuations over the past year, with bills surging 30-40% in June 2025.
New projections show that this summer will be even more expensive. Forecasts from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) suggest bills will rise an additional 7.9% for Pennsylvanians this summer. When applied to recent electricity bills from the Keystone State, NEADA’s projected increase in electricity prices puts total summer bills across the state at $815, up from $755 last summer.
What’s Next?
Rising energy costs are a compounding problem, and delayed action only makes the problem at hand more daunting. Federal, state, and local governments should work together to expand generation and improve our aging grid. Instead, the Trump administration has made it significantly harder to meet rising energy demand.
To grow domestic energy generation and mitigate the impact of rising electricity demand, increasing clean energy deployment is a natural next step. Clean energy sources like wind, solar, and batteries take less time to build and aren’t subject to the same kind of supply chain shortages and price fluctuations that plague natural gas. But the Trump Administration has stymied clean energy deployment by undermining financing for clean energy, imposing administrative roadblocks that delay project reviews, and formally deprioritizing low-cost resources like solar and wind in federal directives.
Some estimates suggest the Administration has canceled or blocked 22 GW of clean energy deployment from coming online. To put that in perspective, the number of projects canceled in Q1 of 2026 alone could power between 2 and 3 million homes and businesses each year.
For folks in Pennsylvania, the consequences of cuts to clean energy are personal. The Trump administration has slowed or reversed investments in renewable energy in the Keystone State. And they’ve paired that obstruction with investing federal tax dollars to keep costly, aging coal plants open well past their anticipated retirement. According to a recent Grid Strategies report, DOE’s decision to extend the lifetime of Eddystone Generating Station, located in Delaware County, will cost ratepayers an additional $70 million annually.
It’s normal for energy prices to rise over the course of the summer. But the current pressures on our energy sector, combined with recent federal policy failures, mean consumers are facing devastating price hikes. Accelerating clean energy buildout can mitigate rising prices and give consumers some much-needed relief as we enter the warmer summer months.
