Texas experienced the highest average wholesale price of electricity during the first three years of the Biden-Harris administration and also led the nation with the highest three-year increase.

According to a new study by Energy Alliance, Texas’ wholesale price over the administration’s first three years was $117 for a three-year increase of 208 percent. California and New York had the next highest increases.

Overall, the average wholesale electricity prices during the first three years of the Biden-Harris administration have increased by 72 percent compared to prices in the last three years of the Trump administration.

Energy Alliance Policy Director Bill Peacock, the study’s author, stated that the “reasons for the higher prices are not surprising” and laid much of the blame on the current administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.

Passed by Congress in 2022, the measure claimed to have attempted to reduce the federal budget, lower prescription drug prices, and invest in “clean and renewable” domestic energy production.

However, lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee noted in 2023 that the measure had nothing to do with reducing inflation from a high of 9.1 percent in June 2022.

“Instead of lowering prices, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) hiked taxes on businesses, mandates price controls on drugs, devoted $80 billion to hire 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents to target middle class Americans, and earmarked $300 billion to advance Democrats’ radical climate agenda,” read a press release from the committee.

Another Energy Alliance study found that the Inflation Reduction Act more than tripled the amount of subsidies going to unreliable energy sources. Annual subsidies are now expected to average $245 billion through 2029.

Texas state and local governments also bear some responsibility for rising energy costs for residents. Combined, the two are responsible for causing 85.7 percent of the total $84.3 billion government-imposed costs on the Texas Interconnection since 2014.

“The growth of renewables is leading to problems with grid reliability,” explained Peacock. “It is a well-known fact that the reliability value of renewable energy declines as its grid penetration increases.”

According to Energy Alliance, renewable energy is projected to make up 98.2 percent of new generation on the Texas grid over the next five years.

Luca Cacciatore

Luca H. Cacciatore is a journalist for Texas Scorecard. He is an American Moment inaugural fellow and former welder.

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