May 5, 2026
Electricity bills are rising nationwide. And Ohio has seen the second-highest increase in the nation, just behind Virginia — despite ranking fairly high for overall affordability (1).
The average cost per kWh increased by 9% across the country, while the largest increase was in Virginia (up 26.3%), followed by Ohio (up 21.9%), according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (2).
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And those bills are expected to spike this summer as households turn on the A/C.
The average cost to cool your home is expected to reach $778 between June and September, according to estimates by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA). That's an 8.5% increase from last year (3).
At the same time, CEOs of Ohio's four main electric utilities are making millions.
Electricity prices are on the rise
Retail electricity prices continue to increase faster than inflation, "reflecting upward pressure from fuel costs, grid investments, data center demands and utility rate adjustments (4)," according to NEADA, a policy organization for state directors of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) (5).
Thanks to the Iran war, oil and natural gas costs are surging, which means higher production costs for utilities. Natural gas is used for roughly 40% of power generation in the nation (6).
The U.S. is the world's second-largest electricity consumer after China, and electricity demand here is expected to grow at an average annual rate of about 2% from 2025 to 2027, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) (7).
Another reason for this growth is escalating demand from the data center sector.
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"We expect the manufacturing sector in general, especially new large industrial loads such as semiconductor production facilities, to contribute to the demand growth through 2027," according to the IEA (8).
Ohio provides big tax breaks for the construction of data centers — many of which go to hyperscalers such as Amazon Web Services, Google and Meta (formerly Facebook).
Between 2017 and 2024, Ohio provided $2.5 billion in state and local tax incentives for the construction of data centers in the state (9) — earning this emerging tech and semiconductor hub the nickname "Silicon Heartland."
According to the Data Center Map, there are currently 203 data centers in Ohio (10).
While this is creating high-tech jobs, it's also consuming a lot of resources. Data centers could account for up to 12% of electricity consumption in the U.S. by 2030, according to a McKinsey report (11).
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Salaries of utility execs are also on the rise
At the same time, the salaries of utility executives in Ohio — and the nation as a whole — are on the rise.
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Bill Fehrman, CEO of Ohio-based American Electric Power (AEP), was paid $36.6 million in 2025 — making him the highest-paid utility CEO in the U.S. last year, according to a report by the Energy & Policy Institute (12).
"Fehrman's leap in pay comes as AEP customers struggled to keep up with their bills," according to the report. "The utility disconnected Ohio customers more than 173,000 times from June 2024 to May 2025, and during that same period issued nearly 2 million final notices for disconnection to customers who carried a combined past-due balance of $722 million."
Overall, CEOs of investor-owned electric and gas utilities across the U.S. received $626 million in 2025.
What consumers can do about it
A March survey of 1,000 registered voters by national thinktank Third Way found that energy ranked fourth among their cost-of-living concerns, behind housing, groceries and health insurance — and ahead of taxes, childcare and prescription drugs (13).
The vast majority (86%) said their energy costs had increased in the past few years — and for many households "there is little room left to absorb future price growth." While some respondents said they can manage those costs, 43% said they'd struggle if their bills rose further.
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While this can be frustrating for many consumers — watching their utility bills skyrocket while utility CEOs bring home millions — there are ways to mitigate rising electricity costs.
For example, you can increase your household energy efficiency by shifting heavy electricity usage to off-peak hours, using smart thermostats to optimize heating and cooling schedules and sealing gaps in windows and doors to reduce drafts and heat transfer.
Aside from shopping around for more competitive rates, you could look into federal, state and local incentives and rebates for energy-efficient upgrades, such as replacing old appliances with ENERGY STAR-rated models that reduce overall energy consumption.
You can use the ENERGY STAR Rebate Finder (14) to find applicable rebates.
If you're looking to become more energy self-sufficient, you could explore renewable energy options, such as installing solar panels that allow you to generate your own electricity — and hedge against utility price increases.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
U.S. News & World Report (1); U.S. Energy Information Agency (2); National Energy Assistance Directors Association (3),(4),(5); Natural Gas Intelligence (6); International Energy Agency (7),(8); Signal Ohio (9); Data Center Map (10); McKinsey & Company (11); Energy and Policy Institute (12); Third Way (13); Energy Star (14)
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Vawn Himmelsbach is a veteran journalist who covers tech, business, finance and travel. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, CBC News, Yahoo Finance, MSN, CAA Magazine, Travelweek, Explore Magazine and Consumer Reports.
