If you’ve noticed your electricity bill soaring, it’s not just you.
Californians have seen their energy bills spike by 39% over the past six years — the most by far of any state, according to UC Berkeley’s Haas Energy Institute — thanks in part to the destructive wildfires that have torn through Los Angeles and other areas in recent years and policy choices that have shoved costs onto rate payers.
“I represent a working-class district in Orange County, and constant utility rate increases mean incessant pressure for constituents to make ends meet,” Assemblymember Tri Ta, a member of the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee, told The Center Square.
“I am very concerned about the cost of utilities in California. The main driver of our high costs are public policy decisions that were made long before I joined the Legislature but am tackling now,” Ta added.
California residents already face the highest cost of living in the country — families in the state pay $30,000 more for basics like food, gas, water and childcare compared to the national average, according to the Transparency Foundation.
The massive increase in energy rates is due to a combination of factors: wildfire management costs, capital expenses, a costly push for renewables — largely shouldered by rate payers.
Distribution costs are up because utilities are allowed the pass on the costs of responding to wildfires to consumers, researchers say.
Severin Borenstein, a UC Berkeley professor who studies energy rates, also pointed to subsidies for rooftop solar programs that have shifted costs onto other customers.
By contrast, electricity rates in much of the country kept pace with inflation between 2019 and 2025— or even declined slightly.
The lowest rate increases were in Arizona, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi and North Carolina — all at just 1%, according to UC Berkeley research.
Rates actually dropped in states including Nevada, which saw a 12% electricity decrease, and Iowa, where rates dropped 8%. Rates in Alaska, Kansas and South Carolina dropped 6% each, per the study.
