Utility Costs May Increase as Demand for Power Rises

David Tinsley

July 2024

Consumers have had some respite from rising utility bills recently, with the year-over-year median utility payment per customer declining 1.4% in the three months to May, according to Bank of America internal data. However they are still paying a lot more than in 2019, and the price of some utilities, including electricity, has been rising, suggesting that any relief could be short-lived.
At the same time, electricity demand is actually increasing, pressuring supply, and it may continue to do so for a long time as industrial onshoring and the AI revolution are both turbo-charging the need for generating capacity.
This demand for significant investment in generation and related distribution infrastructure could be a headwind to consumers' utility bills for the foreseeable future.

Read our full analysis for a more in-depth look at these trends.

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