Electricity price depends on gas price. After West Europe stopped using cheap Russian pipe gas and switched mostly to liquefied American gas, the gas producers can get many times bigger prices in West Europe than in America. They are using it. Gas and electricity in America is getting expensive. You have to pay for the show organized by Ukrainian Zelensky.
The shift in European energy policy following the events in Ukraine has significantly impacted global natural gas markets, resulting in a complex, interconnected energy economy where American consumers are experiencing higher prices due to increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports
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Key Findings:
Shift from Russian Gas: Following the reduction in Russian pipeline gas, Europe has replaced it with increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, primarily from the United States, making the U.S. the leading supplier to the EU.
Price Disparity: Gas prices in Europe have frequently been much higher than in the US, sometimes three to five times higher, due to the high cost of liquefaction, shipping, and regasification.
Impact on US Prices: High demand for U.S. LNG in Europe has created upward pressure on domestic U.S. natural gas and electricity prices. A 2025 analysis indicated that rising LNG exports were a significant factor in higher utility bills for American consumers.
Export Growth: U.S. LNG export capacity has risen sharply to meet this demand, with exports up 22% in 2025, according to a report from Public Citizen.
Market Dynamics: As the U.S. has become the world's largest LNG exporter, domestic prices are more exposed to global market volatility, meaning higher prices in Europe and Asia incentivize producers to export more gas, tightening domestic supply.
Context on Energy Prices:
Europe: While energy prices in Europe have surged, some reports in 2025 indicated that wholesale prices began to stabilize as LNG imports surged and demand reduced, though they remained higher than pre-conflict levels.
United States: U.S. natural gas spot prices at the Henry Hub increased in 2025 compared to 2024 lows, partly driven by increased demand from export facilities.
Alternative View: Some industry analyses, such as one from the Texas Oil & Gas Association, have argued that U.S. LNG exports have historically had little direct impact on domestic prices and have encouraged further production.
In summary, the European decision to move away from Russian pipeline gas has led to a tighter, higher-priced, and more globally connected gas market, with increased U.S. LNG exports contributing to higher energy costs for American consumers.
“President Trump has been fixated on lowering gasoline prices and persuading oil companies to "drill, baby drill" since returning to office, but a bigger political fight is brewing over power.
Electricity-cost increases are outpacing other kinds of inflation, vaulting utility bills into the political discourse across the U.S. ahead of the midterm elections.
Trump administration officials gathered at the White House late last week with a group that included the governors of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia to push the nation's largest grid operator to hold an emergency power auction. They want the U.S.'s biggest technology companies to bring their own power supplies or cover the cost for new power-plant construction to stem concerns that their data centers are driving up electricity prices for Americans.
Data centers are getting much of the blame for soaring power costs. Governors and senators of all political stripes are piling into debates over proposed rate increases.
Electricity costs in the U.S. rose 6.7% in December from a year earlier and are up about 38% since 2020, according to Labor Department data. Consumer prices rose 2.7% in December more broadly.
"We can't take it anymore," Republican Gov. Mike Braun said in September when he directed Indiana's consumer advocate to evaluate utility profits in the state.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, called a requested electricity rate increase "out of touch" before encouraging state utility regulators to dismiss the proposal. They took that advice in November, though a revamped request is expected this year.
"Families across Missouri are struggling to pay their bills," Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican, wrote in a letter to a utility CEO in October. His concerns included rate increases and ensuring that residential customers don't pick up the tab for large, power-guzzling new data centers.
Energy provider Ameren Missouri said its residential rates are among the lowest in the country but that it understands Hawley's concerns and that "rising household costs are a real challenge." A new Missouri law tries to ensure that large customers cover the grid costs they cause.
Gasoline prices -- often the most-talked-about consumer energy cost -- have dropped about 9% since January 2024 to $2.84 a gallon for the regular unleaded variety, according to AAA.
Electricity costs, meanwhile, have moved higher for a variety of reasons. The replacement of aging equipment, rebuilding following storms and fires, and state renewable-energy plans have played a role in rising rates, according to a study led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Consumption also swings with weather.
For utilities, 2026 appears to be a tough time to file for a rate increase, said John Bartlett, president of Reaves Asset Management, which invests in the sector.
He expects electricity costs to feature in many of the 36 states with governor's races this year, though he noted that governors aren't in charge of all of the factors that play into electricity prices, including one of the key inputs: the cost of natural gas.” [1]
Let’s turn to Mr. Zelensky from Ukraine and ask: What about those compromises? This is what Mr. Trump is doing right now.
1. U.S. News: Utility Bills Become Politically Charged. Hiller, Jennifer. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 21 Jan 2026: A4.
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