My colleagues and I have spent a decade tracking NextEra's sprawling political machine, and how it has used that machine to thwart competitors (including clean ones!), at ratepayers' expense. Essential reading for the NEE/D mega-monopoly merger plans. energyandpolicy.org/nextera-domi...

🥹😎 "The next Big Oil? Democrats set their sights on utilities." www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Tough election night for some SEARUC mainstays, but "Rubber-stamper of endless rate increases whose campaign contributions primarily came from the utilities they regulate" is a tough sell to voters right now, whether running for PSC or the House, I guess 🤷‍♂️

My hottest parenting take is that Raffi is not only the great to ever do it, but he’ll probably never be bested. Michael Phelps-ass children’s songwriter.

Some folks who don't know NextEra's history in Florida and beyond seem to think of it as some kind of potential benevolent dictator for the grid. I feel like I'm going to be pointing to this link a lot in coming days: energyandpolicy.org/nextera-spen...

“David Pomerantz, executive director of the Energy and Policy Institute, a nonprofit energy watchdog organization, contends that a NextEra-Dominion deal would hurt utility customers and give one company outsize influence in the utility business.” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/17/b...

when a utility says …“we will freeze our rates for 2 years as soon as we get this next rate increase approved,” that is akin to a utility finishing a decadent lunch, and proudly declaring that it’s going on a diet until dinner. From @energyandpolicy.org utilitywatch.substack.com/p/beware-uti...

Latest post: why you should be 🤨 when you see a utility or politician suggest a utility "rate freeze." Too often these become "rate oversight" freezes. utilitywatch.substack.com/p/beware-uti...

Policy/Comms/Dev

With utility bills playing a central role in the California Governor's race, we looked at lifetime utility campaign $ to the candidates: - Becerra has taken >150K lifetime from PG&E/SDG&E, SCE. - Bianco/Hilton/Mahan/Porter/Steyer have not taken any. energyandpolicy.org/becerra-150k...

Electricity bills are rising, customers are struggling, but guess who is doing just fine?

exelon (pepco's parent company) paid their ceo $15.6 million in 2025, a nearly $1 million dollar increase from 2024, despite not meeting their customer satisfaction performance threshold. read more about who is profiting off your utility bill in our latest report: energyandpolicy.org/utility-ceo-...

Are you reading @davidpomerantz.bsky.social 's substack or do you not know what is going on at all? utilitywatch.substack.com

Really excellent analysis of the latest chapter in the political and regulatory fight to rein in Alabama Power, a key part of Southern Company’s wealth extraction model. Anger about rates is growing everywhere. How much will reform achieve and how much will it be co-opted?

Wrote a post summing up what I think is the most interesting state in the US for utility accountability right now: Alabama. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Know what my mid-morning snack is gonna be out of solidarity w/ Artemis now.

"The Alabama Legislature heard your complaints about your power bill. They said: Shut up." alabamareflector.com/2026/04/06/p...

We're hiring a public records counsel to join our amazing team at EPI. Come help us expose how monopoly utilities and fossil fuel companies are hurting people and help us build momentum for change. energyandpolicy.org/public-recor...

Are you an attorney who cares about climate change, environmental justice, democracy, and corruption? Come work with us at the Energy and Policy Institute! energyandpolicy.org/public-recor...

When your utility asks state regulators to let them raise rates, they often hire expensive consultants and outside lawyers to help them make their case. Then you, the ratepayer, foot the bill. www.wbur.org/news/2026/04... @wbur.org #energysky

"For most Americans, when they pay their electric bill every month, a big chunk of that bill – probably bigger than they think – is going to their utility’s corporate profits," @davidpomerantz.bsky.social told @silviomarcacci.bsky.social: thepowerline.substack.com/p/power-bill... 🔌💡

Went literally my whole life thinking I did not like black licorice and then just had some high-quality stuff. Shaken to my core.

I started [gulp] a substack. It’s called Utility Watch, and will feature @energyandpolicy.org's research, with opinions and analysis from me. My first post is on utility profits, and why the politicians increasingly going after them are smart to do so. utilitywatch.substack.com/p/welcome-to...

The question so many of us are asking right now: how much do utilities profit from your electric bill? Now we have a way to find out. https://loom.ly/WjRhNt8 via @energyandpolicy.org

The traffic to our new calculator tool that tells ratepayers how much of their monthly electric bill goes to utility profits is so high it just crashed our site. We're back online now, but love the enthusiasm!

🚨: Ever wonder how your utility bill is calculated or why it feels like it keeps rising year after year? Our new report, “Paying for Their Profits: How Ratepayers Foot the Bill for Soaring Utility Profits,” has answers. energyandpolicy.org/utility-prof...

How much profit is your utility making off you? Electricity costs are soaring - this tool from @energyandpolicy.org shows how much extra your utility charges per month. Nationally, electric utilities took ~15% of your bill for profit last year. energyandpolicy.org/utilityprofi...

Am I angry? Yes. I ride my ebike for climate and sustainability reasons, fully aware that I could be mown down from behind by one of my neighbors at any time. And then everyone will treat it like an “oopsie” and let my killer keep driving

"We remain a BUY on utilities across the board despite a deepening of the affordability political crisis. Street is focused on regulatory deterioration, but we think increased manufacture of pitchforks and torches should continue driving demand growth as a hedge."

Alabama Power is so scared of voters that they want to take away your right to vote for utility regulators. www.wbrc.com/2026/02/05/l...

A couple of years ago a friend of mine in New England switched from oil to a heat pump. He sent me this earlier in the week. See next post for how it went:

Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti. "Please get the truth out about our son."

Pretti clearly did not brandish his gun. Which means the government is saying he was killed for legally exercising his right to carry. It’s as clear-cut a violation of the Second Amendment as I can possibly imagine. And we’re about to see the bulk of the gun rights crowd defend his murder.

OPINION: "Ohio can begin atonement through enforced reliability standards with equipment upgrades necessary to meet those standards funded by FirstEnergy shareholders."

Big, big news! This is probably the coolest of the many jobs I have shared here! 🚨COME BE MY DEPUTY🚨 🚨JOIN THE BEST TEAM WORKING IN CLIMATE POLICY AND POLITICS!🚨 This. Will. Go. Fast.

My friend Casey has had ALS for 7 years. During that time, he became the first person to communicate daily through a device that translates his intention to speak into speech. He and his family need help. Please support them here if you can: www.gofundme.com/f/save-casey...

Hanukah brisket quesabirria.

Can’t say I recall seeing a note like this. You can like @billmckibben.bsky.social’s ideas and his politics or you could dislike them, but you can’t deny that he is a mensch.

No one ever says to rile the kids up. The word is only used in the negative case.

Why are Americans’ electric and gas bills skyrocketing? A new Harper’s investigation shows how regulators across the US are failing customers while protecting utility profits. harpers.org/archive/2026...

This story from @nickbowlin.bsky.social does as good a job as any journalism I've read of explaining how utilities have largely captured their regulators, and why that dynamic is driving skyrocketing utility bills. harpers.org/archive/2026...

All those food science people who talk about how the Maillard rxn is what makes food delicious have never met a four year old.

Are utilities adjusting their winter peak planning for the fact that all households with children between the ages of 5 and 20 now insist on setting the thermostat to 67 degrees?

Analysts: "Heat death of sun is POSITIVE. Street had largely priced in negatives. Outcome provides certainty, removes overhang. Maintain BUY."

My key takeaway from last night: Utilities are deeply unpopular and honestly have been for some time. Politicians in both parties should be extremely wary of taking utility money and tying their political futures to these monopolies. It is… risky, to say the least.

Gravity: still exists.

There's a campaign underway in Michigan to rein in runaway political spending by monopoly utilities and certain other corporations. Half the funds raised so far to oppose the measure trace back to Consumers Energy. energyandpolicy.org/consumers-en...

Friends, advocates, candidates: there is no law requiring a Halloween reference on all of your public communications today. Not everything is either Spooky or Not-Spooky! Some things are orthogonal to the Spooky Spectrum!

I wonder (honestly!) how many of the 200 or so PUC commissioners in the US genuinely understand the “not a penny higher” bit as a part of their mandate that is legally equal in importance to the “sufficient to attract capital” bit.

GOP legislators in CT sought to oust Marissa Gillett, the chair of the PUC there, scapegoating her for high rates. Gillett had led a draft rate decision before departing. The final decision, decided w/o her, is now out. Result? A $37 million higher rate increase for customers.