随着中期选举临近，候选人遍布全国，电费账单正成为家庭压力的切实象征。与其他可延期或削减的支出不同，电费每月都会如期而至，消费者几乎没有选择的余地。
这一问题为两党提供了新的竞选弹药：共和党将更高的电费账单作为能源政策失败的证据，民主党则指出账单援助和其他旨在减轻家庭预算压力的措施。
这场斗争在电价的剧烈区域差异中展开。联邦能源数据显示，美国居民电力成本因地区而异，凸显了不同地区的支付能力压力差异。
美国能源信息署的最新数据显示，全国平均电价为每千瓦时17.24美分，较去年同期上涨6%。
美国人支付电费最多和最少的州
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北达科他州的居民平均电价最低，为每千瓦时11.02美分；而受地理隔离影响的夏威夷州电价最高，达到每千瓦时41.62美分。
内布拉斯加、爱达荷、俄克拉荷马和阿肯色等州也跻身电价最低之列，而加利福尼亚、罗德岛、马萨诸塞和纽约则与夏威夷一同成为电价最高的州。
几个电价最低的州是深红州，共和党人可能会借此大做文章，尽管电价高低很大程度上由地理、能源结构、监管政策和使用习惯等因素决定，而非单纯的政治因素。
与其他可延期或削减的支出不同，电费每月都会如期而至，消费者几乎没有选择的余地。（Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle/Getty Images）
低价电力并不总是意味着能源可负担。天气、家庭用电量、住房质量、电网升级和州公用事业决策都会影响家庭最终的电费支出，这意味着较低的电价并不总是转化为较低的月度账单。
尽管如此，在一个因家庭支出焦虑而充满政治斗争的中期选举季，这种党派差异可能会被证明具有政治利用价值。
美国电价飙升，涨幅超过全国通胀率
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共和党人已开始借此造势，称电力成本较低的州受益于更广泛的国内能源生产和对传统燃料的更少限制。
内政部长道格·伯加姆在华盛顿特区贝莱德基础设施峰会上对听众表示：”支付能力因邮政编码而异。”他以北达科他州等低成本州为例，称石油和天然气应继续作为美国能源结构的一部分。”这只是事实，”他补充道。
克里斯·赖特部长补充说：”高电价是一种政治选择，并非必需。”
“回顾15年前，加利福尼亚州的电价仅比佛罗里达州高出约15%。从那以后，两个州的情况完全不同。如今，佛罗里达州的电价不到加利福尼亚州的一半，尽管佛罗里达州的电力产量高出约20%。”
“尽管处于飓风多发区，佛罗里达州的电价更低且可靠性更高。这是明智决策、强大运营和精心技术部署所能实现的典范。在过去20年里，当世界其他地方偏离轨道时，佛罗里达州没有。”赖特补充道。
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在今年中期选举中，预计共和党和民主党候选人都会在竞选活动中讨论不断上涨的电费问题。（Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images）
民主党则反驳称，联邦账单援助计划、能源效率改造资金和电网投资可以长期减少停电和家庭能源浪费，尽管这些措施可能无法在月度账单上带来立竿见影的缓解。
汽油价格可能更吸引眼球，但电费账单可能更具政治持久性：它们每月都会到来，难以快速削减，且往往与当地公用事业公司和监管机构相关，这为候选人提供了将全国能源政策与家庭不满直接联系起来的途径。
阿曼达负责福克斯新闻数字频道商业与政治交叉领域的报道。
A routine monthly expense Americans can’t avoid is emerging as a potent midterm issue, as rising electricity bills sharpen voter frustration and hand candidates a new economic line of attack.
As candidates fan out across the country ahead of the midterms, power bills are becoming a tangible symbol of household stress. Unlike other expenses that can be postponed or pared back, electricity costs hit every month with little room for consumers to opt out.
The issue is giving both parties fresh campaign ammunition, with Republicans casting higher bills as evidence of failed energy policies and Democrats pointing to bill assistance and other measures aimed at easing pressure on household budgets.
The fight is unfolding amid sharp regional divides in electricity prices. Federal energy data shows residential power costs vary widely across the country, illustrating how affordability pressures differ by region.
The latest figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration put the national average at 17.24 cents per kilowatt-hour, up 6% from a year earlier.
THE STATES WHERE AMERICANS PAY THE MOST — AND LEAST — FOR ELECTRICITY
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North Dakota has the lowest average residential electricity rate in the country at 11.02 cents per kilowatt-hour, while Hawaii — an outlier shaped in part by geographic isolation — has the highest, at 41.62 cents per kWh.
Nebraska, Idaho, Oklahoma and Arkansas also rank among the cheapest states, while California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York join Hawaii among the most expensive.
Several of the cheapest states are deep-red, a pattern Republicans are likely to seize on even though power prices are shaped as much by geography, fuel mix, regulation and usage as by politics.
Unlike other expenses that can be postponed or pared back, power bills hit every month with little room for consumers to opt out.(Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle/Getty Images)
Cheap electricity does not always mean affordable energy. Weather, household consumption, housing quality, grid upgrades and state utility decisions all affect what families ultimately pay, meaning lower rates do not always translate into lower monthly bills.
Even so, the partisan pattern may prove politically useful in a campaign season shaped by anxiety over household expenses.
AMERICANS HIT WITH SOARING ELECTRICITY BILLS AS PRICE HIKES OUTPACE INFLATION NATIONWIDE
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Republicans have already begun making that case, arguing that states with lower power costs have benefited from broader domestic energy production and fewer restrictions on conventional fuels.
“Affordability varies by your ZIP code,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told an audience at BlackRock’s infrastructure summit in Washington, D.C., pointing to lower-cost states such as North Dakota as evidence that oil and gas should remain part of the country’s energy mix. “That’s just a fact,” he added.
Secretary Chris Wright added, “High electricity prices are a political choice. They’re not required.”
“If you look back 15 years, electricity prices in California were only slightly higher than in Florida by about 15%. Since then, the two states have gone in entirely different directions. Today, electricity in Florida costs less than half as much as it does in California, even though Florida produces about 20% more electricity.”
“Florida has lower costs and higher reliability, despite being in the middle of Hurricane Alley. It is an outstanding example of what smart decisions, strong operations and thoughtful technology deployment can achieve. Even as much of the world has gone off track over the last 20 years, Florida did not,” Wright added.
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Both Republican and Democratic candidates are expected to discuss rising electricity costs on the campaign trail this midterm season.(Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Democrats counter that federal bill-assistance programs, weatherization funding and grid investments can reduce outages and household energy waste over time, even if they do not bring immediate relief in monthly statements.
Gas prices may grab more headlines, but electricity bills can be more politically durable: they arrive every month, are harder to cut quickly and are often tied to local utilities and regulators, giving candidates a direct way to connect national energy rhetoric to household frustration.
Amanda covers the intersection of business and politics for Fox News Digital.
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