Illustrations by Bryce Wymer  What’s really behind your soaring utility bills by Nick Bowlin January 20, 2025, the first day of President Trump’s second term, marked a major milestone for the U.S. utility sector: a record high for natural-­gas consumption. A few weeks after, key players in American utilities gathered blocks away from the White House for the Winter Policy Summit, a conference organized by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (­NARUC). Trump’s policies were much discussed—­but the country’s energy demand, which had started to climb for the first time in two decades, was even higher on the agenda. For most Americans, this trend is bad news. It means higher electric … Continue reading Power Brokers