内容来源：https://www.theverge.com/report/816946/electricity-rates-election-democrats

内容总结：

近期美国多州选举结果显示，持续上涨的电费账单已成为影响选民投票决策的关键因素。在人工智能数据中心、电动汽车及本土制造业用电需求激增导致电网承压的背景下，新泽西、弗吉尼亚和佐治亚等州的民主党候选人凭借关注民生电价的竞选主张赢得选举，但兑现降低电费承诺仍面临严峻挑战。

数据显示，2024年全美三分之一的家庭曾为支付电费被迫削减食品、药品等必要开支，这一比例较2015年的五分之一显著上升。新泽西州今夏电价涨幅高达20%，当选州长米基·谢里尔承诺宣布紧急状态冻结电价。弗吉尼亚州候任州长阿比盖尔·斯潘伯格则主张通过核能、海上风电及太阳能扩大供电，并要求高耗能数据中心承担相应成本。

专家指出，电价调控涉及独立监管机构与批发市场体系，政策推行可能遭遇法律挑战。尽管可再生能源成本持续下降，但特朗普政府对海上风电项目的紧急叫停、核电项目审批周期过长及建设超支等问题（如佐治亚州沃格特尔核电站超预算200亿美元）均构成政策阻力。

佐治亚州公用事业委员会首次由民主党人主导的格局变动，被消费者权益组织PowerLines执行董事查尔斯·华称为"美国电力政治的地震式变革"。为解决能源贫困问题，学界建议推行阶梯式收费方案、绑定企业社区补偿协议，并通过共享太阳能项目减轻家庭负担。随着极端气候加剧电网老化，如何平衡基础设施升级成本与民生负担，将成为美国能源政策的核心议题。

中文翻译：

尽管当前令选民焦虑的问题层出不穷，但飙升的公共事业费用已成为引爆选情的焦点。本周新泽西州、弗吉尼亚州和佐治亚州的选举中，民主党人的胜选可被视为对美国能源政策与基础设施现状的变相公投——在人工智能数据中心、电动汽车和本土制造业导致用电需求激增的当下，电网系统正面临严峻考验。

电价飙升助推民主党胜选，真正考验刚刚开始

电费上涨已成为选民的核心关切。如今赢得选举的民主党人必须兑现他们控制电价的竞选承诺。这些挑战不会自动消失，面对兑现降价承诺的艰难道路，民主党人需要找到切实解决方案。

非营利性消费者权益组织"电力线"执行董事查尔斯·华在选举日发布的新闻稿中表示："消费者已传递明确信号：他们正密切关注并要求公共决策者为影响民生账单的决策承担责任。"

"我们找到了替罪羊"

美国人口普查数据显示，2024年全美三分之一的家庭不得不为支付能源账单而削减食品或药品等基本开支，这一比例在2015年的类似联邦调查中为五分之一。这种被称为"能源保障缺失"的政策术语，已成为困扰美国多年的顽疾。随着电价持续攀升，受影响人群正在扩大。

据《热图》报道，新泽西州电价涨幅尤为惊人，今夏居民用电价格飙升逾20%。候任州长米基·谢里尔在竞选时承诺将立即宣布紧急状态并冻结电价上涨。弗吉尼亚州即将上任的州长阿比盖尔·斯潘伯格则主张通过核能、海上风电和太阳能扩大发电规模，并强调要让数据中心"承担合理份额"。虽然该州2024年5月至2025年间居民电价平均涨幅3%低于全国6.5%的水平，但人工智能热潮引发的电网承载忧虑持续升温——弗吉尼亚州聚集着全球最密集的高耗能数据中心。

密歇根大学环境正义教授、城市能源正义实验室主任托尼·里姆斯指出："如今我们找到了替罪羊——那些享受批发电价优惠协议的大型能源用户数据中心，而普通消费者根本不具备这种议价能力。"（这位曾在拜登政府能源部担任高级职务的专家补充道）曾同期担任国会众议员的谢里尔与斯潘伯格，此次均遭遇将能源成本归咎于环保政策制约化石燃料发电的共和党对手，但选民并未全然接受这种论述。事实上，风电与太阳能已成为最廉价的新增发电方式，占美国计划新增发电容量的大宗。

前路挑战重重

在实现能源目标方面，民主党候任州长们面临着强劲逆风与多重不确定性。专家对谢里尔冻结电价的可行性存疑，因其通常由独立监管机构与批发拍卖机制决定。华向《巴伦周刊》表示，此举还可能面临法律挑战。

可再生能源项目（特别是海上风电）正成为特朗普政府的针对目标：当局已突然叫停多个海上风电项目，国会共和党人则投票决定取消风电太阳能税收抵免。新建基础设施（尤其是核能）耗时漫长。尽管核能作为数据中心全天候供能方案获得两党支持，但新一代核反应堆仍处于设计示范阶段，商用项目从许可审批到破土动工仍需数年。特朗普政府试图通过放松监管加速进程，这已引发安全隐忧。

成本超支与施工延期同样困扰传统核电项目，佐治亚州便是明证。这个拥有美国三十多年来首新建核反应堆的州，沃格特尔电站3、4号机组自2009年开工后，直至2023-2024年才投产，预算超支高达200亿美元。

"美国电力政治新格局"

据路透社报道，消费者最终通过更高账单承担了额外成本。本周佐治亚州选民以选举两名民主党人进入公用事业委员会作为回应——这个决定电价并监督公用事业的机构此前完全由共和党人掌控。华评论道："两位新任公用事业专员的当选标志着佐治亚州能源格局的重大变革，折射出美国电力政治的新生态。"

要实质缓解民众电费压力，立法者必须破解系列深层症结。尽管此事足以开设专业课程，《热图》仍给出了精辟解析：在经历十余年滞缓后，美国用电需求因数据中心与人工智能爆发式增长；俄乌战争推动欧洲加大美国天然气进口，推高甲烷价格；极端天气气候灾害令电网承压更多成本；本就老化的基础设施进入集中升级期，公用事业公司正投入巨资更换架设新输电线及相关设施。

基础设施升级成本往往通过普惠性收费转嫁给消费者。里姆斯指出，费率设定机制改革可帮助面临"取暖还是吃饭"艰难抉择的家庭，例如推行基于收入的付费方案或多户住宅特殊费率。同时应要求数据中心等大型商业能源用户参与分担，通过具有法律约束力的社区福利协议建立补偿基金（权益组织正运用此方式限制数据中心对周边影响）。此类协议还可纳入支持可再生能源发展的条款，包括助力降低家庭账单的社区共享太阳能项目。

里姆斯强调："本次选举对能源负担能力的聚焦，应推动我们以更创新的方式探讨如何援助深陷能源贫困的家庭。"

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英文来源：

While there’s plenty for voters to be worried about right now, rising utility bills have become a hot-button issue. The success of Democrats in New Jersey, Virginia, and Georgia in this week’s elections can be seen as something of a referendum on the state of energy policy and infrastructure in the US as power grids struggle to keep up with growing electricity demand from AI data centers, electric vehicles, and domestic manufacturing.
Soaring electricity rates fueled Democratic victories — now comes the hard part
Rising electricity rates were a major concern for voters. Now Democrats have to try to come through on their promises.
Rising electricity rates were a major concern for voters. Now Democrats have to try to come through on their promises.
These issues aren’t going to disappear, and Democrats now face a tough road ahead to meet those challenges and make good on their campaign promises to lower electricity prices.
“Consumers have sent a clear message: they are paying attention and will hold public officials accountable for decisions that impact their utility bills,” Charles Hua, executive director of nonprofit consumer advocacy group PowerLines, said in an election day press release.
“Now, we have a bogey man”
One in three US households has had to forgo necessities like food or medicine in order to be able to pay their energy bills in 2024, according to a US Census survey. In 2015, one in five households said the same in a similar federal survey. It’s an issue called energy insecurity in policy-speak that’s been a persistent problem in the US for years. But electricity prices are on the rise, affecting more people.
New Jersey has seen one of the largest spikes, with retail rates jumping as high as 20 percent this summer, Heatmap reports. Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill said on the campaign trail that she would quickly declare a state of emergency and freeze rate hikes.
Virginia’s soon-to-be governor Abigail Spanberger campaigned on pledges to ramp up electricity generation with more nuclear energy, offshore wind, and solar energy. She also emphasized making data centers “[pay] their fair share.” Average residential costs for electricity rose 3 percent in Virginia between May 2024 and 2025, lower than the national average of about 6.5 percent. But apprehensions over the future of the power grid have heightened with the AI boom; Virginia has more energy-hungry data centers than anywhere else in the world.
“Now, we have a bogey man — data centers who are these large energy users who are coming in and in many states getting sweetheart deals on wholesale electricity prices when regular consumers don’t have that type of sway,” says Tony Reames, a professor of environmental justice at the University of Michigan and director of the Urban Energy Justice Lab (he was also previously appointed to senior roles within the US Department of Energy during the Joe Biden administration).
Sherrill and Spanberger, who were once roommates as members of Congress in Washington, DC, both faced GOP opponents who blamed climbing costs on environmental regulations hamstringing fossil fuel generation. Voters were not entirely convinced. Solar and wind have become the cheapest sources of new electricity generation, making up a majority of new capacity planned to come online in the US.
Nevertheless, the Democratic governors-elect face serious headwinds and a lot of uncertainty when it comes to their energy goals. Experts aren’t quite sure how Sherrill could go about freezing electricity rates, which are usually set by separate regulatory authorities and wholesale auctions. The move could also face legal challenges, Hua tells Barron’s.
Renewable energy projects, and offshore wind in particular, are in President Donald Trump’s crosshairs. The Trump administration has abruptly issued stop work orders to offshore wind projects and GOP members of Congress have voted to sunset key tax credits for solar and wind energy.
It takes a long time to build out new infrastructure, particularly when it comes to nuclear energy. There’s been bipartisan support for nuclear energy, particularly as a way to generate electricity 24/7 for data centers. Next-generation nuclear reactors are still in the design or demonstration phase and likely have several years of licensing and permitting ahead before even breaking ground on commercial-scale projects. The Trump administration is trying to speed up that timeline with its deregulatory agenda, which is already triggering some fears about safety.
Costs and construction delays have plagued conventional nuclear energy projects also — particularly in Georgia. The state is home to the first new reactors built in the US in more than three decades. After construction started in 2009, Vogtle units 3 and 4 turned on in 2023 and 2024 after running about $20 billion over budget.
“A new politics of electricity in America”
Consumers paid for the extra costs with higher utility bills, Reuters reports. This week, they responded by voting in two new Democratic utility commissioners. The state’s Public Service Commission decides electricity rates and oversees utilities, and was previously made up entirely of Republicans.
“The election of two new Public Service Commissioners represents a seismic change in Georgia’s energy landscape and reflects a new politics of electricity in America,” said Hua.
To make a real dent in Americans’ utility bills, lawmakers will have to tackle a range of underlying root problems. There’s probably an entire class to be taught on the matter, but Heatmap has a nice explainer article, too. Electricity demand is suddenly growing after more than a decade of roughly flatlining, thanks in no small part to data centers and AI. Methane gas prices rose after Russia invaded Ukraine and Europe started importing more gas from the US. Power grids have also incurred more costs from worsening weather and climate disasters in the US. And America’s aging infrastructure was overdue for upgrades anyway, with utilities spending a lot of money replacing or putting up new power lines and related infrastructure.
Infrastructure upgrades often result in across-the-board fees for consumers regardless of energy usage or income level. Reames says reforming the way rates are set can be one way to make utility bills more affordable for households confronted with the tough “heat or eat” decision. There could be income-based payment plans or special rates set for multifamily units, for instance. Then require data centers or other big commercial energy users to pitch in, perhaps creating funds through legally binding community benefits agreements that advocacy groups are already using to limit the impact data centers have on nearby communities. Those types of agreements can also include stipulations to support renewable energy growth, including shared community solar projects that can help reduce household bills.
“The focus on energy affordability that was in this last election should provide the opportunity for us to have a more innovative conversation about how we support households that are suffering from energy poverty,” Reames says.
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