2024 was a busy year for the U.S. power sector with a number of significant policy advancements in renewables, transmission, nuclear energy and other areas.

The year ahead will undoubtedly be an active one, too, as the sector navigates ongoing business challenges and the impacts of the 2024 elections. Here are nine key issues to watch in 2025.

Electricity prices continue perpetual ascent, driven by demand and gas exports

The price U.S. consumers pay for electricity will continue to ascend in 2025, driven by a range of factors including rising demand, transmission and distribution cost increases, and an anticipated rise in the price of natural gas, experts say.

Across all customer classes, U.S. electricity prices are expected to average 13.2 cents/kWh in 2025, up from 12.68 cents/kWh in 2023, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Residential electricity prices across all regions will average 16.7 cents/kWh in 2025, up from 15 cents/kWh in 2022.

“Both transmission and distribution cost increases are driven by decarbonization and that is expected to continue nationwide,” Paul Cicio, chair of the Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition, said in an email.

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