Resources for the Future is investing in research on how public and private investments, regulation, and assistance programs shape utility bills, insurance premiums, transportation and healthcare costs, and other “pocketbook” items.
The US electric power sector is facing a dramatic transformation. On the supply side, a combination of innovation, environmental policies, and improving economics have contributed to a growth in renewable power, which accounts for the majority of new generator investment in recent years. Growing reliance on these weather-dependent resources has created a misalignment of hourly electricity demand and supply, posing new challenges for grid operators that aim to maintain system balance and creating opportunities for complementary technologies like batteries and other forms of energy storage. In addition, a combination of increasingly frequent extreme events, planned retirements of aging fossil fuel generators, and delays in getting new generators online all raise concerns about resource adequacy going forward.
On the demand side, anticipated growth in electricity demand due to the proliferation of data centers, increasing electrification of buildings and transportation, and onshoring of industrial processes exacerbate concerns about how the electricity system will adapt. Of particular concern are large data centers (hundreds of megawatts to gigawatts) that bring unique challenges to grid management. Meeting load growth and creating a resilient and reliable grid will require substantial investment that could raise the costs of electricity—an unwelcome development when many US households already struggle to pay electric bills.
Our colleagues Jesse Buchsbaum and Jenya Kahn-Lang explore questions about electricity affordability in the accompanying Resources article. This piece is one example of how the Electric Power Program at Resources for the Future (RFF) is conducting research to develop and inform solutions to these challenges.
Meeting load growth and creating a resilient and reliable grid will require substantial investment that could raise the costs of electricity.
On the issue of resource adequacy, for example, we are exploring new market designs and other policy mechanisms that can secure sufficient resources to meet demand. We also are exploring how rate design, and other strategies that promote flexible demand, could help protect reliability in the future. We are looking at how customer rate structures and other policies could limit customer exposure to increased costs associated with serving, or anticipating, new large loads. We are assessing the causes and consequences of high electricity rates and exploring policies that can help those who are least able to pay high utility bills. Keeping electricity prices low can help promote electrification, but we are also exploring how policies to confront other barriers, such as contractor unfamiliarity with new technologies, can help advance electrification and reduce consumer reliance on fossil fuels.
While the decarbonization of electricity production is underway, policy shifts will continue to play a role in determining whether emissions reduction accelerates. For example, RFF researchers are studying state-level approaches to electricity decarbonization. We also will pursue a new focus on clean technologies, such as geothermal and nuclear, and how electricity market designs advance the range of technologies that can support resource adequacy in an increasingly decarbonized grid.
A version of this article appeared in print in the Fall 2025 issue of Resources magazine.
