ICYMI: ENR Ranking Member Heinrich Hosts Roundtable on Trump Administration Policies Raising Americans’ Electric Bills

WASHINGTON - Last week, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, hosted a roundtable with his Senate colleagues, including ENR Committee Democratic members, a local elected official, union representatives, a small business owner, and electrification and efficiency advocates to discuss how the Trump Administration's policies - from stalling permits of more than 500 clean energy projects to sunsetting critical investments that make energy cheaper for consumers - have raised utility costs on working families.

"President Trump said he would cut electricity prices in half, but electricity prices have risen 13% nationwide since he took office over a year just over a year ago. Instead of saving money, hard-working Americans around the country, and certainly in my home state of New Mexico, are wondering how they're even going to keep the lights on and the heat running this year. Simultaneously, energy demand is growing across the country at a rate we have not seen in recent history," said Ranking Member Heinrich.

Heinrich continued, "At a time when we need the cheapest electrons on the grid, the President is taking every opportunity to stop electrons from reaching the grid altogether. The bottom line is that the Trump Administration is failing the American people."

VIDEO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, hosts roundtable on skyrocketing energy costs, January 29, 2026.

Heinrich was joined by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Angus King (I-Maine), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who spoke withAlfonso "Fonze" Martinez, Business Manager of IBEW Local Union 611; Patrick Crowley, President of Rhode Island AFL-CIO; Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard of Mt. Vernon, New York; Mark Wolfe, Executive Director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association and Co-Director of the Center on Energy Policy and Poverty; Paula Glover, President of Alliance to Save Energy; Ari Matusiak, Founder & CEO Rewiring America; and Scott Libby, Owner of Royal River Heat Pumps; on how the Trump Administration's actions have impacted consumers, and solutions they have implemented to help lower costs in their communities.

"Already, my local union has seen the Kit Carson battery storage project in Taos canceled by this Administration's Department of Energy, putting over 60 of my members out of work, as well as millions of dollars for the PNM virtual power plant project being frozen for purely political reasons. What this means for our local on top of putting folks directly out of work, is that a steady pipeline of highly skilled workers can't be built without project certainty," said Alfonso "Fonze" Martinez, Business Manager of IBEW Local Union 611 in New Mexico. "Without project certainty, we can't bring in and train apprentices. Our model is, will you earn, will you learn? If we don't have the work for you, for these apprentices, we can't bring them in. So, contracts in the pipeline for these jobs reverberate across our industry. The jobs lost and opportunities lost represent real cost to the IBEW, but they will also hurt all families in New Mexico."

"I represent 80,000 working-class Rhode Islanders, including many of whom have been hurt by federal actions against job-creating clean energy projects like the 704-megawatt Revolution Wind," said Patrick Crowley, President of Rhode Island AFL-CIO. "While I'm happy to say my members are back to work, I'm afraid the damage has been done. Working-class families in Rhode Island are struggling with expensive, and rising energy bills, and too many Rhode Islanders, too many Americans, are still struggling to make a good living and support our families."

"Energy costs are devastating families. Electricity and gas prices in Westchester are amongst the highest," said Mayor of Mt. Vernon, New York, Shawyn Patterson-Howard. "Spiking energy costs force impossible choices, and every dollar saved on stable energy costs is $1 that keeps food on the table, supports local businesses, saves for a child's education, or invests in a home. Energy price stability isn't just a utility issue; it ripples throughout our local economy and strengthens families. I urge you, please act, support commonsense, clean energy solutions that protect families, strengthen communities, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels."

"Up to 4 million households faced utility shut-offs in 2025, nearly half a million more than in 2024. Low and moderate-income families now spend six to 10% of their income on energy, three to five times this year, paid by higher-income households," said Mark Wolfe, Executive Director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association and Co-Director of the Center on Energy Policy and Poverty. "When energy costs rise, families are forced to choose between keeping the lights on, buying groceries, paying rent, or filling prescriptions."

"Across the country, utilities are facing rapid, low growth driven by data centers, AI, electrification, and manufacturing. Demand is rising much faster than new generation and transmission can be built, creating a widening gap between near-term needs and long-term infrastructure timelines. And when that gap widens, the cost of new infrastructure often falls on families and small business owners, many of whom are already struggling with rising energy bills," said Paula Glover, President of Alliance to Save Energy.

"We're not building enough new power or bringing it online, and there is more demand on the system for power," said Ari Matusiak, Founder and CEO of Rewiring America. "But there's actually a really amazing opportunity in front of us that creates a win-win for all of your constituents and all of our communities. It turns out that 50 to 100% of the energy that these data centers need can be furnished by households, by putting rooftop solar, batteries, heat pumps in people's homes creates enough space on the grid for the electricity that the data centers themselves need."

"I've built a company with close to 40 employees representing 40 families, over 80 children in my company... With the loss of the tax credit, we've seen the adoption of heat pumps go down," said Scott Libby, Owner of Royal River Heat Pumps. "Like many small business owners, I'm dealing with higher input costs on equipment, copper shortages from data center demand, and rising health care premiums. My employees get 100% medical, dental, vision, long-term, short-term, disability, and life insurance. I'm seeing those prices skyrocket. But this is not a time to retreat. As we work to reduce electricity costs, we should double down on efficiency and electrification."

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