Keystone Today

As inflation remains a financial burden on families in Pennsylvania and across the nation, the cost of electricity is rising the fastest it ever has since 2008 leading many Americans to blame President Joe Biden.

"Biden now owns the second-largest monthly increase in electricity prices in US history," the Heisenberg Report tweeted Feb. 10.

The national index for electricity rose 11.1% for the 12 months ending March. From February to March alone, the electricity index rose 2.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistic's consumer price index. 

Using data from their latest Electric Power Monthly report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) stated that in 2021, the average nominal retail electricity price paid by U.S. residential electric customers rose at the fastest rate since 2008, increasing 4.3% from 2020 to 13.72 cents per kilowatt-hour.

EIA data from January 2021 showed that the average price of electricity in Pennsylvania was 13.09 cents per kWh. In January 2022, the average price of electricity in the state was 14.19 cents per kWh, representing a 8.4% year-over-year increase.

Data from SaveOnEnergy.com showed that in the state of Pennsylvania, the average residential electricity bill is $120.05 per month and the state ranks 27th in cost nationally.

These increased energy prices come at a time when the nation is facing record levels of inflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the consumer price index data on April 12 for the 12 months ending March 2022. The data showed an 8.5% all items annual increase, which is the largest increase in over 40 years, since 1981.

Since early March, Biden has placed blame for the rise in American prices on the Russian war with Ukraine, according to Fox News. His administration coined the phrase #PutinPriceHike on Twitter and has frequently maintained that rising prices have "nothing to do" with his administration’s policies, telling the American people, "make no mistake, inflation is largely the fault of Putin."

Most Americans, however, place the blame on Biden. In a recent national poll distributed by the Senate Opportunity Fund, 6 in 10 Americans said they blame Biden for the ongoing inflation problem in the country. The poll was conducted March 15-17. It surveyed 800 general election likely voters on a national scale. 

When asked, "Thinking about the job that President Biden has done with regard to inflation, how would you describe the job he has done on this issue?" 60% of voters said Biden has done a poor job; 35% of voters said he has done a good job; and 5% of voters had no opinion on the matter.