News Summary

• Electricity is a public good, dating back to when rural electrification was a pressing need for the nation during the New Deal era.
• Yet control over this essential service today rests largely in the hands of private monopolies known as investor-owned utilities.
• Electric bills are increasing at twice the rate of inflation on average.
• More than 52 million Americans were unable to pay their electric bills at least once last year, and on an annual basis, roughly three million people who cannot afford these bills have their electricity shut off.