Client: Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC)
Authors: Tanya Stasio, PhD, Joshua R. Castigliego, and Elisabeth Seliga
June 2026
Across the Southeastern United States, rising electric demand and ongoing reliability challenges are prompting utilities to propose new gas-fired resources to help meet future system needs. At the same time, regulators are looking for solutions to provide greater energy affordability in the face of high electricity and fuel costs. Major investments in gas-fired power plants, pipelines, and related facilities put customers at risk for increasing electric rates and energy bills. This Applied Economics Clinic (AEC) report, prepared on behalf of Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), identifies eight risks to electric utility customers that could cause higher energy rates and bills:
Growing cost of gas-fired power plants
Supply chain constraints
Volatile and uncertain gas fuel prices
Lack of resource diversity
Dependence on out-of-state gas supply
Stranded assets due to uncertain forecasts
Stranded assets due to more stringent climate policy
Stranded assets from existing or more stringent environmental regulations
To ensure that customers’ electric bills remain affordable, while also considering how states will adapt to the region’s anticipated growth in electric demand, policymakers, regulators, and utilities must assess whether pursuing additional gas-fired resources would expose ratepayers to unnecessary risk.