FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 2, 2022
CONTACT: Christina Nyquist | 603-930-8818 | cnyquist@epsa.org
Washington, D.C. – Reliability, affordability and transparency are Americans’ top three priorities when it comes to energy policy, according to new polling conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), the national trade association representing competitive power suppliers. Following President Biden’s State of the Union Address, which outlined the Administration’s energy and environment priorities, the poll release offers insight into strategies to lower consumer costs and align policies with voter concerns. U.S. adults surveyed express broad support for competition and widespread opposition to granting companies monopoly power over energy markets. They also agree that market competition provides positive outcomes for reliability, consumers, technological and clean energy innovation and the environment.
See a summary of key findings here.
“Once again we see confirmation that Americans by a large margin prioritize reliability and affordability in their power resources. They also know competition – not mandates or utility monopolies – delivers the best outcomes for our nation’s energy and environmental needs, while providing transparency into what they pay for electricity.” said Todd Snitchler, president and CEO of EPSA. “President Biden stressed that he will focus on lowering costs for American families and maintaining access to reliable energy at home and for our allies abroad. He also stressed the need for corporations to compete to lower costs.
When functioning properly, competitive power markets allow EPSA member companies to deliver on all three of voters’ top concerns – injecting transparency into energy pricing and delivering more reliable and affordable solutions, while also encouraging the technological innovation needed to meet the future. It is imperative that policymakers, power market leaders and all stakeholders continue in prioritizing reliability and affordability as the energy transition advances.”
Key findings from the survey conducted February 12-13, 2022 include:
Reliability and affordability are the clear priorities for U.S. adults when thinking about the energy grid that powers their home, along with transparency into energy prices.
- 97% of U.S. adults surveyed said reliability is important, with 82% saying it is very important.
- 97% of U.S. adults said affordability is important, with 82% saying it is very important.
- 93% of poll respondents said transparency into energy prices is important, a new addition to EPSA’s previous polling.
Americans support competitive power markets and widely oppose granting companies monopoly power over energy markets. Nearly three-in-four adults support the expansion of regional transmission organizations (RTOs), which help enable competition and enhance reliability over a broad geographic area, across the United States.
- 64% of U.S. adults say they support their state using a competitive power market allowing several companies to provide electric generation choices and solutions.
- Three-fifths of poll respondents (59%) oppose their state granting an exclusive monopoly to one company to control all parts of the electric supply chain.
- 73% of U.S. adults support the expansion of regional transmission organizations across the United States.
U.S. adults believe market competition leads to a range of positive outcomes for consumers and the environment, including greater consumer choice, lower costs, innovation, increased reliability, lower carbon emissions and renewable and clean energy growth.
- 81% of U.S. adults surveyed agree that market competition increases reliability for their state’s energy grid.
- 83% of poll respondents agree that market competition lowers energy costs for consumers and 85% believe that it supports the economy.
- 88% of Americans agree that market competition encourages energy innovation.
- 79% of U.S. adults say market competition promotes cleaner energy, with 74% agreeing that it lowers carbon emissions.
Full topline poll results are available here.
Methodology: This poll was conducted between February 12-13, 2022 among a national sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online, and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
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The Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) is the national trade association representing America’s competitive power suppliers. EPSA members provide about 150,000 MW of reliable and competitively priced electricity from environmentally responsible facilities using a diverse mix of fuels and technologies including natural gas, wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, storage, biomass, and coal. EPSA seeks to bring the benefits of competition to all power customers.Learn more at www.epsa.org and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter @EPSAnews.
