After Federal Rollbacks, Rising Power Costs Become a Strategic Risk. Now What?

For decades, electricity in commercial real estate was a background line item. A cost of doing business, not a board-level risk - or opportunity. 

That era is over.

Retail electricity prices in the U.S. have outpaced inflation every year since 2022, with commercial rates up 4–5% year-over-year and coastal markets seeing even sharper spikes. Simultaneously, demand is hitting record highs, driven by AI data centers, electrified manufacturing, reshoring and the EV boom, which is not going anywhere. 

Layer on a federal government that has deliberately pulled back from clean-energy support, and you arrive at a new baseline: 

Energy is no longer just a utility bill. It is a structural risk and a strategic lever for every asset you own or build.

This is the "So What?" of the new energy landscape. And it’s the “Why?” for the industry to converge next April at the ChargedUp! Pavilion at the 2026 National Planning Conference in Detroit to solve for these current challenges.

The Double Bind: Rising Demand, Shrinking Support

The fundamentals of the grid are rough. Utilities are retiring old coal plants while struggling to build new generation and transmission fast enough to meet the surging load from data centers and crypto mining. Consequently, regulators are approving record rate hikes—$29 billion in requested increases in the first half of 2025 alone.

Previously, owners looked to Washington for help. Since then, political winds have shifted. The second Trump administration has paused or reversed much of the federal push toward low-cost clean energy:

• The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA): Signed in July 2025, this accelerates the phase-out of key credits and tightens domestic-sourcing rules, effectively raising the barrier to entry for clean energy projects.

• DOE Reorganization: The Department of Energy has pivoted away from renewables and efficiency, placing billions in R&D pathways at risk.

The result? "Drill, baby, drill" is not translating into cheaper power for buildings. Owners who wait for a political solution will face higher, more volatile bills.

The Pivot: From Passive Payer to Active Manager

In this environment, the owners who win will be those who treat energy as a core part of their business model.

• Underwriting and Leasing Strategy: You must now model energy explicitly. Stress-test deals for 3–6% annual price hikes. Furthermore, tenants are no longer just looking at base rent; they are calculating total occupancy cost. Owners who can provide lower, more predictable all-in energy costs will gain a competitive advantage. Green leases and shared-savings models are no longer "nice-to-haves"—they are essential tools to align incentives.
  

• The Technology Stack: Federal policy is hostile, but technology is better than ever. The winning formula for the next decade is building a programmable energy stack: 

  
  

  • Grid + Microgrid + Onsite Generation + Storage + AI.
    

  • Solar and Storage: Despite policy volatility, hardware costs are trending down. In high-rate markets like California and the Northeast, projects pencil out on bill savings alone.
    

  • Smart Controls: AI-driven Building Management Systems (BMS) can now adjust HVAC and lighting in real-time to avoid peak demand charges, which often make up 50% of a commercial bill.
    

• EV Charging as a Managed Asset: EV charging is shifting from a niche amenity to an expected service. However, unmanaged charging can wreck your demand profile. The key is to treat charging as a managed load and a revenue generator. Whether you choose a host-owned model or "charging-as-a-service," your infrastructure must be smart enough to align with tariff structures—charging more during peak periods and integrating with onsite storage.

The Bottom Line: Self-Determination

With three more years of this administration, it is prudent to assume that federal incentives will remain narrow and electricity demand will continue to climb.

The developers and public-sector leaders who come out ahead won’t be the ones with the best grant writers. They will be the ones who build programmable, digital energy systems that provide real control over cost and resilience.

What’s Next? Don’t Navigate This Alone.

Rising power costs and policy whiplash are the new baseline. No single utility, vendor, or city hall can solve this in isolation. The real leverage comes when the people who plan communities and the people who build the infrastructure sit at the same table.

That is why we are convening the ChargedUp! Pavilion at the American Planning Association’s 2026 National Planning Conference (NPC26).

📍 Detroit, MI • 🗓 April 25–28, 2026

More than 5,000 planners and government officials—the people who write the zoning rules and specs for our communities—will be in Detroit. The ChargedUp! Pavilion is a dedicated zone on the show floor where that planning reality meets industry innovation.

For Planners: Walk the Pavilion to see how innovators are approaching microgrids, EV charging, and grid-interactive buildings in the real world, not just on slides. Bring your toughest questions about tariffs, equity, and resilience.

For Innovators and Developers: This is your opportunity to speak directly to the people who shape your market before the RFP even drops. We are offering turnkey booth packages, branded kiosks for startups, and high-impact sponsorship opportunities.

• Showcase your solution in the Technology Theater.

• Sponsor charging stations right where planners sit to recharge.

• Leverage our content engine with pre-show interviews and onsite video highlights.

In a world where energy costs and risks are moving fast, the smartest move isn’t to go it alone—it’s to get ChargedUp! together.

👉 Ready to lead the conversation? 

To explore booth, kiosk, or sponsorship options in the ChargedUp! Pavilion at NPC26, contact Heather Hay, NPC26 Sales Manager, at hhay@planning.org. To discuss speaking, editorial and promotional opportunities, reach out to the ChargedUp! Pavilion team at PublioSTUDIO today.