America’s energy conversation is shifting – fast. 

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Rising bills, strained infrastructure, and the surging power demands of AI and electrification are no longer abstract policy challenges. They’re kitchen-table issues. And as our latest polling with Candid Counsel shows, voters across the country are tuning in with growing urgency.

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Lot Sixteen set out to understand how real people are making sense of energy affordability and reliability at this moment. What’s driving their frustration? Where do they see common ground? And how can the energy sector communicate in ways that cut through the noise?

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The results point to a simple truth: voters want affordable, reliable energy, delivered without political spin. They reward clear, credible messages that focus on speed, savings, and fairness – not ideology.

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Read the Analysis + Access the Slide Deck

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👉 Full Memo: Analysis of affordability, reliability, and message testing

👉 Slide Deck: Poll results and message-performance data

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Affordability Rules Everything

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Nearly eight in ten voters (78%) say they’re worried about electricity costs, a concern that now ranks alongside groceries and healthcare as a top household stressor. Sixty-nine percent say their power bills have risen in the past year, and most are skeptical that policymakers are doing enough to help.

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That anxiety is now shaping political behavior. In states like Virginia and New Jersey, candidates who spoke directly to affordability won comfortably. Both parties have noticed. The next energy debate won’t just be about climate or technology – it will be about cost.

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Voters are especially wary of how new power demands from data centers, AI, and electric vehicles might raise their bills. More than three-quarters (76%) fear that data center growth will increase local electricity prices. The sentiment cuts across party lines: innovation is welcome, but voters are concerned that increased demand will lead to higher costs for consumers.

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Similarly, playing politics with specific types of energy causes concern across the political spectrum – 70% of voters are concerned about how Trump Administration policies sidelining renewables could impact electricity affordability and reliability, with 40% saying they are very concerned. While Democrats drive the intensity of that worry, the concern is meaningfully bipartisan:

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• Democrats: 89% concerned

• Independents: 69% concerned

• Republicans: 52% concerned

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The message for communicators is clear: affordability isn’t just a policy issue. It’s the frame through which all other energy messages are judged. Lead with cost relief. Show how your solution lowers bills, speeds up approvals, or brings new power online faster. That’s what moves voters.

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Reliability: The Quiet Vulnerability

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While affordability dominates, reliability is quietly emerging as the next political flashpoint. A majority (63%) of voters are concerned about the reliability of their power supply, and that number will spike if another major blackout hits. 

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When reliability falters, voters don’t care who’s technically at fault, they just want accountability. Our survey found that they would blame everyone from utilities to state regulators to the president himself. President Trump received the most intense blame, with 43% saying he would have "a lot" of responsibility if reliability worsens

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And while “baseload power” language about “energy that works when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing” resonates with two-thirds of voters, ideological attacks on renewables fall flat beyond the GOP base.

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For communicators, this is a warning and an opportunity. Reliability concerns are real, but so is the appetite for solutions. Talk about readiness, such as how the grid keeps pace with modern demand, rather than relitigating which fuel works best.

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What Works — and What Doesn’t

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Across partisan lines, voters respond best to messaging that emphasizes practical, near-term results:

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• Speed: speeding up approvals for new energy projects (81% support)
  

• Savings: utility-offered home upgrades that cut bills (77%)
  

• Fairness: ensuring all types of energy can come online faster (76%)

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What falls flat? Anything that feels like a fight over definitions or ideology. “Clean,” “reliable,” “affordable,” and “American-made” are still winning words. But technical jargon like “AI energy grid” or “software-defined grid” loses people fast. The best communicators translate complexity into common sense – “power that works 24/7,” “projects that cut red tape and keep costs down.”

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The Path Forward

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This research points to a rare point of consensus: voters are pragmatic. 

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They want policymakers and companies to stop the blame game and focus on getting energy online faster, keeping costs manageable, and ensuring the grid is ready for what’s next.

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At Lot Sixteen, that’s the message we’re taking to heart – and helping our clients carry forward. Because in today’s energy debate, credibility is currency. And the leaders who communicate with clarity and purpose will be the ones who shape what comes next.