Energy as the new eggs: How power prices are scrambling the economy

Every year, keeping your ear to the ground of power sector conversations illuminates a major overarching theme. In 2026, the focus is undoubtedly on affordability.

I’m certainly not breaking news here. This situation has been reaching a fever pitch, paired with an increasingly common refrain: energy prices are the new egg prices (as a marker of the state of the economy). But what exactly is meant by this comparison?

Over the decades, modern economies have come to be defined by certain commodities. In the lead-up to the 2024 elections, the cost of a carton of eggs was used as a microcosm for the strain the common family was feeling: Politicians had to speak directly on eggs, parodies targeted them, and fingers were pointed.

But eggs weren’t the first commodity to be treated with such fervor, which compelled me to ask: What can we learn if we trace those key household price indicators that defined specific eras? And how might those apply to the energy sector today?

The characteristics for these economic barometers were products or commodities that 1) were easy to understand 2) tangible, and 3) naturally part of daily lives. In the end, each era has its own ‘egg.’

The eggs of each era

1930s and 1940s:

From the Great Depression through World War II, the anchor prices for families were bread, milk, and sugar. Interestingly, what started in the 1930s as a symbol for dire economic conditions transitioned to more of a wartime duty of rationing in the 1940s. These commodities were truly the basic staples, but whether for economics or patriotic obligation, families learned to do without.

1970s

Post-World War II brought unprecedented economic boom, lasting until some major events in the 1970s:

• An oil crisis caused by geopolitical turmoil (sounds familiar)

• Unprecedented growth in mortgage rates (that resonates as well...)

• And a period known as the Great Inflation that resulted in aggregate groceries increasing by 20% (hey, wait a minute!)

These economic indicators were the first sign that perhaps that unlimited, consequence-free growth (suburban life as the unfettered American Dream) would eventually reach some roadblocks. But families weren’t ‘doing without’ this time. Instead, they were begrudgingly adopting the higher prices as the new normal.

1980s and 1990s

Toward the end of the 20th century, the hallmark indicators shifted to costs that would previously have been considered less tangible: interest rate hikes, college tuition, and even cable bills. Taking on debt became necessary as a way to keep up with the Joneses.

In the New Millennium

Moving to Y2K and beyond, troubling signs hit the building blocks of the modern economy, including rising housing and gas prices.

Into the 2010s, the trend of essentials becoming more burdensome continued, with childcare costs exploding, rent getting more expensive, and groceries continually climbing (and not just because of the millennials and their darned avocado toast). Once again, these are building blocks with which anyone looking to live the ‘normal’ life must contend.

2020s

So now, over halfway through this decade, where do we see the economic focus? Rising prices have hit in areas where people previously offered themselves budgetary relief (including used cars and childcare to allow for two-income homes)

And then, of course, we find ourselves at the main focus of this article: power prices. Unlike oil and gas, utility bills were always a relatively stable monthly expense. But beyond the energy cost media coverage, in my role with Energy Central I’ve seen some shifting signals that highlight we’re in unprecedented times:

• Protests at DTECH over skyrocketing rates

• A Power Perspectives episode recording delayed due to a public march on a utility’s HQ

• The upcoming PowerSession I’m hosting on keeping utility executives safe amid this rising level of customer angst

These aren’t headlines or political platitudes—they’re tangible signals of public sentiment. You didn’t see protests at chicken farms over egg prices or threats to used car sellers.

So, what’s different about energy, and what does the rising frustration mean for the industry?

What do we do with this moment of economic consternation aimed at utilities?

Unfortunately I don’t have the solution to energy rates in 2026 contained in this tidy 1,100 word Substack piece (sorry). But I do know that people are looking for something or someone to blame. (I’ve written how I don’t think the common scapegoats of data centers or the utility CEO salaries are the right angle). But in considering the lessons learned from my historical review of economic canaries, a few unique energy realities jump out:

1. Energy is a highly charged symbol: No pun intended. You can delay buying a car or shop more thriftily. But what you almost never see: people choosing not to use electricity, not to heat their homes. When rate increases are doubling inflation, it’s hard to keep up with simple efficiency and conservation practices.

2. Energy price increases domino out: When energy gets expensive, it isn’t an isolated event. These price increases create a ripple across all avenues of commerce—an impact that’s more visible than ever.

3. Economic debates now unfold at the kitchen table: When energy bills rise, people start thinking in kitchen-table terms. Their utility bill is $50, $100, $200 more. That impacts people in very tangible ways, whereas markers like GDP rarely felt personal.

What does this mean for utilities?

The affordability conversation is changing, and we can’t put the genie back in the bottle.

Energy is becoming the new shorthand for the gap between policy ambition and lived experience. For years, ratepayers have closely watched big utility plans around decarbonization, grid upgrades, and electrification. As discussed recently by Isaac Orr on Power Perspectives, people are all for those actions in economically prosperous times…but when prices go up, getting control of energy bills is all that matters.

As a result, utilities need to rethink the storytelling around their focus and gameplan. A year from now, the lasting story may not be “energy prices went up,” but “people started watching very closely.” That is the real headline— Pandora’s box is open, which means the public sees energy not as mundane but as a direct measure of economic fairness, corporate competence, and trust.

Maybe the power sector has hope for affordability solutions:

• Fuel costs could fall (e.g., natural gas prices stabling or utilities shifting fuel sources) and those impacts can be passed onto customers.

• Utilities are more regulated than most industries, and politicians have jumped on this moment to appease voters.

But what can’t be changed (at least not in short order)? The attitude shift. If the egg crisis marked when inflation started to feel personal, energy symbolizes when it became not only personal—but embedded in everything we do.