Consumer Reports Launches Power Smarter Initiative to Help Americans Fight Back Against Rising Energy Costs

YONKERS, NY (October 21, 2026) – Consumer Reports (CR), the 90-year-old nonprofit research, testing, and advocacy organization, today launched Power Smarter, a new initiative to help millions of households lower their energy costs and build the collective power needed to make the energy system work better for consumers. The launch comes as a new nationally representative survey of 2,003 US adults from CR finds that rising electricity bills are straining household finances nationwide, and many Americans are looking into–or have already started–cutting back on groceries, reducing heating or cooling, and making other difficult trade-offs just to keep up with rising energy costs.

Unlike other goods and services, Americans can’t just shop around for a better price on electricity. Most utility companies operate as monopolies, leaving households with no choice but to pay whatever price is set for a service they can’t live without. CR’s survey found that Americans believe the current system isn’t working in their favor: the two most common factors Americans said they think affects their electricity costs were utility company profits (45%) and increased energy demand from rapid data center and AI system expansion (38%), and the vast majority of Americans have little or no trust that state regulators will protect their interests. 

“For nearly a century, Consumer Reports has stood up to powerful industries when they put profits ahead of people,” said Phil Radford, CEO of Consumer Reports. “Now, we’re bringing that same fight to an energy system that often leaves families to absorb costs they didn’t create. Energy isn’t a luxury—it’s an essential. Families shouldn’t have to choose between paying their utility bill and putting food on the table.”

CR Bill Decoder Turns Individual Bills Into Collective Power

At the center of Power Smarter is the new CR Bill Decoder (CR.org/BillDecoder), a tool that transforms everyday utility bills into a powerful tool for nationwide change. By collecting energy bill data from consumers across the country, CR Bill Decoder will help:

• Map energy price trends across the nation
• Uncover what’s driving higher prices 
• Gather evidence to fight for fairer rates at the state and national levels

Submitting a bill to CR Bill Decoder also gives consumers instant access to:

• Information on state-specific efficiency resources and financial assistance programs in their area
• Practical, short-term solutions for lowering home energy bills, including appliance efficiency ratings that help shoppers find energy-saving products
• Resources that help consumers decode the terms, rates, and fees on their utility bill—and see how rising costs connect to company profits and CEO pay

“Households are already doing everything they can to cut back, but conservation alone can’t fix a system where utilities and their biggest corporate customers keep shifting costs onto everyday families,” said Sara Enright, Senior Director, Safety & Energy at Consumer Reports. “Power Smarter is about giving consumers the tools and the collective power to demand a system that works for them, not just utility shareholders.”

Building on 90 Years of Energy Advocacy

Power Smarter builds on CR’s long history of fighting for fair, affordable energy. The organization’s first refrigerator review in 1936 showed how energy-efficient appliances can help lower electricity bills, and in the decades since, CR’s advocacy has helped pass landmark efficiency laws, like the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 and the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987, that have helped consumers save billions of dollars. Today, that work continues through Power Smarter, which takes the fight directly to the energy system—pushing back on excessive utility spending and the unfair cost-shifting that leaves households absorbing costs they didn’t create.

Already Making a Difference in North Carolina

CR’s fight for fairer electricity rates is already underway in North Carolina, where Duke Energy proposed an 18% rate increase for residential customers earlier this year. CR has mobilized North Carolinians against the hike through a local media campaign highlighting the financial strain rising bills place on families, paired with a petition drive calling on state leaders to reject Duke’s proposal.

Amid mounting opposition from CR and other local stakeholders, Duke scaled back its proposal—a meaningful step, but not enough to protect consumers. In a recent letter to the North Carolina Utilities Commission, CR argued that the revised plan would still raise household bills while allowing Duke to collect excessive profits from residential customers. The Commission is expected to issue its final decision this fall.

CR is deploying this same playbook around the country in rate cases where utilities have requested large rate hikes and excessive profits. CR is already elevating consumer voices for rate cases in Arizona, Maryland, Michigan, and Washington. CR will expand the campaign across additional states in 2027.

Visit CR.org/BillDecoder to learn more.