Politicians—especially those facing reelection this year—are starting to hammer the energy affordability debate once again. There’s often a disconnect between political discourse and reality. But in the case of energy affordability, the data tells us that perhaps there is less hyperbole in these debates than usual. The following chart shows the change in prices for residential electricity, residential natural gas, and motor gasoline since 2019 (i.e., since before the COVID-19 pandemic).

Compared to January 2019, the latest data shows that gasoline prices are 81 percent higher, electricity prices 42 percent higher, and natural gas prices 61 percent higher. A few caveats are in order, though. First, the source data is not inflation adjusted, meaning price increases stemming from monetary policy and other factors are still included. Personal consumption expenditures (a metric of inflation) have increased 27 percent from 2019 to present day and should be weighed against this data. Second, much of the increase in gasoline prices has been driven by the Iran war and resulting supply disruptions. (Prices were “only” 30 percent higher in February of this year than in 2019.)

Read more in R Street’s Low Energy Fridays here.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.