A new poll from the Center of the American Experiment reveals that 87% of Minnesota voters consider affordability a factor in the upcoming 2026 state elections, with 59% calling it a major concern and 28% a minor one. The survey, part of a Thinking Minnesota poll, shows that lowering energy costs ranks as the eighth most important affordability issue at 10%, though the report notes energy effectively places fifth when accounting for its share of housing costs and transportation expenses. The findings come alongside data showing Minnesota's electricity prices have climbed far faster than regional and national averages over the past two decades.

From 2002 to 2025, Minnesota experienced electricity price inflation of 118.4%, which was 22.2 percentage points worse than the Midwest's 96.2% increase and 29 percentage points above the national rate of 89.4%. Over the same period, electricity consumption per customer in Minnesota fell 14.6%, a decline the report characterizes as reflecting poverty rather than efficiency gains. This usage drop was 8.9 percentage points steeper than the Midwest's 5.7% decrease and 9.7 percentage points worse than the nation's 4.9% decline. The combined effect of rising prices and falling usage produced what the report calls "electricity bill unaffordability" of 86.6% for Minnesota customers, slightly above the Midwest's 86.1% and the national figure of 80.2%. The report marks 2002 as the starting point of Minnesota's transition to renewable energy.

The poll tested five potential policy proposals among voters, with three focused on fiscal measures and two on regulatory changes. According to the report, one of the proposals called for removing subsidies while another advocated for additional subsidies, reflecting competing approaches to addressing energy costs. The authors argue that conventional economic theory suggests taxpayer subsidies to renewables should boost supply and reduce prices, but they contend that "subsidies will cause both effects, of increasing supply and rising input costs," with the latter tending to dominate over time. The report attributes this to inefficient businesses seeking subsidies, those subsidies encouraging continued inefficiency, and resources being diverted toward rent-seeking behavior.

The report's analysis draws on free market economic theory to explain why Minnesota's electricity costs have climbed despite renewable energy subsidies meant to lower them. The authors cite a dynamic incentive problem where subsidies attract and perpetuate inefficient businesses, ultimately driving prices upward rather than downward. To reverse this trend, the report recommends five concrete steps: repealing mandates for 100% renewable energy, eliminating subsidy programs for energy conservation and electric vehicles, cutting state-authorized taxes on electricity and fuels, repealing the ban on new nuclear plants, and reducing natural gas mandates and taxes. The authors conclude that both Republican and Democratic candidates for state office should pay attention to these pocketbook concerns, writing that "only good economics, policy and politics can fix it."