Action: Invoking emergency powers under the 1935 Federal Power Act, former fossil fuel executive and current Secretary of Energy Chris Wright ordered a Michigan coal plant slated to close at the end of May to remain open, citing the potential for an energy emergency that doesn’t exist.

Impact: The move builds on a prior Trump executive order allowing DOE to cite grid reliability as a reason to force coal plants to remain open. Fossil Fuel enthusiast Chris Wright leaned on that rationale, warning of a potential summer energy emergency. But Michigan Public Service Commission chair Dan Scripps told The Detroit News that the state already produces more power than it needs, calling the DOE’s order “unnecessary” and warning it will raise costs for homes and businesses across the Midwest. MISO, the grid operator for Michigan and 14 other Midwest states, also confirmed last month it has “sufficient capacity” heading into summer. If Trump’s manufactured emergency were real, his own efforts to stall clean energy would only make it worse. Whether it’s using executive powers to block clean energy or abusing emergency authority to prop up the dying coal industry, the result is the same: Trump is forcing Americans to subsidize his fossil fuel cronies’ profits. 

Action: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had taken a key step to reverse Biden-era fuel economy rules designed to save Americans money and reduce pollution.

Impact: In his first official move as Transportation Secretary, Duffy signed a memo acknowledging Trump’s policy of promoting fossil fuel use and initiating the rollback. He falsely claimed that the standards, along with a nonexistent federal “EV mandate,” are making cars unaffordable. In reality (something the former Real World star should be familiar with), the standards don’t even take effect until 2027, making his claim laughable on its face. The fuel economy rules now on the chopping block are projected to save drivers more than $23 billion in fuel costs, or roughly $600 per vehicle over its lifetime. Rolling them back, a top priority of fossil fuel companies, means less efficient cars and higher prices at the pump for American drivers.

Action: Trump’s EPA continued its push to illegally terminate $20 billion in clean energy grants, stalling projects funded through the GGRF’s National Clean Investment Fund and Clean Communities Investment Accelerator in low-income communities. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has claimed, without evidence, that the terminations were justified by misconduct and fraud. But The New York Times reported that a federal investigation may have ended after turning up no evidence of wrongdoing.

Impact: The terminations froze critical funding and halted projects aimed at lowering costs in communities that need it most. In Michigan, plans to build and renovate energy-efficient rental housing to address a severe housing shortage are now at risk, as developers can’t access the capital they were promised. This leaves more Michiganders unable to afford to live where they work. Millions more in funding for cost-saving measures, like insulating older homes, are also now on the chopping block.

Action: Trump’s DOE launched a sweeping “review” of 179 Biden-era awards, totaling more than $15 billion, signaling potential terminations. Days later, Semafor reported that the first cuts could target loans issued by the DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO). And on May 29, the department officially canceled its first LPO loan.

Impact: The review casts serious doubt over key clean energy projects. Under Biden, the LPO approved more than 50 deals worth over $100 billion, including a major loan to Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) expected to deliver $100 million in annual savings to 5.5 million Californians. But with rising costs from Trump’s tariffs and mounting uncertainty over the promised loan, PG&E says it can no longer factor in those savings, meaning customers will foot the bill. Other utilities, including those in Michigan, face similar risks. Meanwhile, E&E News reported that DOE is evaluating clean energy loan values for potential sale, signaling the office could shutter altogether.

Action: Trump’s DOE proposed repealing or weakening more than two dozen efficiency standards, including for appliances, claiming the move would save Americans more than $11 billion.

Impact: The DOE’s own analysis shows the move would increase utility bills by more than $54 billion, according to the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. Rolling back these standards could flood the market with outdated, energy-wasting products, driving up energy costs for millions.

Action: The New York Times reported that Trump’s EPA plans to terminate the ENERGY STAR program, a widely used labeling system that helps consumers identify energy-efficient appliances.

Impact: Though ENERGY STAR is authorized under the Clean Air Act and cannot be unilaterally scrapped, the move aligns with Trump’s efforts to dismantle environmental programs in favor of fossil fuel interests. The program costs just $32 million annually but saves consumers over $40 billion each year on utility bills. In March, dozens of companies urged EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to protect ENERGY STAR. They warned that eliminating it “will not serve the American people,” especially as electricity demand is set to surge in the years ahead.

Action: According to a court filing reported by The Washington Post, the EPA plans to cancel all grants issued by its Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, nearly 800 in total. The filing came just days after reports that the EPA would fire every staffer working on environmental justice.

Impact: Although the agency is required to conduct a detailed review of each grant before termination, experts say the EPA has yet to provide evidence that any such reviews have taken place and may have misled the court. If finalized, the cancellations would strip funding from vulnerable communities working to lower energy costs and protect residents from air and water pollution, halting critical progress towards healthier, more affordable communities.

Action: Citing Trump’s fake day one “energy emergency” declaration, the Interior Department announced it would fast-track approvals for fossil fuels on public lands, claiming the declaration allows it to radically slash environmental review timelines required by bedrock environmental laws.

Impact: Despite expert consensus that no such energy emergency exists, Trump is cutting project review timelines from a year to just 14 days, effectively eliminating public input opportunities. While nearly all new electricity supply last year came from renewables, Trump paused new solar and wind approvals on federal land and waters, just one of many actions he’s taken to deliberately slow clean energy deployment (while he later resumed review of solar projects, wind approvals remain paused and developers report that lack of agency staff is impacting project financing, purchasing, and construction start dates). Ironically, his fake energy emergency risks creating a real one. By sidelining clean energy and locking in costly fossil fuels, permitting laws and environmental reviews be damned, utilities will pass rising costs on to consumers. This is just as electricity demand is surging.

Action: The Trump administration ordered Equinor to halt construction of its fully permitted Empire Wind 1 farm, claiming, without evidence, that its underlying environmental analysis was rushed.

Impact: Although the Trump administration later allowed construction to resume, the abrupt halt sent a chilling message to investors: under Trump, even fully permitted projects aren’t safe. As with his tariff threats, the uncertainty over whether permits will be honored undermines the confidence needed to finance clean energy projects. This jacks up costs that will ultimately get passed on to American households.

Action: Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the DOE to prevent coal plants from shutting down, even if they violate environmental rules or drive up power costs.

Impact: Coal is the dirtiest and most expensive source of electricity on the grid. Trump’s order not only overrides state authority to regulate utilities, but it also forces consumers to foot the bill for aging, uneconomical plants. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has even floated restarting already shuttered coal plants. The result: Polluters rake in guaranteed profits while Americans get stuck with higher energy bills. All while cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable alternatives are available. 

Action: The Trump administration abruptly fired the entire staff overseeing the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the $4.1 billion program that helps low-income families afford their utility bills. Weeks later, the White House proposed cutting the program entirely.

Impact: LIHEAP helps families pay for heating oil, weatherize homes, and avoid utility shutoffs. With no staff to distribute remaining funds, despite a congressional mandate to do so, advocates warned millions could be left without aid. The Department of Health and Human Services briefly rehired one employee to release the final round of funding, but the next day, Trump’s budget proposed eliminating the program altogether, calling it “unnecessary.” More than 6 million households could now face reduced or eliminated benefits, leaving them unable to afford basic heating or cooling.

Action: Trump announced sweeping tariffs on nearly every country across the globe, including our allies, claiming they’ve maintained unfair trade relationships with the U.S.

Impact: Even as the White House has walked back some tariffs (for now), and the Courts are considering the legality of Trump’s authority to impose them, much of the damage was already done. Energy markets have been thrown into turmoil. U.S. liquefied “natural” gas (LNG) is now positioned as a bargaining chip, after Trump floated that Europe could avoid tariffs by buying more American gas. Trading partners may ramp up purchase commitments to rebalance trade. This could potentially trigger volatile swings in household energy bills. Meanwhile, the ongoing uncertainty around Trump’s tariff whims is worsening supply chain disruptions for key electrical components. This is slowing the buildout of renewable energy and critical grid infrastructure and driving costs higher for new and existing projects.

Action: On his first day back in office, Trump lifted the freeze on LNG export approvals. His DOE later removed a major regulatory hurdle, further unleashing fossil fuel companies’ ability to sell gas overseas.

Impact: Even before Trump’s election, North American gas exports, driven by new U.S. projects, were on track to more than double by 2028. According to E&E News, EIA expects LNG-driven demand to push prices higher this year and next. Easing the path for new export projects means more gas going overseas—and higher energy costs at home.

Action: As Trump’s EPA shuts down environmental justice programs, all of the grants under the CCGP, including a project that installs solar panels in low-income neighborhoods, are under review, and some are “already slated to be terminated.” 

Impact: Terminating this program blocks cost-saving clean energy projects in disadvantaged communities overburdened by pollution and more significant climate risks, keeping energy bills high. Terminating this program risks the future of projects that are lowering utility costs, as well as providing clean drinking water and disaster shelters in disadvantaged communities. For example, New Haven, Connecticut, planned to use $20 million in community change grants to help low-income residents cut energy costs with energy-efficient home upgrades—but Trump’s freeze has left that funding in limbo.

Action: Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), at the direction of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, eliminated GRRP, which funds energy efficiency upgrades in affordable housing.

Impact: Cutting this program raises energy costs for thousands of low-income renters, especially seniors and families in federal-assisted housing. The GRRP funds urgent repairs to keep tens of thousands of affordable housing units livable, including energy efficiency improvements like replacing or repairing heating and cooling systems and aging insulation or windows. Projects using the funds are required to keep units affordable for up to 25 years. They also leverage funds to secure other investments for significant repairs and renovations “Projects will fail,” said one affordable housing developer, “And these are projects that are already difficult to finance.” 

Action: Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, raising costs for energy infrastructure.

Impact: Higher costs for wind turbines, solar panels, power lines, and grid infrastructure make it harder to expand affordable energy to address growing electricity demand. Home energy systems like heat pumps and water heaters will also become more expensive. Grid Infrastructure costs will rise, worsening transformer shortages and delaying upgrades needed to meet growing demand. Tariffs will also spike car costs, as auto manufacturers rely on components imported from our trading partners.

Action: In response to Trump’s unprovoked trade war, Ontario, Canada, imposed a 25% retaliatory tariff on electricity exports to Michigan, Minnesota, and New York.

Impact: 1.5 million households in these states rely on Canadian hydropower to keep the lights on. Although Ontario has since temporarily suspended the tariff, if reinstated, these families would face higher electricity bills.

Action: Trump imposed a national tariff tax on imports from China, Canada, and Mexico, including on Canadian energy imports, triggering price spikes. While he’s temporarily delayed some tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, a 10% national tariff tax on energy imported from Canada remains in place.

Impact: Trump’s national tariff tax will ultimately raise prices for all American consumers, with midwestern states hit the hardest. Because energy infrastructure like pipelines and refineries are slow to adapt, imports of foreign fuels are likely to continue with higher costs passed on to consumers. That means higher gas prices and fewer, more expensive clean energy projects. In states like Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, gas prices are expected to jump up to 50 cents per gallon. And, heating bills will climb as tariffs on methane gas from Canada, America’s largest supplier, get passed down to households.

Action: Trump’s EPA blocked $20 billion in grants from the GGRF’s National Clean Investment Fund and the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator programs, which fund clean energy projects in low-income communities. On March 11, the EPA attempted to formally (if not legally) revoke grants from those programs.

Impact: The purpose of GGRF programs is to lower energy costs for everyday Americans. Blocking these grants hampers clean energy development, particularly in communities that need lower energy costs the most. For example, the Climate United NEXT grant program helps communities historically left behind deploy clean energy projects that reduce pollution and cut energy bills. The Power Forward Communities grant program finances energy efficiency upgrades that help lower housing costs and utility bills while expanding and preserving affordable housing. While a federal court has blocked Trump’s EPA from illegally clawing back these grants for now, Trump’s efforts to terminate the program have left that funding in limbo and delayed projects that would deliver cost savings for the communities that need it most. It’s part of a broader “starve the beast” strategy: by dragging out uncertainty, they’re trying to force organizations to run out of funding and collapse.

Action: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers halted permits for 168 renewable energy projects on private lands to comply with Trump’s executive order.

Impact: Slowing the development of cleaner, more affordable energy keeps Americans reliant on costly fossil fuels. As electricity demand grows and Trump blocks clean energy projects, utilities will pass rising higher costs on to consumers. Simply put, we cannot meet our growing energy needs without renewables.

Action: Trump issued an executive order freezing all funds for energy programs appropriated by Congress through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

Impacts:

• LIHEAP Cuts: Trump’s freeze on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) left vulnerable families struggling to afford heating and cooling costs. In Huntsville, Alabama alone, this move directly raised utility costs by $100 for hundreds of households.

• Weatherization Assistance Program Halted: This program helps tens of thousands of low-income families lower their energy bills through home upgrades, such as better insulation and other energy-efficiency improvements. Trump’s freeze could force states to delay or cancel projects. Before a federal judge’s recent ruling ordering the administration to release the funding, millions remained frozen in states like Colorado. But even in places where funds are now available, many recipients worry they are “just going to disappear again.” The uncertainty leaves a program designed to lower energy costs in limbo—right when families need relief the most.

• Home Energy Rebates Blocked: Without these grants, home energy upgrades could cost families up to $14,000 more. Most projects would be at risk of cancellation, locking families into higher utility bills. Arizona, Colorado, and Rhode Island have already suspended their rebate programs in response.

Action: Trump issued an executive order freezing all funds for energy programs appropriated by Congress through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

Impact:

• Rural Energy Costs on the Rise: Programs like the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program and the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) help rural communities secure affordable clean energy. The freeze put billions in rural clean energy funding in limbo, potentially increasing costs for millions of residents in states like Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Nebraska—in places where Trump won his biggest margins.

• Solar for All Disruptions: This IRA-funded program will provide clean energy access to over 900,000 households in low-income communities. While the freeze has been lifted (for now) as a result of a court order, the chaos is creating uncertainty that could discourage contractors from taking on federally-backed projects. The Solar for All program is designed to lower energy costs, but funding freezes are stripping away a critical tool when states like Pennsylvania, Indiana, Texas, and Florida need it most. Administrator Zeldin has signaled his latest effort to undermine this program by ordering an audit through the Office of Inspector General.

• CPRG Grants Chaos: Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) help state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments advance clean energy and address local energy challenges. Many fund building efficiency projects that help reduce household utility bills. While the freeze appears to be lifted due to a court order, the chaotic pause got in the way of projects that would deliver affordable clean energy to the grid. Cutting CPRG funding would raise costs for home upgrades and lock in higher utility bills for families. The St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin risk losing funding for energy efficiency projects that lower costs for the Tribe’s low-income residents.

Action: Trump’s day one executive order also froze funding for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, cutting support for building Electric Vehicle charging stations. After multiple federal judges blocked the administration’s efforts to gut the program, Trump’s Department of Transportation once again attempted to sabotage the NEVI program with an illegal power grab thinly disguised as a bureaucratic update.

Impact: Without this federal investment, rural communities in states like Ohio and Texas will struggle to build charging infrastructure, making it harder for residents to switch to cost-saving EVs. Fewer EVs on the road means higher demand for gasoline, driving up prices at the pump for everyone—hittingdrivers in rural communities and working families hardest. The uncertainty around federal investment also threatens the auto industry in states like Michigan, where billions have been invested to attract EV manufacturing. Industry leaders point to a lack of publicly accessible chargers as one major barrier to domestic demand. Trump’s NEVI sabotage undermines efforts like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s goal to install 100,000 chargers by 2030, slowing EV adoption, threatening the state’s clean energy economy and thousands of high-quality jobs in the state.

Action: Trump froze federal leasing for new offshore wind projects and onshore projects on federal lands and blocked permits for in-progress projects.

Impact: Delaying these projects reduces future grid capacity and raises electricity prices by ensuring that supply can’t keep up with growing energy demand. Coastal states are counting on gigawatts of energy from offshore wind and are now scrambling to fill the gap to avoid brownouts. Thousands of jobs have been lost or are at risk because of these project cancellations and delays. And, increased uncertainty in the wind energy market is driving higher costs for new and existing projects. 

Action: Trump lifted a freeze on LNG export approvals, paving the way for fossil fuel companies to sell more gas overseas.

Impact: More LNG exports means higher gas prices for Americans. A Department of Energy study found that unfettered LNG exports could increase U.S. gas prices by over 30% by linking them to the significantly more expensive global market. This could raise energy costs for the average American household by more than $100 a year by 2050.