電費帳單與資料中心讓公用事業罕見成為美國期中選舉焦點

紐約，10月31日（路透社）——美國電價在過去全國性選舉中一直未受太多關注，但隨著美國民眾對公用事業帳單上漲、以及高耗電資料中心的供電協議日益不滿，電價已成為今年期中選舉的一大政治議題。NEW YORK, Oct 31 (Reuters) - US electricity prices had flown under the radar in past national elections, but they have become a major political issue in this year's midterms as Americans grow angry over rising utility bills and deals for power-hungry data centers.

根據能源資訊署（Energy Information Administration）的資料，全美住宅電價自2024年以來已上漲逾10%；當年唐納・川普（Donald Trump）總統當選，共和黨也在美國國會兩院取得多數席次。電價漲幅已超過其他商品與服務的成本上升幅度。Nationwide, according to Energy Information Administration data, electricity prices for homes have risen more than 10% since 2024 when President Donald Trump was elected along with Republican majorities in both houses of the US Congress. Higher electricity prices have outpaced the rise in costs for other goods and services.

在俄亥俄州、密西根州和賓夕法尼亞州等政治搖擺州，電費帳單上漲更快；這些州同時也是新資料中心的熱門設置地點。在某些情況下，電費飆升幅度達通膨率的3倍。Power bills have grown even faster in political battleground states of Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, which are also hot spots for new data centers. In some cases, electricity bills have soared by triple the inflation rate.

今年，許多角逐全美各州最高公職的政治人物都支持加強管制公用事業公司。部分人士提議凍結公用事業費率調漲、並大幅削減保證報酬；這些措施可能對美國公用事業產業造成廣泛影響。Many politicians vying for top statehouse seats across the country this year have backed cracking down on utilities. Some have proposed freezing utility rate increases and slashing guaranteed returns, steps that could have sweeping consequences for the country's utility industry.

倡議改革公用事業政策、使其更有利於消費者的非營利組織PowerLines執行董事查爾斯・華（Charles Hua）說：「這可能是第一場把公用事業，特別是電力，列為期中選舉重要議題的選舉。」他說：「部分原因在於民眾的公用事業帳單不斷上升，而且看不到盡頭。」"It could be the first election to feature utilities and electricity, specifically, as a prominent issue in the midterms," said Charles Hua, executive director of PowerLines, a nonprofit that advocates reforming utility policy to favor consumers. "Part of that is because people's utility bills have gone up and up, and they don't see any end in sight."

公用事業受到嚴格監管。州監管機關通常必須核准公用事業公司對電網支出的申請，以及讓它們透過費率調漲回收這些成本。監管機關也會設定公用事業公司在電網投資上可取得的股東權益報酬率。Utilities are heavily regulated. State regulators generally must approve utilities’ requests to spend on the grid and to recover those costs through rate increases. Regulators also set the return on equity utilities can earn on their grid investments.

PowerLines的一項調查顯示，今年公用事業公司向監管機關提出的費率調漲申請金額，預計將追平去年創紀錄的310億美元高點。去年的支出是前一項紀錄的兩倍。This year, utilities are on track to match last year's record high $31 billion in rate increase requests to regulators, a PowerLines survey showed. Last year's spending was double the previous record.

根據標普全球（S&P Global）旗下Regulatory Research Associates的分析，投資人持有的公用事業公司預計未來5年也將進行近1.3兆美元的創紀錄資本支出。The investor-owned companies are also expected to carry out a record of nearly $1.3 trillion in capital spending over the next five years, according to an analysis by S&P Global’s Regulatory Research Associates.

公用事業成為焦點UTILITIES SPOTLIGHTED

今年共有9個州公用事業委員會席次將改選，幾乎涵蓋所有由選民選出公用事業監管委員的美國州別。其中包括資料中心快速成長樞紐亞利桑那州和喬治亞州。Seats on nine state public utility commissions are up for election this year, nearly all the US states where voters elect their utility regulators. These include burgeoning data center hubs Arizona and Georgia.

今年美國36個州將選出州長；在公用事業委員非由直接選舉產生的州，州長負責任命公用事業監管委員。Governors will be chosen in 36 US states this year, and governors appoint utility regulators in states where commissioners are not directly elected.

在俄亥俄州，民主黨人艾米・艾克頓（Amy Acton）承諾，若當選州長將降低能源帳單。她的競選團隊表示，她也將任命一個「不受制於公用事業公司」的公用事業委員會，並與州檢察長合作，打擊「過度調漲費率與掠奪性做法」。In Ohio, Democrat Amy Acton has promised to lower energy bills if she is elected governor. Her campaign said she will also appoint a public utilities commission that was "not beholden to utility companies" and work with the state attorney general to crack down on "excessive rate hikes and predatory practices."

根據能源資訊署資料，俄亥俄州住宅電費帳單在過去兩年已增加逾20%。Ohio's residential electricity bills have grown by more than 20% over the last two years, according to EIA data.

艾克頓也表示，她支持暫停新設資料中心。她的共和黨對手維韋克・拉馬斯瓦米（Vivek Ramaswamy）說，他將確保住在資料中心附近的俄亥俄州民眾完全不必支付電費帳單。Acton has also said she supports a data center moratorium. Her Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy said he would assure Ohioans living near data centers would not pay electricity bills at all.

州長講壇施壓BULLY PULPIT

部分爭取連任的州長已運用自身政治影響力，向電力產業施壓，要求壓低價格。Some governors who are up for reelection have used their political weight to pressure the power industry to keep prices down.

4月，賓夕法尼亞州州長喬許・夏皮羅（Josh Shapiro）宣布，知名公用事業公司PECO能源公司（PECO Energy Company）已接受他的要求，撤回向州監管機關提出的調漲費率方案。尋求連任的民主黨人夏皮羅表示，此舉將使未來的公用事業帳單每月最多減少34美元。In April, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced that prominent utility, PECO Energy Company, had acceded to his demand that it withdraw its proposal with state regulators to increase rates. Shapiro, a Democrat running for reelection, said the move would reduce future utility bills by as much as $34 a month.

隨後，他致函更多公用事業公司執行長，要求改變公用事業公司說明支出與股東權益報酬率合理性的方式。He followed up with a letter to more utility CEOs seeking changes in how utilities justify spending and returns on equity.

賓州大學（University of Pennsylvania）克萊曼能源政策中心（Kleinman Center for Energy Policy）資深研究員、麻州公用事業部前主席傑米・范諾斯特蘭德（Jamie Van Nostrand）說：「州長們正把這場能源負擔能力危機，當作深入檢視公用事業監管模式、看看它是否合理的機會。」"The governors are using this crisis on energy affordability as an opportunity to take a deeper dive into the utility regulatory model and see if it makes any sense," said Jamie Van Nostrand, senior fellow at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania and former chair of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities.

約10年來，電費帳單走勢與低通膨同步，在多數主流選舉中並非議題。直到去年，米基・謝里爾（Mikie Sherrill）以凍結公用事業帳單的承諾成功當選紐澤西州州長；她在就職當天便兌現這項承諾。Power bills tracked low inflation for roughly a decade, and were not an issue in most mainstream elections until last year, when Mikie Sherrill successfully ran for New Jersey governor on the promise of freezing utility bills. She did so the same day she took office.

在全球資料中心最集中的維吉尼亞州，州長艾碧蓋兒・斯潘柏格（Abigail Spanberger）採取了類似做法；產業分析師表示，這可能為今年選舉勝出者提供一套操作範本。In Virginia, home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world, Governor Abigail Spanberger took a similar approach, which industry analysts said could offer a playbook for those who win this year’s elections.

公用事業倡議人士表示，降低保證報酬、凍結費率，並不會讓家庭帳單出現有意義的差異，卻可能導致電網投資長期減少。Utility advocates say reducing guaranteed returns and freezing rates will not make a meaningful difference in household bills but could lead to a long-term reduction of investments in the grid.

投資人持有電力公司的產業組織愛迪生電氣協會（Edison Electric Institute）會長德魯・馬洛尼（Drew Maloney）說：「電網是美國最偉大的機器，而它不是照著政治時程表運轉。它每年都需要穩定投資，才能向我們的客戶提供可靠能源。」"The grid is America's greatest machine, and it doesn't operate on the political calendar,” said Drew Maloney, president of Edison Electric Institute, a trade organization for investor-owned electric utilities. “It requires consistent investment every year to deliver reliable energy to our customers."

信用評等機構惠譽（Fitch）6月將北美公用事業產業展望由「中性」下調至「惡化」，理由是期中選舉中的政治壓力，意在限制電費帳單與公用事業利潤。Credit rating agency Fitch downgraded the North American utility sector to "deteriorating" from "neutral" in June, citing political pressure in the midterms to limit electricity bills and utility profits.

對於一個以數十年為單位進行規劃的產業而言，針對為家庭省錢而採取的短期政治舉措，結果難以預測。For an industry that plans in decades, it is hard to predict the result of short-term political moves aimed at saving money for households.

華說：「我確實認為，真正的重頭戲會在選後登場。」"I do think the real meat will come after the election," Hua said.

（紐約Laila Kearney報導；Liz Hampton與David Gregorio編輯）(Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York: Editing by Liz Hampton and David Gregorio)