U.S. electric and gas utilities requested $4.5 billion in rate increases during Q3, more than double the year-earlier amount.

Utility Dive reports that U.S. electric and gas utilities submitted $4.5 billion in rate-increase requests during the third quarter of 2026. The figure comes from a report by PowerLines, identified in the supplied description as an advocacy group.

The cumulative value of those requests was more than double the third-quarter 2025 amount. This comparison concerns the dollar value of requested increases, not a doubling of utility rates, individual customer bills, or the number of rate cases.

The requests are not described as approved increases or revenue already collected. The excerpt does not break out electric versus gas requests, individual utilities, customer classes, or expenditure drivers, and it does not establish how much—if any—was attributable to AI or data-center demand.