Rogers Ad Attributes $2,000 Utility Hike to El-Sayed

Michigan voters facing a choice between Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed will see new advertisements this week that promise a sharp rise in household energy costs if the Democrat wins the U.S. Senate seat. The campaigns have centered on a specific financial impact: a $2,000 annual increase in utility bills and a 20-cent hike per gallon of gasoline.

These figures appear in a commercial released this week and in remarks Rogers made at a rally in Port Huron on Sunday. The event coincided with a visit from President Donald Trump. Rogers told the crowd that El-Sayed supports a new energy tax that will add $2,000 to yearly utility bills. He added that this plan would raise the cost of gasoline by 20 cents per gallon.

"That’s not affordability, people. That’s a screw you," Rogers said at the rally.

The 20-cent gas price increase figure derives from a 2013 study commissioned by the National Association of Manufacturers. The study projected that a carbon tax implemented in Michigan would result in that specific price change. The proposal for such a tax originated with El-Sayed during his 2018 gubernatorial campaign. At that time, he proposed a corporate polluter fee on companies for carbon emissions, with the revenue returned to residents.

The $2,000 utility bill estimate comes from a separate analysis by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The think tank examined clean energy policies enacted under Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The analysis concluded that requiring utilities to source 60% of electricity from wind and solar by 2035 would raise average residential rates by $2,000 a year by that date. El-Sayed did not help pass this state law. However, his general support for 100% clean energy goals led groups like the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action to endorse his candidacy.

El-Sayed has not proposed a carbon tax during his 2026 U.S. Senate campaign. His campaign spokesperson noted this distinction and questioned the Mackinac Center study. The spokesperson pointed to the think tank's conservative donors, including the Charles Koch Institute and foundations connected to the DeVos family. The campaign also referenced El-Sayed's previous support for the Green New Deal, a legislative framework that did not pass Congress. Some versions of that framework included taxes and fees on the fossil fuel industry.

"We need 100% renewable energy, and we need it yesterday," El-Sayed said in June regarding his energy stance.

Researchers disagree on the financial impact of these policies. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that utility-scale wind and solar projects lower consumer energy prices. They noted, however, that rooftop solar projects can raise electricity prices due to higher network operation and maintenance costs. This contrasts with the view that renewable energy mandates are the primary driver of rising utility bills.

Alyssa Brouillet, a spokesperson for the Rogers campaign, told Bridge Michigan that El-Sayed is deceptively supporting rate increases. Brouillet wrote that El-Sayed will hide his support for raising gas prices by 20 cents a gallon. She added that he supports the Green New Deal but will not say it mandates costly electric vehicles.

The U.S. Senate election is scheduled for November 3. The winner will succeed retiring Democrat Gary Peters. Bridge Michigan is fact-checking several claims ahead of the vote, including assertions that Rogers owns two yachts.