Are rising utility bills in the U.S. becoming permanently higher after each energy shock?

I’ve been noticing a pattern in U.S. utility costs that I think is worth discussing from an economic perspective.

Each major energy shock, such as what occurred during the pandemic and more recently with global geopolitical tensions, leads to a sharp increase in electricity and utility prices. However, even after these shocks ease, prices do not appear to return to their previous levels. Instead, they seem to stabilize at a higher baseline. This creates what looks less like cyclical movement and more like a stepwise upward trend, where each disruption resets the “floor” for energy costs.

Given that electricity and heating are essential goods with relatively inelastic demand, households have limited ability to adjust consumption in response.

If this pattern continues, it raises a broader question about whether utility expenses are gradually becoming a permanently larger share of household budgets in the U.S.

It also raises secondary implications around long-term consumer responses, including whether fixed-cost energy solutions such as residential solar become more economically attractive over time purely as a hedge against continued price increases.

I’m interested in how others interpret this trend. Is this consistent with normal inflationary cycles and temporary shocks, or does it reflect a structural upward shift in baseline energy costs over time?