Gallup: Americans’ Anxiety About Energy Prices, Supply Sharply Rises

A vast majority of Americans have grave concerns about future energy issues in this country, according to the latest poll released by Gallup. Of 1,010 adults surveyed, 73% said they worry a “great deal/fair amount” about the availability and affordability of energy.

The percentage is the highest on record since 2012, when 79% of adults surveyed stated they were worried about energy issues. The rise in concern jumped 19% from 54% in 2020, which was the lowest percentage in Gallup’s poll since 2001. 

In addition, more than a third of respondents said the energy situation in the U.S. is “very serious,” but that percentage is below the high of 58% recorded in 2001, when energy prices were soaring and demand was great.  

These concerns come on the heels of a major energy crisis in Texas during winter storms and severe blackouts in California last year, while the pessimism about the future of energy issues appears to be increasing. 

Of Americans surveyed, 53% said they believe the U.S. will face a critical energy shortage in the next five years, a stark increase from 32% of those polled in 2016, the last time the organization asked the question. 

The Gallup survey was taken between March 1 and 15 as gas prices were on the rise. The margin of sampling error is +/-4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.  

More information about the poll, including charts showing past survey results dating back to the 1970s, can be found here.