Inflation is really zapping returns for utility investors.

Of course, that isn’t likely to elicit much sympathy from households, which have seen their bills climb over the past two years. Utilities get to pass through fuel prices, which means customers have been bearing the burden of higher natural-gas prices that surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On average, monthly electricity prices rose 13% in 2022 from a year earlier and 6% in the first 11 months of 2023, according to data from the Labor Department.