Zeo Energy Sees Expanding Opportunity as Energy Affordability Takes Center Stage Following 2026 Midterm Elections

Newly elected and re-elected Republican and Democrat leaders in Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas and Virginia campaigned on lowering electricity bills, adding new generation and protecting households from data center–driven price increases

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla., Nov. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zeo Energy Corp. (Nasdaq: ZEO) (“Zeo,” “Zeo Energy,” or the “Company”), a provider of residential solar and commercial long-duration energy-storage solutions, today commented on the results of the Nov. 3, 2026, midterm elections in the five states where the Company primarily operates: Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio and Virginia. Across party lines, winning candidates in these states made the rising cost of electricity a central campaign issue, and many pledged to add new power generation and to shield households and small businesses from dramatically increasing power bills.

Energy prices ranked as a top voter concern heading into the election. In an October 2026 Pew Research Center survey cited by Utility Dive, 74% of U.S. adults said they were concerned about gasoline and energy prices, the largest share of any issue surveyed. Zeo believes this focus on affordability, together with growing demand for new generation, supports continued homeowner interest in residential solar and creates new opportunities for the Company’s planned expansion into commercial renewable and energy-storage projects.

What the results mean in Zeo’s core markets

• Florida: Rep. Byron Donalds was elected governor, and Sen. Ashley Moody was re-elected. Governor-elect Donalds has made new baseload generation, particularly nuclear power, central to his energy agenda and has said data centers in Florida should be built with their own power and water systems. Sen. Moody co-sponsored the Ratepayer Protection Act to protect households and small businesses from higher power bills tied to data centers.
• Pennsylvania: Gov. Josh Shapiro won a second term, and Democrats won control of the state Senate for the first time since 1993, giving the party control of the governorship and both legislative chambers. Gov. Shapiro’s “Lightning Plan” would require electric companies to buy more renewable energy, rewrite a state tax credit program to benefit clean energy producers, create a new board to speed permitting of energy projects, and establish a Pennsylvania carbon program whose proceeds would largely fund rebates on electric bills. The Governor has also pressed utilities on proposed rate increases and filed a federal complaint challenging PJM’s slow process for connecting new power sources to the grid.
• Texas: Gina Hinojosa was elected governor, and James Talarico was elected to the U.S. Senate. Senator-elect Talarico’s platform calls for growing “wind, solar, and geothermal,” reinstating federal tax credits and other tools that diversify energy production, strengthening the Texas grid, and requiring large energy users such as AI data centers to pay for the grid upgrades they need. Governor-elect Hinojosa has called for freezing utility rates, making industry “pay its fair share,” and ending tax breaks for large data centers.
• Ohio: Dr. Amy Acton was elected governor, and Sherrod Brown won the state’s U.S. Senate special election. Governor-elect Acton has pledged “an all of the above energy strategy,” said Ohio must stop consuming more energy than it produces, and proposed a conditional moratorium under which new data centers would be required to pay for their own power and show they will not raise electricity costs for other customers. Senator-elect Brown campaigned on requiring data centers to “pay the full cost of their own electricity.” Ohio’s next governor will also appoint members of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Residential electric bills in Ohio rose 13.5% year over year in October, according to reporting by Statehouse News Bureau.
• Virginia: Sen. Mark Warner won re-election. Sen. Warner co-sponsored the Power for the People Act, which would direct states to examine rate classes so data centers pay for the energy costs they cause, direct federal regulators to ensure data centers pay for transmission upgrades and create incentives for data centers to bring their own generation and storage, including clean energy resources. “If corporations are going to run data centers in Virginia, they should cover the cost of them,” Sen. Warner said.
  

At the federal level, Democrats are projected to control both chambers of Congress beginning in January. Industry analysts have said an extension of the federal solar tax credit, which was shortened by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025, could be on the table as policymakers respond to rising energy costs, along with bipartisan efforts to speed federal permitting for energy and transmission projects.

“Voters in every one of our core states told candidates that the cost of electricity matters, and leaders from both parties heard them,” said Tim Bridgewater, Chief Executive Officer of Zeo Energy. “Whether the priority is adding new generation, making large energy users pay their own way, or giving homeowners more control over their power bills, those goals align with what Zeo does every day. Residential solar lets a family lock in a predictable cost for the power it produces, and our commercial energy-storage solutions can help large customers bring their own power instead of passing costs on to everyone else. We look forward to working with these newly elected leaders.”

Bridgewater added, “Roth Capital energy analyst, Phil Shen, suggests that there is a greater than 80% likelihood that bi partisan support will result in legislation extending the ITC and 45X tax credits in 2027 to drive down energy costs for U.S. consumers and increase domestic production of energy equipment such as solar panels and power inverters.”

Zeo’s Sunergy business designs, engineers, procures and installs residential solar systems, with a large share of its sales in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Texas and Florida. The Company is expanding into commercial renewable projects and long-duration energy generation and storage for data centers and other energy-intensive customers.

Election results reflect race calls and projections reported by the Associated Press and major news organizations as of Nov. 4, 2026. Candidate positions are drawn from campaign materials and published reporting by Spotlight PA, Statehouse News Bureau, Signal Ohio, The Texas Tribune, KSAT, Cardinal News, Action News Jax, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Utility Dive. Zeo Energy does not directly donate to or endorse any candidate or political party.

About Zeo Energy Corp.

Zeo Energy Corp. (Nasdaq: ZEO) is a diversified clean energy company providing residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-scale solutions that cut costs and carbon emissions. Zeo operates Sunergy, a residential solar, distributed energy, and efficiency solutions business. It also operates Heliogen, a long-duration energy generation and storage business designed to deliver renewable power for high-demand applications such as data centers and other energy-intensive industries. With its vertically integrated approach, Zeo helps customers secure cost-effective, 24x7 clean energy.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release and statements of Zeo's in connection with this press release contain or may contain "forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to the Company, including regarding the Company's involvement or potential involvement in projects. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, statements that refer to projections, forecasts, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions. The words "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "explore," "develop," "development," "deploy," "deployment," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "will," and similar references to future periods may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may include, for example, statements about the development of projects, future financial performance of the Company; the ability to effectively consolidate the assets of acquired companies and produce expected results; changes in the Company's strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, the ability to raise additional funds, and plans and objectives of management. These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release, and current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions, and involve a number of significant judgments, risks, and uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any subsequent date, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, the Company's actual results or performance may be materially and adversely different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include: (i) planned pipelines and projects may not be developed in the timelines anticipated, if at all; (ii) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company or others; (iii) the Company's success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, its officers, key employees, or directors; (iv) the Company's ability to raise additional capital and maintain the listing of its common stock and warrants on Nasdaq; (v) limited liquidity and trading of the Company's securities; (vi) geopolitical risk and changes in applicable laws or regulations, including tariffs or trade restrictions; (vii) the possibility that the Company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; (viii) operational risks, including risks associated with Zeo's expanding business model; (ix) litigation and regulatory enforcement risks, including the diversion of management time and attention and the additional costs and demands on the Company's resources; (x) the Company's ability to effectively consolidate the assets of acquired companies and produce the expected results; and (xi) other risks and uncertainties, including those included under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") for the year ended December 31, 2025 and in its subsequent periodic reports and other filings with the SEC.

In light of the significant risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by the Company, its respective directors, officers or employees or any other person that the Company will achieve its objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. The forward-looking statements in this news release represent the views of the Company as of the date of this news release. Subsequent events and developments may cause that view to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, there is no current intention to do so, except to the extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing the views of the Company as of any date subsequent to the date of this news release.

Contact:
Dave Gentry
RedChip Companies, Inc.
1-407-644-4256
ZEO@redchip.com