Last year’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report and the Fourth National Climate Assessment both showed that to limit the worst consequences of climate change by keeping global average temperature increases to 1.5 C, the United States and other countries must achieve net-zero heat-trapping emissions economy-wide by mid-century, with nearly half of those reductions occurring by 2030. Decarbonizing the electric sector is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce emissions and can help decarbonize other sectors with increased electrification. While renewable energy and energy efficiency have grown significantly in recent years due to technology cost reductions, state policies, and federal tax incentives, our rate of emissions reduction does not go far enough. Our analysis shows that a well-designed national Low Carbon Electricity Standard (LCES), Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), or increasing carbon price can help get the U.S. on a pathway for decarbonizing the power sector by 2050. The most cost-effective strategy for reducing emissions in the near-term is through the increased deployment of wind and solar, regardless of the policy. How much the generation mix shifts to low-carbon resources is a function of the stringency of the policy. These policies can also spur the development of low-carbon electricity in parts of the country that are not as far along in their transition to a clean energy economy. Allowing a wide range of carbon-free and low-carbon resources to compete against each other could deliver the most low-carbon electricity at the lowest cost and help broaden support for these policies.