Since the tax-sharing reform, the widening local fiscal revenue–expenditure gap has hindered high-quality economic development. Facing slow revenue growth and rigid expenditure responsibilities, local governments tend to transfer fiscal pressure to local firms. As a strategic sector with tax and public service attributes, the energy industry is closely tied to local finance and vulnerable to government intervention. Using panel data of A-share listed energy enterprises during 2010–2025, this paper constructs a comprehensive performance index via factor analysis and examines how local fiscal pressure affects energy firms’ operating performance, its transmission paths, and heterogeneous features. Results show that local fiscal pressure significantly suppresses enterprises’ comprehensive performance, and this conclusion holds after various robustness tests. Mechanism tests suggest fiscal pressure impairs firm performance by lowering labor productivity and expanding fixed asset investment. Heterogeneity analysis shows the adverse effect is stronger for new energy firms and enterprises in central inland provinces with weak fiscal self-sufficiency, while no robust difference exists between state-owned and non-state-owned energy enterprises. This paper identifies the differentiated micro-transmission of fiscal pressure in the energy sector, adds evidence on the microeconomic outcomes of fiscal decentralization, and offers policy insights for optimizing central–local fiscal relations, regulating government intervention, and advancing high-quality development and green transition in the energy industry.