Here Come Obama’s ‘Necessarily Skyrocketing’ Electricity Rates

[Ban Hammer 13,491]

President Obama’s infamous words—saying electricity rates will “necessarily skyrocket” under his cap-and-trade program that would impose a costly energy tax on American consumers—are set to come true. Just ask the market.

Although cap and trade is not law, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) backdoor train wreck of energy regulations is forcing utilities to file for significant rate hikes in years to come because of the upgrades they will have to make or the complete shutdown of older plants.

Take Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E), for instance. In what’s labeled as an “environmental cost recovery,” the utility says ratepayers will see their electric bills increase 19.2 percent by 2016. Why? LG&E spokesman Chip Keeling answered,

The EPA is forcing utilities to do this. We don’t have a choice. It’s not a question of are we going to meet them. The question is when and how and how much money. We have to meet these regulations because the EPA is mandating it for us to do it. They’re forcing us to do it.

LG&E isn’t the only one building cost increases into its projects as a result of EPA regulations. PJM is a regional transmission organization that manages the electric grid and coordinates the wholesale electricity market for 13 states and the District of Columbia. The organization conducts electricity capacity auctions for future years to meet anticipated demand, and it projects EPA regulations are going to increase capacity costs in the magnitude of $2 billion–$3 billion for a one-year period. PJM also “concluded that “60 to 80%” of the increase in generators bid costs in the May 2011 auction was due to environmental regulations.”

As this American Legislative Exchange Council study shows, the EPA’s train wreck of energy regulations leaves a complicated and expensive mess of new requirements for U.S. power plants. A new analysis from the National Economic Research Associates (NERA) looked at just two of those regulations, the Clean Air Transport Rule and the Utility Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT). The study finds “Average U.S. retail electricity prices in 2016 would increase by about 12%, with regional increases as much as about 24%.”

American households will be hit hard, as will American businesses. Producers everywhere will try to cover their higher production costs by raising product prices. As a result, consumer demand will fall, and income and employment will drop. There’s no other way to put it: These are unnecessary job-killing, economy-destroying regulations.

link

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Electric rates have gone up some 35% here in GOP goverened Florida in the 8 years prior to the current administration taking office. How can that be seeing that Obama is causing the rates to rise? Did they raise rates starting in 2000 just on the mere anticipation that a then widely unknown IL State Senator would become President in 2009? Some people really need to get a grip.

[Ban Hammer 13,491]

Electric rates have gone up some 35% here in GOP goverened Florida in the 8 years prior to the current administration taking office. How can that be seeing that Obama is causing the rates to rise? Did they raise rates starting in 2000 just on the mere anticipation that a then widely unknown IL State Senator would become President in 2009? Some people really need to get a grip.

get back to me in 2016 and tell me how much of a percentage increase it is then

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

get back to me in 2016 and tell me how much of a percentage increase it is then

Rate increases for FL residents have already been submitted by utilities - not for any EPA regulations but for the funding of new nuclear reactors they're looking to build. And they're likely to get them approved after the GOP ousted the commissioners that sided with the public interest. The EPA is the least of my worries when it comes to my electric bill. They won't do half the damage to my wallet that the Florida Republicans are doing.

Edited June 13, 2011 by Mr. Big Dog

[lostinblue 1,989]

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/epa-out-control-coal-state-senator-says#disqus_thread

Democratic Senator: Environmental Protection Agency Out of Control

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, the former governor of coal-producing West Virginia, is blasting the Obama administration for using the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate coal-fueled power plants out of business.

On Thursday, American Electric Power company announced that to comply with a series of EPA regulations, it will close five coal-fired plants -- three in West Virginia and one each in Ohio and Virginia -- at a net cost of 600 jobs.

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states.

"We have worked for months to develop a compliance plan that will mitigate the impact of these rules for our customers and preserve jobs, but because of the unrealistic compliance timelines in the EPA proposals, we will have to prematurely shut down nearly 25 percent of our current coal-fueled generating capacity, cut hundreds of good power plant jobs, and invest billions of dollars in capital to retire, retrofit and replace coal-fueled power plants," said AEP Chairman and CEO Michael G. Morris.

"The sudden increase in electricity rates and impacts on state economies will be significant at a time when people and states are still struggling,” he added.

The plant closures in West Virginia alone will result in 242 lost jobs -- "and that's simply wrong," Manchin said:

“Let me be clear, it’s decisions like the one made by AEP today that demonstrate the urgent need to rein in government agencies like the EPA, preventing them from overstepping their bounds and imposing regulations that not only cost us good American jobs, but hurt our economy.

“It is because of out-of-control agencies like the EPA as well as the need to protect American jobs that I sponsored the REINS Act -- a commonsense measure that will help protect and create jobs by reining in needless or burdensome regulations, and that will put responsibility back where it belongs – in the hands of the people who are elected to govern and lead this great nation,” Manchin concluded.

During his campaign for president, Barack Obama admitted that "if somebody wants to build a coal fired plant, they can. It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."

The cost of AEP’s compliance plan could range from $6-$8 billion in capital investment through the end of the decade, the company said. That's in addition to the $7.2 billion that AEP has invested since 1990 to reduce emissions from its coal-fired plants.

The company noted that annual emissions of nitrogen oxides from AEP plants are 80 percent lower today than they were in 1990, and sulfur dioxide emissions are 73 percent lower than they were in 1990.

“We support regulations that achieve long-term environmental benefits while protecting customers, the economy and the reliability of the electric grid, but the cumulative impacts of the EPA’s current regulatory path have been vastly underestimated, particularly in Midwest states dependent on coal to fuel their economies, AEP said.

The company said while some jobs will be created from the installation of emissions-reduction equipment, AEP expects a net loss of around 600 power plant jobs with annual wages totaling approximately $40 million as a result of complying with the proposed EPA rules.

“We will continue to work through the EPA process with the hope that the agency will recognize the cumulative impact of the proposed rules and develop a more reasonable compliance schedule. We also will continue talking with lawmakers in Washington about a legislative approach that would achieve the same long-term environmental goals with less negative impact on jobs and the U.S. economy,” Morris said.

“With more time and flexibility, we will get to the same level of emission reductions, but it will cost our customers less and will prevent premature job losses, extend the construction job benefits, and ensure the ongoing reliability of the electric system.”

AEP said the following plants will be closed by the end of 2014:

-- Glen Lyn Plant, Glen Lyn, Va.

-- Kammer Plant, Moundsville, W.Va.

-- Kanawha River Plant, Glasgow, W.Va.

-- Phillip Sporn Plant, New Haven, W.Va.

-- Picway Plant, Lockbourne, Ohio

In addition, AEP plans to scale back power generation at six plants.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/epa-out-control-coal-state-senator-says#disqus_thread

Democratic Senator: Environmental Protection Agency Out of Control

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, the former governor of coal-producing West Virginia...

That's as far as you gotta read.

[Ban Hammer 13,491]

Rate increases for FL residents have already been submitted by utilities - not for any EPA regulations but for the funding of new nuclear reactors they're looking to build. And they're likely to get them approved after the GOP ousted the commissioners that sided with the public interest. The EPA is the least of my worries when it comes to my electric bill. They won't do half the damage to my wallet that the Florida Republicans are doing.

see the previous post about coal being phased out.......

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

see the previous post about coal being phased out.......

What about it? Coal is one of the worst sources of energy. Sunlight alone provides more than 1000 times the energy we need. Then we have wind, waves and energy sources that have yet to be discovered. The only thing to force tomorrow's energy and the development of the technology to efficiently harvest it, is to quit relying completely on yesterday's energy. Are we leaders or followers? There was a time when America was a leader. Those were the good times. Now we're a follower in just about anything. And look how the country is doing.

[Ban Hammer 13,491]

What about it? Coal is one of the worst sources of energy. Sunlight alone provides more than 1000 times the energy we need. Then we have wind, waves and energy sources that have yet to be discovered. The only thing to force tomorrow's energy and the development of the technology to efficiently harvest it, is to quit relying completely on yesterday's energy. Are we leaders or followers? There was a time when America was a leader. Those were the good times. Now we're a follower in just about anything. And look how the country is doing.

just hope those reactors aren't built next to the ocean, like japan...

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

just hope those reactors aren't built next to the ocean, like japan...

You sound like I was favoring nuclear reactors. I am not. They're too damn expensive. There are far cheaper options out there that we ought to tap into.

[sly_wolf 199]

You sound like I was favoring nuclear reactors. I am not. They're too damn expensive. There are far cheaper options out there that we ought to tap into.

The GOP alternative: Hire a a team of Homer Simpsons to keep the cost of running a reactor low.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I'd rather pay more for my energy usage than giving the banks more money by charging outrageous fees like the $400 per year the average American family pays for card swipe fees, especially if those higher energy costs moves us more quickly away from fossil fuels.

Edited June 14, 2011 by 8TBVBN

[one...two...tree 2,762]

http://www.cnsnews.c...s#disqus_thread

Democratic Senator: Environmental Protection Agency Out of Control

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, the former governor of coal-producing West Virginia, is blasting the Obama administration for using the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate coal-fueled power plants out of business.

Oh, boohoo. Guess what? These times-a-changing and the shift of the energy market away from fossil fuels is necessary for our future. If you're smart, you'll start investing your money in emerging sustainable energy technology, which is creating more jobs than any coal industry jobs lost so far. And the best part is, you won't have to hack up a lung to breathe the air. Everybody wins....except sore losers who keep pimping for the coal industry.

Edited June 14, 2011 by 8TBVBN

[Ban Hammer 13,491]

Oh, boohoo. Guess what? These times-a-changing and the shift of the energy market away from fossil fuels is necessary for our future. If you're smart, you'll start investing your money in emerging sustainable energy technology, which is creating more jobs than any coal industry jobs lost so far. And the best part is, you won't have to hack up a lung to breathe the air. Everybody wins....except sore losers who keep pimping for the coal industry.

and just how many coal jobs have been lost so far?

[mawilson 2,133]

It always cracks me up when conservatives talk about "free markets" and then, in the same breath, blame the President for high oil prices.

As if he's supposed to control the market.