State public service officials are gathered in Washington, D.C., this week for the winter meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. One of shining stars involved in NARUC is a Georgian named Tim Echols, who hopes to transform America’s system of nuclear waste management. Echols won a statewide election in November 2010 to serve on the Georgia Public Service Commission. Today he leads the commission as its chairman. With nuclear energy making a strong resurgence in Georgia — two new plants are under construction — Echols has taken …
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), seemingly undeterred by the slow economic recovery, is marching ahead with air pollution regulations that would increase electricity prices, raise costs for businesses and consumers, and risk power outages. The EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) and the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) are scheduled to go into effect in January of 2012 and 2015, respectively. Other pending related regulations include the Boiler MACT and Utility MACT rules, coal ash regulations, and new standards for cooling water intake structures. All of these are expensive …
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 …
As Americans continue to feel the effects of President Obama’s anti-oil agenda at the pump, defensive liberals are circling back to a familiar line of counter-attack: blame Bush. The media vacuum on gas prices has made this line of attack all the more promising with very little national coverage being given to the president’s destructive domestic drilling agenda. Unfortunately it misses an obvious point. President George W. Bush was mostly attacked for wanting to drill too much (or being “cozy” with the oil industry), while President Obama’s policies are rooted …
If you’re not willing to make significant sacrifices in your life to save the environment, don’t worry, you’re not alone. A new Rasmussen survey “shows that only 17% of adults believe most Americans would be willing to make major cutbacks in their lifestyle in order to help save the environment. Most (65%) say that’s not the case.” But that’s the name of the game for radical environmental agendas and even government regulations geared towards forcing Americans to use less energy. Environmentalists want people to dramatically change their behavior. Of the …
On November 23, 2009 the Congressional Budget Office issued “Economic and Budget Issue Brief: The Costs of Reducing Greenhouse-Gas Emissions.” This brief echoed many of the points The Heritage Foundation has made in its reports, WebMemos, blogs and our responses to a request from Henry Waxman (D-CA), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. For example: A. The CBO correctly notes that efficiency mandates (standards) don’t lower the cost of cap and trade. Here’s how they say it: “However, standards would tend to increase the costs of a cap-and-trade …
From E&E News: “House Science and Technology Committee yesterday approved legislation to establish a social and behavioral sciences research program at the Energy Department. The Science Committee also approved three bills to focus DOE research on energy efficiency and advanced energy technologies through programs in advanced vehicle technologies, wind energy and natural gas turbines. Rep. Brian Baird’s (D-Wash.) H.R. 3247, would authorize $10 million annually over six years to better understand why people make certain decisions about energy technologies in an effort to spur greater market adoption, he said.”
Our latest post takes us to Austin, Texas. Consumers are suffering from higher electricity prices, stemming from a renewable energy push that allows consumers to opt into plans to buy their electricity from renewable energy. The problem is, people aren’t buying it anymore, because it’s too expensive. The obvious solution? Spread the costs to all consumers. A recent article in the American-Statesman elaborates: For the past decade, Austin’s ambition to become the world’s clean-energy capital has been best exemplified by one effort: GreenChoice, a program that sells electricity generated entirely from …
Congratulations, Missourians. For saving electricity, you could have an additional fee show up on your energy bill: Some Missouri residents and businesses soon could see a new charge on their electric bills — a fee for using less energy. Though it might seem illogical, the new energy efficiency charge has support from utilities, most lawmakers, the governor, environmentalists and even the state’s official utility consumer advocate. The charge covers the cost of utilities’ efforts to promote energy efficiency and cut power use.
Household appliances use a lot of energy, which is why for the past several years policymakers have tried to mandate energy efficient standards on washing machines, refrigerators and other products. Energy efficiency can be beneficial for consumers, but rarely when the government tries to force it on the public. Energy-efficient appliances and mechanisms will not painlessly lower electricity bills. These measures also impose costs, and consumers benefit only if the energy savings outweigh the costs. For one thing, mandatory improvements in efficiency usually raise the purchase price of appliances; sometimes …
