Free Republic

Despite Biden’s belief that renewable energy such as wind and solar are the cheapest forms of electricity, New Yorkers are about to receive higher bills for offshore wind that will raise their rates by more than twice what was originally agreed to in earlier canceled contracts. New York’s solicitations to cover the higher cost for offshore wind is also being used in other Northeastern states, allowing wind developers to rebid for higher prices and receive new contracts. Offshore wind is much more expensive than most other forms of electricity and these states are committing their residents to markedly higher rates...

Something unusual is happening in America. Demand for electricity, which has stayed largely flat for two decades, has begun to surge. Over the past year, electric utilities have nearly doubled their forecasts of how much additional power they’ll need by 2028 as they confront an unexpected explosion in the number of data centers, an abrupt resurgence in manufacturing driven by new federal laws, and millions of electric vehicles being plugged in. Many power companies were already struggling to keep the lights on, especially during extreme weather, and say the strain on the grid will only increase. Peak demand in the...

Since this time in 2022 my electric rate has gone up 20%. I expect it will go even higher. The damage done to the supply of power will not be recovered. Plants that were paid for are gone and replaced by higher cost and higher cost of fuel plants mandated by biden and epa. Are you better off than you were four years ago? NOT ME.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom backed the controversial proposal to remove four Klamath River hydroelectric dams along the California-Oregon border. Now, the same fish he swore to protect could be killed in the process. The dams had been breached on claims that it would help salmon migrate, but the Klamath River is now full of destroyed spawning salmon beds and pollution including decomposed algae, organic deposition, chemicals, and fine silt which is killing its ecosystem, according to a report from the California Globe. Additionally, dead endangered steelhead trout and other species have been rising to the surface of the Klamath River,...

In a post earlier this week, daughter Jane (just returned from maternity leave) reviewed, and put in an enthusiastic plug, for the new Robert Bryce documentary series titled “Juice: Power, Politics, and the Grid.” Jane even embedded the first episode of the five-part series into the post. Several commenters offered what seemed to me to be serious criticisms of Bryce’s work. So I thought I owed it to the readers to watch some of Bryce’s series to see who was right. Having now watched a couple of episodes, and some of the rest, I have a few thoughts. “Deregulation.”Several commenters...

Rate increases will go into effect April 1, 2024.. As Holy Cross Energy experiences increased costs due to higher-than-normal inflation and constraints in the supply chain throughout the entire economy, its board of directors approved an increase to its monthly customer rates in January 2024. The increase will be based on individual rate classes and go into effect starting April 1, 2024. This increase addresses rising costs due to inflation and better aligns Holy Cross Energy rates with how its actual costs are incurred. Small and large members are separated by their monthly demand reading falling below or above 50kW....

Starting this month, 145,000 Wyoming ratepayers will make a down payment on what's projected to add up to billions of dollars in additional costs. Regulators recently approved Black Hills Energy's new $1.1 million surcharge on utility bills to research the viability of adding controversial carbon capture technologies to coal-fired power plants. Rob Joyce, acting director of the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the rate increases are due to the state's mandate for utilities to continue burning coal. "The people who benefit from these kinds of policies are the legislators who are connected to legacy fossil fuel companies, utilities...

I first reported in April 2023 about a new California state law that would require utility companies to come up with a fixed-rate plan as a way to help stabilize rates and make billing more "equitable." Hence, the state’s soon-to-be-implemented "equitable" policy will base residential electricity bills on income rather than usage, even as public and political opposition to the idea builds in the Democratic coalition.I titled my 2023 article "Marxism, California Style? New State Law Will Lead Energy Companies to Bill Customers Based on Income" because of a phrase popularized by Karl Marx as part of a larger communist...

California governor Gavin Newsom is standing by the state’s soon-to-be-implemented "equitable" policy to base electricity bills on income, rather than usage, even as public and political opposition to the idea builds in the Democratic coalition. A spokesman for the governor said on Tuesday that Newsom is looking forward to seeing a final proposal from the state's utilities commission "that is consistent with" the 2022 law that required the agency to devise an income-based billing system.

Baby, it’s cold outside! Of course, government still wants to ban natural gas and coal. The average price of electricity has risen a whopping 24.25% under Biden and Bidenomics. Brrr!! No wonder Biden only wants to talk about unlimited abortion and NOT the immigration (Fentanyl, child trafficing, crime, etc) fiasco at the border and continually rising prices. Or Biden’s growing wars. The NASDAQ commodity index RATIO is getting back to dot.com era bubble levels.

Climate change has led many states and countries to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power systems. Oregon has set targets for all power sold to retail customers in the state to have GHG emissions cut by 80% by 2030, 90% by 2035, and 100% by 2040. ...Portland General Electric (PGE) generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to half of Oregon’s population, and 75% of its commercial and industrial activity, is working hard to achieve those objectives. As the first utility in the U.S. to sign The Climate Pledge, an initiative co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism in...

The Biden administration’s War on Things That Work ran into a significant setback in the courts recently. At the start of Biden’s second year in office, he directed the Department of Energy to issue new “efficiency standards” for a variety of home appliances and plumbing fixtures. They went after everything from gas stoves and toasters to shower heads and toilets. They were seeking to undo regulations regarding “short-cycle appliances” put in place by the Trump administration which offered more flexibility to manufacturers and consumers in terms of water and energy conservation standards. But now, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals...

If the future's electric, why isn't the past? Think a little bit about that simple-sounding question and you'll understand what science is all about and why it matters so much to humankind. Consider this: the ancient Greeks knew some basic things about electricity over 2500 years ago, yet they didn't have electric cookers or fridges, computers or vacuum cleaners. How come? Electricity is just the same as it was back then: it works in exactly the same way. What's changed is that we understand how it works now and we've figured out effective ways to use it for our own...

As a result of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order, gas-powered vehicles will be banned by 2035. This refers to new vehicles and existing gas-powered cars and trucks that will be allowed on California roads for the moment.Other states are following California. But with electric vehicles (EVs) comes an investment. What are the economic ramifications of banning gas-powered vehicles? Can California afford it? Can America afford it?(Shutterstock)California Banns New Gas-Powered Vehicles 2035Gov. Newsom’s executive order was announced in 2020 and was followed by the California Air Resources Board’s approval in August 2022. Automakers and car dealers will be restricted to...

Higher power demand and efforts to boost energy security pushed China’s coal production to a record-high level in 2023, ... Chinese coal output rose by 2.9% year-over-year to 4.66 billion metric tons in 2023 ... Coal imports also rose last year, as some domestic mining operations were suspended for some time in 2023 ... Higher demand after the COVID restrictions were lifted and higher domestic coal prices led to record-high coal imports into China, which soared by 61.8% year-on-year to 474.42 million metric tons in 2023, ... In the latter part of 2023, China ramped up coal and natural gas...

Parts of Russian-annexed Crimea were left without electricity on Thursday after an emergency shutdown at a power plant, Russian-installed officials said. It was not clear what caused the shutdown.

On a recent cold winter day, residents of Munich were surprised to see people skiing in the street. Yes, that is how much snow fell in the German city and other parts of Europe during the early winter of 2023-2024. Despite a disruption to both ground and air travel, the Germans survived the freezing weather with access to heating and basic utilities. But not everyone in our world is as fortunate as those living off reliable energy sources in Western economies. Billions of people all over the world do not have access to secure sources of heat and electricity. For...

OPINION The USA, Canada, Australia, Norway and the UK which had the moral responsibility to rapidly phase out oil and gas production are responsible for planned expansion from new oil and gas fields for next decade and half. How can these countries advise India to cut on coal consumption? Our greenhouse gas emission is nearly 3 Giga tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually. We are distant third behind the two top emitters China with 14 Giga tonnes and the US with 8 Giga tonnes Among the important outcomes, COP 28 text proposes to triple renewable energy capacity and double the global...

NERC is a nonprofit organization that oversees the reliability and security of the North American bulk power system. It uses a results-based approach. After conducting their ten-year assessment, NERC sent a grim warning of our energy future. We face a serious electricity shortage beginning in the next few years that will exist for years to come. This isn’t news. It has been clear for some time that the elimination of fossil fuels before there is an adequate power supply to take its place will endanger the safety and security of Americans. It is also obvious that this has been engineered...

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/island-canaries-attempts-100-renewable-grid-doesnt-meet-it-more-25-year Since January 2022, Francis Menton has proposed on his “Manhattan Contrarian” blog an interesting idea regarding the concept of transitioning the electric grid to run entirely without fossil fuels: It might be a good idea that if nations across the world are committing so much money on this transition, it might be a good idea to demonstrate with a pilot project somewhere on Earth that it will actually work. The International Energy Agency, a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation, estimates that global spending on clean energy transition away from fossil fuels to be $1.2 trillion since the start of the...