Free Republic

U.S. electric rates are going up. In Missouri, Ameren increased residential power bills by 11% less than two years ago, and now it is seeking another 15% increase, per the Public Service Commission (PSC). According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), rate increases were experienced in 43 American states between 2023 and 2024. The EIA also reported record rate increases between 2021 and 2024 projections. In California, the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) was granted six rate increases in 2024. Local ABC 30 Action News reported that The Utility Reform Network estimated that residents had experienced a $50...

California is doing all it can to expand renewable energy production and rebuild its electrical infrastructure after flaws led to a series of devastating wildfires. The state’s big utilities are spending billions to bury power lines and insulate wires, while at the same time moving quickly away from fossil fuels by building big solar and wind farms and transmission lines to carry the power. As a result, resident Jessica Simpson Nehrer, who lives in Borrego Springs, near San Diego, has seen her electricity bill for her ranch-style house soar. It hit $1,873.90 in June, far exceeding her $1,200 rent and...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ‘correct’ data they don’t like, and ‘fail to archive the evidence’ — they are frauds in the eyes of many. Former top NOAA scientist, Dr. John Bates, led the agency’s climate data records program for ten years. Since his time at the agency, however, Bates has spoken of data tampering and serious malfeasance; specifically, he accuses NOAA of publishing a flawed report which supposedly disproved the pause observed in global warming between 1998 to 2012. Bates charges that study’s lead author, NOAA official Tom Karl, with using unverified data sets, ignoring mandatory agency...

Already struggling with a doubling of gas prices, massive food price increases at the grocery store and the pain of all costs for goods far outpacing any rate of wage increase, this type of uncontrollable increase in price of electricity is going to hit the middle class hard. Steve Cortes, a former aide to President Donald Trump, calls this the “backside of the Biden-created inflation hurricane.” The backside of a hurricane is the worst because it hits from the opposite direction upon already weakened infrastructure. The hurricane metaphor is apt because any increase in energy costs will be accompanied by...

The last thing consumers want to hear is an increase in power costs this summer following the news last week of rising threats of rolling blackouts across half of the US. Tight supplies of natural gas, crude, and coal have pushed up residential electricity rates this year. A nationwide weather outlook for this summer forecasts extreme heat — all of this will force households to crank up their air conditions, resulting in oversized power demand that could stress national grids. Bloomberg cites new data from Barclays Plc that says monthly power bills could be 40% more than last year’s. The...

FRANKLIN, MN—Amid growing frustration with lights being left on around the house, local father James Darabont sat his kids down to demonstrate how to flip a light switch to the "Off" position. The two-hour lecture and workshop went over when to turn a light switch off (always) and how to manipulate your fingers to accomplish such a task. "When you commit to a flipping action," said Mr. Darabont, "you must make sure the light switch goes alllll the way down. If you do not commit fully to the action, the switch may not fully click in the 'down' position. This...

“Once real numbers have come out about renewable energy costs, people are having second thoughts,” reported Maureen Masten, Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources and Senior Advisor on Energy to Governor Bob McDonnell, VA,  while addressing his “all of the above energy” strategy to meet the state’s energy needs. The real costs of renewable energy are coming out—both in dollars and daily impacts. After years of hearing about “free” energy from the sun and wind, people are discovering that they’ve been lied to.On Tuesday, August 14, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) approved a new renewable energy rate rider that...

Ontario families already grappling with $1-a-litre at the pumps and higher natural gas prices are about to get squeezed again, this time on their electricity bill. Last year's blistering hot summer and the rising cost of powering the province means Toronto households will be paying an average of 5.8 per cent or $81 more over the next year to keep the lights on and air conditioners humming under new rates, effective May 1, unveiled yesterday by the Ontario Energy Board. Toronto got off relatively easy. The impact on homeowners bills will vary wildly across the province, depending on what local...