Free Republic

A new study shows that more than 30% of households in Michigan are going without necessities like food and medicine in order to pay the utility bills. Researchers at lendingtree.com looked at a survey from the U.S. Census Bureau. They found that just over 21% of household in Michigan were unable to pay at least part of one energy bill in the past 12 months. More than 20% of households kept their home at a temperature that felt unsafe or unhealthy due to the high cost of utilities. News 8 spoke with Lending Tree’s chief credit analyst about some of...

MADISON, Wis. — Utility bills for more than 150,000 customers in south-central Wisconsin are about to increase. Madison Gas and Electric is increasing rates by about 9% in January, which will result in customers paying about $8.20 more per month. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approved the price hike Thursday night while also approving MG&E’s request to purchase part of Alliant Energy’s West Riverside Energy Center natural gas plant in Beloit. The move toward clean energy also includes a solar and wind farm. However, the cost of those initiatives has been increased by pandemic- and supply chain-related issues. “This...

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...

Around 22,000 households in Colorado lost the ability to control their thermostats after the power company seized control of them during a heatwave. After temperatures soared past 90 degrees, residents were left confused when they tried to adjust their air conditioning and found locked controls displaying a message that said “energy emergency.” Xcel confirmed to local news station Denver7 that “22,000 customers who had signed up for the Colorado AC Rewards program were locked out of their smart thermostats for hours on Tuesday.” “I mean, it was 90 out, and it was right during the peak period,” Tony Talarico told...

Long-term CTH readers might remember in 2014 when President Obama claimed U.S. families had been paying too little for electricity for too long. As soon as Joe Biden took office, he began implementing the Green New Deal energy policy that, (a) directly forces higher costs for energy; and (b) is now creating massive problems. In July I noted my own electricity bill had jumped 28% in a single month. That bill was followed by another almost identical increase this month. A review of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July [Data Here] shows that nationally the same thing is happening....

At least 20 million households — or about 1 in 6 American homes — are behind on their power bills as soaring electricity prices spark what is said to be the worst-ever crisis in late utility payments.

The European Parliament on Wednesday voted not to block a proposed rule that would designate gas and nuclear power plants as “climate-friendly.” The rule will take effect unless 20 of the European Union’s (EU) 27 member states band together to stop it. The EU keeps a “taxonomy,” or rulebook, that designates which types of energy investment can be labeled “green.” The terminology is considered valuable for marketing purposes and to attract investors looking for climate-friendly projects. “Green” projects are also eligible for favorable government loans, and even outright government subsidies. The taxonomy is supposed to prevent “greenwashing,” loosely defined as...

U.S. power companies are facing supply crunches that may hamper their ability to keep the lights on as the nation heads into the heat of summer and the peak hurricane season. Extreme weather events such as storms, wildfires and drought are becoming more common in the United States. Consumer power use is expected to hit all-time highs this summer, which could strain electric grids at a time when federal agencies are warning the weather could pose reliability issues. Utilities are warning of supply constraints for equipment, which could hamper efforts to restore power during outages. They are also having a...

Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in West Virginia vs. EPA, ruling that the Clean Air Act did not specifically authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Now, any greenhouse gas regulations would need specific authorization from Congress. At issue was the Clean Power Plan (CPP), an EPA regulation promulgated by the Obama administration which mandated that existing coal and natural gas power plants reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. There were many problems with this regulation, some of them were legal, and some of them were practical. Legally Speaking.. The...

Below is the text of a complaint we filed today with the Florida Public Service Commission: This electric utility contacted us a month ago and informed us that power usage in our residence had increased over the past 12 months (How--and Why? We are a couple in our 70's and have lived in this house for 38 years. Nothing has changed. If anything, we have been upgrading to more energy efficient appliances as needed!) At the time of the "notice", our bill under TECO's "averaging" program was a whopping $164.00 per month. If we were ever a day late in...

Dominion Energy Virginia, deliberately ignores the fact that the state’s zero emission law does not work. Utilities are doing this around the country. They will make a fortune building useless wind and solar generation before they finally admit it does not work and have to revive the abolished “power generated when needed.” The Virginia Clean Economy Act, which foolishly mandates zero emissions from electric power generation by 2045. Below is the executive summary of my analysis on Dominion’s VCEA compliance plan, building on the engineering realities I outlined previously. “Reliability means designing for the likely worst case. With conventional generation...

Jean-Pierre made the comment during the White House daily press briefing in response to Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy, who asked why the Biden administration is "now considering shutting down the Line 5 pipeline from Canada to Michigan" while oil and gas prices continue to skyrocket. "So, Peter, that is inaccurate," Jean-Pierre fired back. "That is not right. So any reporting indicating that some decision has been made, again, is not accurate." "What’s inaccurate?" Doocy asked. "The reporting about us wanting to shut down the Line 5," Jean-Pierre responded. "I didn’t say ‘wanting,’" Doocy said. "I said, is...

China’s Manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) fell 0.4 percentage points in October to 49.2—any number below 50 represents a contraction in manufacturing production—according to official figures from the National Bureau of Statistics. The data was worse than expected with market analysts expecting a figure of 49.7. This is the second consecutive month the index has indicated a contraction, and is the lowest the index has been since the onset of the pandemic.Article by Edward Cheng from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times.Perhaps more worryingly, the data shows signs of stagflation—slow economic growth coupled with accelerating inflation. Driven by...

Record-high natural gas prices are prompting more utilities to switch from gas to oil derivatives, fanning the flames of an already strong oil price rally. Yet, another report, also by Reuters, said that other analysts expected a lot of gas-to-oil switching this winter, which would drive oil prices higher and drive some UK energy suppliers out of business. "This has never happened before at such a global scale. The market has always tried to substitute from costly oil to much cheaper natural gas," Reuters quoted a SEB commodity analyst as saying. Now the tables have turned, and both commodities are...

National Guardsmen just completed a two-week training exercise which saw them respond to a simulated cyberattack that took out critical utilities across the United States. The exercises have become an annual event, but this year took on even more significance after coming on the heels of several major ransomware and cyber attacks that crippled large parts of American infrastructure in recent months. The exercises were part of the seventh Cyber Yankee, an training event that brings together guardsmen from throughout the New England region to test their responses against simulated cyberattacks. This year’s exercises simulated a cyber attack that targeted...

One of the disadvantages – or advantages depending on your point of view – of never watching news, local or otherwise, is not knowing what Tom-foolery is afoot. Yesterday for example I heard on the news while driving around that a new rate went into effect yesterday for Consumers Energy, the utility that provides half the state with electricity. Consumers Energy's 1.6 million residential electricity customers began paying 50% more during peak afternoon hours this week in an effort to reduce energy generation in the future.The subsidiary of Jackson-based CMS Energy Corp. has notified its customers in the Lower Peninsula's...

I recently helped elderly mom find a new electric provider through one of the popular website markets. The provider chosen accepted her application and began providing service. But 5 days later she received a letter from them demanding a $500 security deposit or her service would be disconnected. Assuming this letter is legit, is it legal to demand such a hefty security deposit after service is established, instead of assessing credit risk at the time of application? Could they be trying to scam her because of the recent power problems Texas experienced hit them financially? They are saying that the...

The third and last remaining commissioner of the Texas utilities regulator resigned under pressure on Tuesday after the release of comments to investors vowing to protect utility profits and dismissing financial hits from a cold snap on municipal power companies. The resignation came soon after the disclosure of inflammatory comments by the Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D’Andrea in a March 9 call with Bank of America utilities’ analysts. The call took place two days before he was to consider rescinding billions of dollars payment to utilities. His stance against repricing helped sink a proposal this week to cut $4.1...

Billionaire Warren Buffett encouraged investors to maintain their faith in America’s economy and the businesses his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate owns in a reassuring letter to his shareholders Saturday. Buffett hardly even addressed the coronavirus that ravaged many businesses last year, instead focusing on the long-term prospects for the railroad, utility and insurance businesses and stocks that belong to Berkshire Hathaway. But he said U.S. business will thrive over time in spite of the pandemic. “In its brief 232 years of existence, however, there has been no incubator for unleashing human potential like America. Despite some severe interruptions, our country’s economic...

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a proposal to prohibit utility disconnections in regions that are under a state of emergency as part of the 2021 State of the State. The Governor will propose legislation that will apply to electric, gas, water, telecommunications, cable and internet services. Utilities that fail to comply will be subject to penalties.