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Lack of diversity in the energy sector will cost the average family $2,100 annually, according to a study by IHS. The direct costs that people see will not be so apparent as the $64 to $72 a month to the average family's electrical bill. The costs will be spread throughout everything their money goes towards, because when energy costs rise, the costs for every product and service rises with it.
The Obama admin's war on coal and push for renewables are two of the reasons why we are seeing this lack of diversity in the energy sector.
IHS compared a base case power supply mix (the U.S. generation mix from 2010 to 2012) with a reduced diversity case in order to evaluate economic implications. The latter applied a combination of current trends—depressed wholesale power prices, proposed environmental regulations and a focus on renewable and natural gas-fired generation—to the U.S. generation mix. Most notably, natural gas-fired capacity would increase from 26.6 percent to 61.7 percent in the reduced diversity scenario.
After three years of such a shift, the resulting power price changes would result in a drop in real disposable income per household of about $2,100, a reduction of an estimated 1,100,000 jobs and a decline in real gross domestic product of 1.2 percent, according to IHS.
No one is talking about public tax policy changes that would raise taxes on the people by $2,000 a month, but the federal government's tax and regulatory policies are going to have the exact same outcome.
So when Obama said his energy plan would mean "electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket" he's either too ignorant to know that this will be devastating for poor families, and those families currently living from paycheck to paycheck, because the the costs for everything will rise exponentially. Or Obama is smart enough to realize hoe devastating this will be, but he does not give a crap.
Don't be so quick to dismiss Obama's short-sighted ignorance.
Then again, once he was informed of the disastrous consequences his energy policies would have on the poor and middle income families, you are probably correct, in that he'd still not give a crap. Obama's agenda will always come first.
So when Obama said his energy plan would mean "electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket" he's either too ignorant to know that this will be devastating for poor families, and those families currently living from paycheck to paycheck, because the the costs for everything will rise exponentially. Or Obama is smart enough to realize hoe devastating this will be, but he does not give a crap.
Yep, but who cares. Let them suffer the consequences of their vote.
Strange my electric bills are down from last year, oh well don't let that get in the way of your rant.
I cite a study conducted by a reputable group and you act as if it's my rant?
Typical response that I'd expect from you.
Is it okay, as long you think things are fine in your little corner of heaven, so the rest of the people can go to hell?
I'll have to try and talk some common sense into your head.
The study is talking about a lack of energy diversity. It outlines the folly of putting too many of your eggs into one basket. Ever hear about investment managers discussing the need for people to diversify their investments? The same is true with energy.
If we invest too heavily in hydroelectric, and we experience a drought, our electricity costs will soar.
If we invest too heavily in wind and solar, and we experience weeks during the winter with fog, gray overcast and no wind, our electricity costs will soar.
If we rely too much on natural gas, and prices spike, supplies run low, our electricity costs will soar.
If the train operators drive up transportation costs, or the river barges cannot make their deliveries of coal, due to ice or low water levels, or if EPA regulations close down your coal-fired power plants, our electricity costs will soar.
If your area was using a form of energy that was not negatively impacted during the recent winter cold created by the polar vortex, then you would not have see a change in electricity costs, but that does not hold true for everyone.
“Coal kept us from shedding load and experiencing blackouts,” said Michael Steffes, president and CEO of ACES, a nationwide energy management company owned by cooperatives.
“This winter tested the limits of the bulk electric system.”
Winter 2013-14 saw the bulk electric system hit an 11-year low in energy storage, and record peaks in four major regional transmission organizations, Steffes told the forum May 5 at the 2014 NRECA Legislative Conference.
If we allow Obama and his administration to continue their regulatory war against coal, then maybe the next really cold winter season we will experience rolling blackouts. But the road liberal progressives are setting us on will shrink our energy diversity, as we foolishly rely more increasingly on green energy, and taking fossil fuel power plants off line prematurely.
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