Obama’s war on coal hits your electric bill

Obama’s war on coal hits your electric bill
Fox News -- May 22, 2012


Many power companies that use coal will have to convert to gas by 2015.

A report says to look for massive price increases as a result.

Obama’s War on Coal has already taken a remarkable toll on coal-fired power plants in America.

Last week the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a shocking drop in power sector coal consumption in the first quarter of 2012. Coal-fired power plants are now generating just 36 percent of U.S. electricity, versus 44.6 percent just one year ago.

It’s the result of an unprecedented regulatory assault on coal that will leave us all much poorer.

Last week PJM Interconnection, the company that operates the electric grid for 13 states (Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia) held its 2015 capacity auction. These are the first real, market prices that take Obama’s most recent anti-coal regulations into account, and they prove that he is keeping his 2008 campaign promise to make electricity prices “necessarily skyrocket.”

The market-clearing price for new 2015 capacity – almost all natural gas – was $136 per megawatt. That’s eight times higher than the price for 2012, which was just $16 per megawatt. In the mid-Atlantic area covering New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and DC the new price is $167 per megawatt. For the northern Ohio territory served by FirstEnergy, the price is a shocking $357 per megawatt.

Why the massive price increases? Andy Ott from PJM stated the obvious: “Capacity prices were higher than last year's because of retirements of existing coal-fired generation resulting largely from environmental regulations which go into effect in 2015.” Northern Ohio is suffering from more forced coal-plant retirements than the rest of the region, hence the even higher price.

Are you ready to sacrifice ??

I am no tree huger or big GOV kind of person.

But in America our natural reserve for natural gas has doubled in the past 5 years.

Natural gas is dirt cheap compared to coal / oil right now.

Much cheaper for public transport if all city buses and trucks were converted to run on natural gas

But I don't believe we should FORCE a company in that direction.

These are not computer models or projections or estimates. These are the actual prices that electric distributors have agreed to pay for new capacity. The costs will be passed on to consumers at the retail level.

This is a sure fire way to start instant riots. When my town gets that 1st bill that's 8X higher than it is now, which is really high, there will be a stampede at the local power plants.

We can barely afford the very little electricity we use now, lots of candle light in our future.

Makes sense too, seeing how we invaded an area with lots of natural gas reserves.
Yeah, business as usual.

I already feel it. I swear it damn near doubled right when it started to warm up. Which is weird because we were no longer using heat and still to early to use AC. Friends and family around the area also noticed. I don't exaggerate when I say close to doubled. I hate to see how much worse this gets!

It is hard to believe its 2012 and we still have these acid rain, mercury producing pollution monsters creating any of our power. You can thank China and the US for most of your world coal polluting.

Originally posted by MrSpad
It is hard to believe its 2012 and we still have these acid rain, mercury producing pollution monsters creating any of our power. You can thank China and the US for most of your world coal polluting.

What affordable, and readily available technology do you have to replace it with? How will millions of Americans be able to afford to heat and cool their homes?

Originally posted by xuenchen

Are you ready to sacrifice ??

Noooo...
let our kids and grandkids sacrifice.
I don't like to do responsible stuff...more coal!!!

Originally posted by MsAphrodite

What affordable, and readily available technology do you have to replace it with? How will millions of Americans be able to afford to heat and cool their homes?

lets make these things


and put a bunch of them here

Look, the whole point to driving cost of energy services so high is to make the green alternatives more affordable. But considering I've heard of solar panels being made for about $40, it's looking like a good deal the more often I think about it. lol

I think it's time for an American Citizen bailout !

I say make all gasoline and electric bills 100% tax deductible for everybody that pays taxes !!

Originally posted by CynicalDrivel
Look, the whole point to driving cost of energy services so high is to make the green alternatives more affordable. But considering I've heard of solar panels being made for about $40, it's looking like a good deal the more often I think about it. lol

Can that $40 panel produce and store enough power to equal standard house current 24 hours a day ?

I wonder if that technology can be installed nationwide right now ?

Originally posted by MrSpad
It is hard to believe its 2012 and we still have these acid rain, mercury producing pollution monsters creating any of our power. You can thank China and the US for most of your world coal polluting.

I wonder.

How much pollution is generated in the production of "Green" technology ?

A lot of mining of rare Earth materials is necessary.

A lot of oil is needed for the plastics.

Just to name two possible problems.

Let the sick and the elderly die because they cannot afford to keep their homes at a safe temperature. It will be good for Americans to set an example of sacrifice for the cause.

Obama from 2008 !!!!!!!!

I think Obama must have gotten too many lumps of coal in his Christmas Stockings when he was a kid


YouTube Caption:

Barack Obama: "Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket." (January 2008)

Obama: My Plan Makes Electricity Rates Skyrocket

The Chickens are com'n home !!

Winter bills should be interesting in the northern center states, for those that might be on electric heat

The cold that we get on the prairies, doesn't stop with the border......
Those poor people are going to freeze, or be very broke, this coming winter

reply to post by MsAphrodite


Sick and elderly? How about most everyone!!!!!
If that were to happen, I couldn't even afford to run a fan, let alone the A/C....
My bills are already higher than they were last year.....per amount of electricity used.
Prices of everything will skyrocket.


This will bankrupt Michigan...we'll look like N Korea at night :shk:

Thanks, mr. president

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


Yes you will be miserable, and perhaps even become ill as a result, but most likely will not die. Your sacrifice for the cause will be most appreciated. Think of the example you will be setting for the Chinese. I'm not sure they will follow your lead when they see how altruistic you are being, but one can Hope.

Originally posted by CynicalDrivel
Look, the whole point to driving cost of energy services so high is to make the green alternatives more affordable. But considering I've heard of solar panels being made for about $40, it's looking like a good deal the more often I think about it. lol

The problem with abruptly making people pay 5, 10, 20 times what they are now is the "knee jerk" reaction to do something like solar or wind. There is only so much manufacturing capacity and specialized machinery so it will be a matter of supply & demand setting the prices. If you are not prepared in advance you will have to drastically cut your consumption and still be paying double or triple what you pay now. That will cut into most people's ability to purchase an alternative power source once it does become available.

Kill coal but Obama has also killed natural gas production and of course the gestapo EPA will "nudge" toward alternative energy and of course all those great solar panels made by the "solyndra's" whoops that went bankrupt will be made cheaper elsewhere like oh say China.

At the same time Obama gives American monies to foreign corporations to drill down in Brazil etc. the dude is clueless as the come.

The church of climatology is pushing forward with the same rap that have since the days of Carter alternative energies have been around for over 5 decades and it still can not compete with fossil fuels.

Just goes to show some people will do everything they can to back a loser.

I guess they can't wait to get the revolution started.
Anything they can do to screw the middle class.
How is polluting our underground water by fracking going to help anything?
The Department of Energy is becoming America's public enemy #1.
Government used to be laughable, then they were annoying, now they're just dangerous.
There is a chance this can be stopped however -

The Senate will have a critical opportunity to do just that when it votes on stopping Obama’s most expensive anti-coal regulation sometime in the next couple of weeks. The vote is on the Inhofe Resolution, S.J. Res 37, to overturn the so-called Utility MACT rule, which the EPA itself acknowledges is its most expensive rule ever. Read more: www.foxnews.com...

Let's hope, otherwise the revolution will start in Cleveland.