If you think the worst of energy-driven inflation is over, you’re unfortunately very wrong. While prices at the gas pump have settled from mid-summer highs, electricity bills are soaring on the back of surging natural gas prices. Regulators, grid operators and utilities are warning that the nation’s power supply is growing alarmingly less reliable.
Europe’s energy crisis is pulling prices up and destabilizing markets everywhere. Since the United States is now the world’s largest liquefied natural gas exporter, U.S. consumers are having to compete against energy-desperate European buyers. European electricity prices have soared so high, they’re equivalent to $1,000 per barrel oil.
In Britain, the government announced that energy bills are going to jump 80% in October after nearly doubling earlier this year.
Britain’s National Health Service has warned of a “humanitarian crisis” from this surge in prices, with millions potentially pushed into poverty. The U.S. is flirting with a similar disaster.
Across Europe, governments have disassembled balanced electricity mixes, closed their coal fleets and increasingly exposed themselves to a natural gas market dominated by Vladimir Putin. Now, European leaders are scrambling to bring coal capacity out of retirement. Germany is allowing 21 coal plants to restart or work past planned closing dates and is prioritizing coal trains over passenger traffic to ensure that power plants get the fuel they need.
If Europe can navigate this energy crisis, it will be in no small part because of coal. But U.S. policymakers seem fixed on ignoring the ramifications of dismantling the balance in our own electricity mix.
The Inflation Reduction Act, which was marketed as an answer to energy inflation, paired with an onslaught of regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is poised to push much of the U.S. coal fleet off the grid nearly overnight.
Coal plants meet nearly a quarter of the nation’s power demand, providing a critical source of balance to our use of natural gas — balance that is vitally important during winter months when natural gas struggles to meet the dual demands of electricity generation and home heating needs. Yet that balance is under grave threat, and Americans will soon be increasingly exposed to a far more expensive and volatile natural gas market.
Natural gas prices are at 14-year highs, quintupling from where they were as recently as the fall of 2020. Power prices are beginning to surge, and winter is coming fast. Already, more than 20 million American households have fallen behind on their utility bills.
And now there’s deep and growing concern Americans are going to be paying far more for a far less reliable supply of power.
Even before the disrupting pressures of the Inflation Reduction Act and the EPA’s new regulatory agenda, reliability experts sounded the alarm about the pace of America’s energy transition, the loss of essential, on-demand power plants, and the challenges of replacing them. Several utilities have already delayed coal plant closures for fear of not being able to keep the lights on.
This summer, nearly two-thirds of the country was at elevated risk of power shortages and rolling blackouts for lack of needed capacity during periods of high demand.
There are no quick fixes for the energy affordability and reliability crises now gripping the country, but an important first step is to stop the bleeding.
Congress must act with urgency to ensure the coal fleet can maintain its role as a reliability and affordability backstop.
Now is the moment for Congress to provide regulatory relief, push back on EPA’s dangerous agenda, and work with utilities and regulators to ensure we don’t lose the invaluable fuel diversity that has long-shielded consumers from price spikes. Europe’s unfolding humanitarian crisis is one we must avoid.
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Remembering a bumper sticker from the ’70’s popular in Wyoming.. “Ban mining. Let the ******** freeze in the dark.” Prophetic, eh?
THe left seems to have taken that as a suggestion. NOT A Dire warning.
It’s almost believable that Biden, working hand in hand with Putin, right after getting elected, shut down America’s ability to keep Europe warm in the winter to allow the Russians to invade Ukraine with the Eurpeans placed into a forced posture of energy reliance and dependency on Putin, leaving Ukraine militarily defunded, by NATO, and deprived of the long range attack capability needed to bring Putin and his Black sea fleet to his knees. As the cold winter sets in, just watch Germany and others wilt in military support for Ukraine, kissing Putin’s backside for natural gas and heating oil. Just like when the Germans and even Napoleon invaded Russia, record cold winters were divinely sent to teach the lessons of clinging to evil greed, power and self interest. Had Trump been elected they could have stayed warm while Americva got greater and richer in fuel sales. Not with the Biden Crime family running the show, it will go to 30 below.
I certainly wouldn’t be shocked to find out this was ALL arranged with biden and putin..
The purposeful destruction of the middle class by the communists in Washington and we, the no longer middle class and the poor will be eating out of dumpsters. Liberalism or the warp speed drive to make the United States Venezuela. Starvation and freezing houses in the winter await the poor and middle class!!!!!
Funny how all this started when Biden took office. This is no accident. It is by design. This is part of the “transition” away from fossil fuels which is based on a man-made climate change hoax. This is how stupid are leaders are. Force people to buy electric cars when there is no way to charge them all. At the same time eliminate the fossil fuels that are used to produce most of the electricity. Not to mention most of the components for electric cars come from China.
AND USES child slave labor to acquire… A FACT THE nutters on the left, ALWAYS seem to ignore.
Unfortunately, our leaders are not stupid. Evil, yes. Beyond all we can imagine. But stupid, no.
Next time you get your oil, natural gas or whatever the ILLEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT has forced you into using to keep your home warm/cool and/or heat your water THANK YOUR NEAREST DEMONRAT!! ALSO THANK THEM FOR FORCING A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS INTO GOING BACK TO BURNING WOOD/COAL BECAUSE IT’S THE ONLY AFFORDABLE WAY TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOAL OF KEEPING THEIR FAMILIES WARM/COOL FOR THE NEXT 2 PLUS YEARS OF BARELY THERE BRANDON’S ILLEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT SQUATTING AT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC’S EXPENSE!!!! Nothing like moving backwards in life due to someone else’s UNMITIGATED STUPIDITY!!