By
For more than a year, energy and utilities experts have been warning
that the EPA's proposed "Clean Power Plan" (CPP) will increase
electricity prices and jeopardize the reliability of America's electric
grid. But despite the warnings, President Obama made good recently on a
promise to require steep cuts in carbon dioxide emissions.
Under a new mandate from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
states are now required to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from
the electricity sector by 32 percent (from 2005 levels) by 2030.
Specifically, each state must submit a compliance plan by 2018, with
interim targets set for 2022, and final targets in place by 2030.
What is the president aiming to do? His CPP plan will potentially
lower global CO2 concentrations by less than 1 percent, and all for a
theoretical reduction in temperatures of 0.01 degrees Celsius by the
year 2100.
It may sound like a worthwhile goal to some ardent climate alarmists,
but the price tag for this new set of rules is stunning. The U.S.
Chamber of Commerce estimates the plan's annual cost at $51 billion in lost GDP and 224,000 jobs lost.
...But replacing reliable, affordable energy with more costly, less
reliable sources poses serious consequences for Main Street America.
America depends on coal for roughly 40 percent of its power generation,
and low-cost coal electricity is the principal source of power in 30
states. The industrial Midwest is particularly reliant on coal, and the
greatly increased energy costs posed by the CPP will undoubtedly hurt
manufacturers already struggling to compete against subsidized overseas
producers.
A study of the new EPA plan suggests that, once the new rules are in
place, a family of four could see its home energy bills increase by
hundreds of dollars each year. In fact, the economic toll posed by the
plan could be even more devastating, according to a report commissioned
by the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC). The EPA rules would
reduce GDP by over $2.3 trillion over the next two decades and require
the average family to pay $1,225 more for power and gas in 2030. And, by
2035, the NBCC says "cumulative job losses for Blacks will total about 7
million and for Hispanics will total 12 million."
The implementation of such heavy-handed carbon dioxide regulations
will radically alter the entire U.S. electricity sector, jeopardizing
the reliability of the electric grid and raising costs on hard-working
families, all in the name of reducing global temperatures by a minuscule
fraction of a degree. This is not science. This is not prudent
economics...
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