Data is always handy for measuring where things are and will be, and the federal government’s energy statistics are painting an ugly picture of the present and future when it comes the loud push to electrify all of our useful, well-functioning appliances.
Data is always handy for measuring where things are and will be, and the federal government’s energy statistics are painting an ugly picture of the present and future when it comes the loud push to electrify all of our useful, well-functioning appliances.
The sad part is the policies behind those misguided efforts are already costing Americans and forcing those in poverty or on fixed incomes to make choices between heating their homes or having enough food in the coming winter. That unacceptable situation comes in a winter fraught with the increasingly real risk of blackouts in the dead of the 2023-24 winter for 50% of the country.
The annual Consumer Energy Alliance winter energy costs analysis finds that Americans would have paid $137.4 billion more for their home heating and energy bills this winter if plans to mandate the use of electricity only for heating, cooling and cooking had been in place. Thankfully, those efforts have so far failed at the federal level and families that have energy options, including the use of natural gas, will benefit by saving an estimated 21% this winter.
The $137.4 billion figure comes from residential energy cost data the Department of Energy is legally required to update every year, and slipped out the back door with a Federal Register item in August.
This DOE report shows a stunning 32% average price increase, ranging from 16% to 55%, since 2021 for electricity, natural gas, heating oil, propane and kerosene. This is certainly nothing to brag about, and politically risky.
