{"id":8095,"date":"2014-09-11T14:10:08","date_gmt":"2014-09-11T19:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=8095"},"modified":"2015-05-26T15:36:37","modified_gmt":"2015-05-26T20:36:37","slug":"good-news-epa-standards-could-lower-electricity-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2014\/09\/11\/good-news-epa-standards-could-lower-electricity-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"Good News: EPA Standards Could Lower Electricity Bills"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Source:<\/a>Millions of Americans are watching their bills more closely as middle-class incomes continue to stagnate in the nation’s uneven economic recovery<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So it’s frustrating to hear opponents of climate action once again use the threat of higher electricity rates as a scare tactic to try to stop the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s\u00a0Clean Power Plan<\/a>.\u00a0We know it has many people concerned.<\/p>\n

The good news is we have more evidence than ever before to prove our opponents wrong.<\/p>\n

We pay the same rates for power now as in 1994<\/b><\/p>\n

Electric rates in the United States have remained steady over the last 20 years,\u00a0even as consumption of renewable energy increased 40 percent, statistics<\/a> from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show. Over the same time, we reduced coal plant emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides by more than 75 percent.<\/p>\n

The power sector has a long history of implementing clean air standards while delivering reliable power and doing so at lower-than-anticipated costs<\/a>. Not surprisingly, EPA\u2019s modeling shows that the average monthly electric bill will be $8 lower <\/a>in 2030\u00a0with the Clean Power Plan than without it.<\/p>\n

So why, then, would fossil fuel interest groups claim that electric bills are going to drastically increase whenever we talk about clean energy and reducing pollution from power plants?<\/p>\n

It comes down to this: The proposed Clean Power Plan will place the first-ever national limits on carbon pollution emitted by power plants in the United States \u2013\u00a0a proposed rule that will shift the market toward clean energy<\/a> and away from the dirtiest power producers and their shareholders.<\/p>\n

Opponents of EPA\u2019s plan point to utility bills \u2013 when it\u2019s really about defeating clean air policies.<\/p>\n

States would need to ramp up carbon-reducing measures such as energy efficiency and installation of renewable energy sources so the power sector as a whole can cut emissions by 30 percent in 2030, from 2005 levels.<\/p>\n

Of course, nobody really opposes clean air. This is why opponents of EPA\u2019s plan point to utility bills \u2013 when it\u2019s really about defeating clean air policies.<\/p>\n

Energy efficiency can save us billions<\/b><\/p>\n

In California, the state\u2019s efficiency standards<\/a> have saved Californians\u00a0$74 billion\u00a0and avoided the construction of more than\u00a030 power plants.<\/p>\n

Now, remember that as our coal fleet continues to age it must be replaced, anyway. The industry is already facing competitive pressure from low- and zero-carbon resources \u2013 with or without new policies.<\/p>\n

New coal-fired power plants are one of the costliest generation options even without considering the significant pollution they generate. If built in the next five years, they would cost<\/a> about 19 percent more than onshore wind, 44 percent more than combined cycle natural gas, and significantly more than energy efficiency measures.<\/p>\n

The energy sector is entering a new era<\/a>, even if some players have yet to get onboard.<\/p>\n

Clean power is already lowering bills<\/b><\/p>\n

The cost of renewable energy has been dropping dramatically and wind is now competitive with coal in some places. The top 10 wind-producing states have average residential electricity prices that are\u00a0lower<\/a> than the national average.<\/p>\n

The Clean Power Plan may just spell out what many in the industry already knew: Fossil fuels are not as cheap as they may seem.\u00a0So why do opponents think they can fool consumers into thinking they\u2019re better off with pollution?<\/p>\n

Beats me. Today, more than ever before, we can show that clean energy is a good deal for you and me.<\/p>\n

Photo source:\u00a0Brendan Wood<\/em><\/p>\n

This post originally appeared on the\u00a0EDF Voices Blog<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Millions of Americans are watching their bills more closely as middle-class incomes continue to stagnate in the nation’s uneven economic recovery. So it’s frustrating to hear opponents of climate action once again use the threat of higher electricity rates as a scare tactic to try to stop the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s\u00a0Clean Power Plan.\u00a0We know …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50208,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,42996,55725,439,254,1,177],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-8095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-california","category-smart-power","category-clean-power-plan","category-climate","category-energy-efficiency","category-uncategorized","category-renewable-energy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGood News: EPA Standards Could Lower Electricity Bills - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2014\/09\/11\/good-news-epa-standards-could-lower-electricity-bills\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Good News: EPA Standards Could Lower Electricity Bills - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Millions of Americans are watching their bills more closely as middle-class incomes continue to stagnate in the nation’s uneven economic recovery. 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