Many greenies have been clamoring for stricter regulation of coal burning power plants but at the same time haven’t offered any viable alternatives (except for the few who support nuclear energy). As there is money to be made in slapping “green” on every product and charging more for it I’m not surprised companies and government officials have been catering to these environmentalists. A problem arises though when governments place regulations on private industries, the price of that industry’s products and services goes up because compliance with regulations is a very expensive business. This is exactly what is happening with the power production market:
Consumers could see their electricity bills jump an estimated 40 to 60 percent in the next few years.
The reason: Pending environmental regulations will make coal-fired generating plants, which produce about half the nation’s electricity, more expensive to operate. Many are expected to be shuttered.
The increases are expected to begin to appear in 2014, and policymakers already are scrambling to find cheap and reliable alternative power sources.
Anybody who understands the damages done by government interference in the market could have told you this was the only possible outcome. By making coal plants more expensive to run the government has effectively increased your taxes by forcing power companies to put the additional cost of compliance onto you.
Many of the people who claim we need greener technologies (without actually offering viable ideas for creating such technologies at an affordable cost) also claim the government needs to step in an help the poor. How the fuck is this working out for you guys? The people most affected by increased costs due to government regulations are the poor. By advocating regulations that negatively impact power production you’ve caused a need to increase power rates and thus have ensure those who can barley afford electricity now are unlikely to afford it when the cost goes up by 60 percent to pay for compliance with your beloved regulations. Great job idiots.