Lost energy generation due to new EPA regulations seven times higher than original estimate

Last week I was greeted with the news that Unitil customers in New Hampshire will see an average increase in their electricity bill of $42 a month. Of course I was not surprised by this because I remembered that this was what Barack Obama, the self-proclaimed middle class warrior, promised to do to me.

The scary part is this is just the beginning and according to this article a new report shows the loss of generating capacity due to impending EPA regulations is going to be seven times higher than the original estimate.

Power plants generating 72 gigawatts (GW) of electricity in 37 states have either closed or are scheduled to shut their doors to comply with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, according to the Institute for Energy Research (IER). The loss of generating capacity is “over seven times the amount originally predicted by EPA modeling,” IER’s updated report, released October 7, noted. “Originally, EPA calculated that only 9.5 GW of electrical generating capacity would close as a result of its MATS (Mercury and Air Toxics Standard) and CSAPR (Cross State Air Pollution Rule) rules,” the report stated. “Before President Obama’s newly proposed [carbon dioxide] regulations on existing power plants even begin to take effect, however, it is clear that actual number will now be much higher,” the report continued, adding that the closures will take “enough electrical generation capacity to reliably power 44.7 million homes – or every home in every state west of the Mississippi, excluding Texas” off the grid.

And, also as promised, 94% of the plants which shut down were coal-fired plants. Coal plants provide the nation with 1/5th of its power and this loss is going to have a devastating effect on the price of energy, as my next electric bill is going to show. And we ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

It looks as if Barack Obama’s agenda is moving forward much more quickly than he could have possibly hoped for in his wildest dreams…