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FBN’s Gerri Willis on the reasons why more and more Americans are facing hikes in their electric bills.
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Remember the promise of Green energy.
We use the power of mother nature herself to fuel our homes in our vehicles.
Wind turbines solar panels electric cars would transform our lives and light their bills when it came to paying for energy.
Come by act.
Now I wish that were true -- the reality at least sixteen utilities covering more than six million customers.
Are trying to raise consumer rates by at least 5%.
Almost half of them want to increase 10% or more.
That's according to the Daily Beast now American Electric Power serves millions of customers from Virginia the Kentucky Ohio West Virginia.
Those customers are getting killed here over the last few years.
Rates have skyrocketed by nearly 88%.
And will rise another 35% by 2014.
And in Wyoming thousands of customers of rocky mountain power we'll see their bills go up not once but twice this year can you imagine.
This spring they went up 2% in last month the customer -- 8% rate hike.
Heading south -- 17% 17%.
Increase since in the works.
For Duke Energy cannot come -- customers and gulf power in Florida working on forcing a 10% increase on its customers.
Alaska is an exempt those residents are seeing a 24%.
Hike.
Obviously those numbers are mind boggling especially since in the ninety's and early two thousands electric bills only rose by about a percent.
So why the big hikes now.
Well the review sites two big reasons for one.
The power -- simply can't keep up with modern demand as more people use more stuff like appliances computers gadgets.
American Electric Power predicts rolling brownouts has demand is expected to grow by 44% over the next few decades.
But the biggest reason is what I mentioned at the top of the segment.
More government regulation.
The Environmental Protection Agency the -- -- existence for utility companies it's forcing these businesses to shut their coal plants and invest millions and millions into removing toxins from the air.
Look -- states are getting in on the regulation party.
More than half of them are imposing new clean energy standards requiring utilities to feed in renewable resources.
Now to be sure I'm not advocating for a pollution I'd like to breathe clean air is much the next person.
But what has -- really fired up here are these unintended consequences of government regulation.
And may be unintended but they're not unknown first the -- the one to regulate the health care industry remember obamacare.
And now we're getting -- higher costs and fewer options when it comes to seeing the doctor going to the hospital.
Then they went after banks and we got higher feats.
Now other telling power companies had to do business and we're getting higher bills.
Government is costing us personally and as a nation it's time we unwound the regulatory morass that is strangling business and -- our future.
You don't have to look far to see the government isn't the solution.
Now it's a problem.
