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"Electricity Prices Are Skyrocketing
As Fears Of A Deep Winter Rising"
by Epic Economist
"You’re about to get shocked by this winter’s electricity prices. If you already felt the pinch of soaring energy costs during the summer, get ready, and grab your winter coats, because turning up the heat in the coming months is going to be your next financial pain. Electric grid operators are warning about the highest price spikes since 2006 – even after the longest streak of energy bill increases in decades. Domestic reserves of energy supplies are hitting rock bottom, and everyone in the industry seems extremely anxious about this as temperatures start to drop and demand starts to rise. This also means that U.S. households are vulnerable to experiencing blackouts and shortages at a time they need a reliable source of power the most. The rising costs have been so unbearable for some families that more and more people are getting desperate about the worsening situation, and in some parts of the nation, cases of energy theft are already on the rise. Unfortunately, it’s undeniably clear now that the energy crisis that has been impacting numerous countries across the world over the past year has finally descended upon America, and its repercussions are going to be devastating for all of us.
With inflation running at 8.2% year-over-year, the jump in energy prices for both businesses and homes was more than double the official inflation rate. Yahoo Finances reports that during the first two quarters of the year, Americans were already spending 21% on energy compared to a year prior. The latest data shows another shock. In September, nat gas bills jumped 33%. While these bills are often confusing and filled with a barrage of surcharges and taxes, such as gas recovery and distribution charges as well as taxes, the dramatic increase in electricity bills has been hard for consumers to miss.
The outlook for the next couple of months is quite disturbing, too. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) estimates the average family will pay more than $1,300 to heat their home this winter, a very notable sum considering that nearly 40% of families are already feeling financially strapped, according to a new NPR poll. Needless to say, the months ahead are going to further stretch the budgets of millions of U.S. households who are already being economically destroyed by the recession that’s unfolding before our very eyes.
Earlier this month, prices of natural gas, which account for 40% of the nation’s power generation, were trading about 94% higher than at the start of the year and 370% higher than the 2020 lows. As a result, power generation units at utilities will be even more expensive to operate, and operators will be forced to pass along costs to end users, something that’s worrying everyone in the industry."The rise in home energy costs this winter will put millions of lower-income families at risk of falling behind on their energy bills and having no choice but to make difficult decisions between paying for food, medicine, and rent," said Mark Wolfe, executive director of NEADA.
A winter of discontent and financial chaos is coming for us. The truth is that the greatest energy crisis of our lifetime will continue to accelerate and set the stage for the kind of historic meltdown of catastrophic proportions we’ve been warned about all along. There is no light at the end of the tunnel right now, and it’s safe to say that our leaders are just now realizing the proportions of the mess they’ve caused."
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