Obama Hits Struggling Americans With Energy Rate Hikes

Following Barack Obama’s vow to “bankrupt” the coal power industry, Americans are set to be hit with a wave of utility bill hikes as draconian EPA regulations drive up the cost of energy while General Electric, one of Obama’s biggest campaign donors, gets a waiver and is completely exempt.

New EPA rules dictate that utility companies will be forced to spend an initial outlay of $800 million dollars to conform with the regulations that mandate “harmful” emissions be reduced under the Clean Air Act.

Groups like the Edison Electric Institute warn that the new rules eventually “cost utilities up to $129 billion and force them to retire one-fifth of coal capacity,” prompting a wave of coal plant shutdowns.

The new rules will exacerbate the problem of rolling blackouts, warns Donna Nelson, head of the Texas Public Utility Commission.