HIGHER ELECTRIC BILLS = MORE POVERTY

The high cost of rate hikes

October 7, 2014 (The Post and Courier)

“…[A] 2.92 percent price hike this month [for South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. customers obligated to pay for the ongoing construction of two nuclear plants to the tune of $9.8 billion] is the seventh [power price] jump since 2009…[P]ower rates have climbed 23.9 percent over the last five years, and…[according to Plenty at Stake: Indicators of American Energy Insecurity by Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, found a] 10 percent increase in household energy costs leads to approximately 840,000 people across the U.S. being pushed into poverty…

“…[M]illions more people have to spend more than 10 percent of their income on home energy…[and] an increasing number of people have to decide whether to pay their energy bill instead food or medical care…[The Senators] hope that their data about the impact of energy costs on people will promote a discussion about what should be done at the federal level…Affordable energy is a better option than financial assistance, they argue]…Most, but not all, of SCE&G's recent rate hikes have been to cover [nuclear plant construction] costs…But sustainable alternative sources can, and should, be the focus of more efforts…” click here for more

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