Rising cost of power, plus growing demand, could lead to blackouts

WASHINGTON – Gasoline at $4 per gallon is blasting a gaping hole in family finances, but more pain is on the way for millions of Americans in the form of skyrocketing electricity rates.

It is essential that U.S. policy makers focus on the critical link between increasing electricity demand, power costs and climate change goals.


Our political leaders should develop a national energy policy that funds the development of new technologies to keep electricity affordable while meeting climate change goals. Otherwise, a growing number of Americans won’t be able to pay for power and many will be at risk of rolling blackouts and brownouts.

In the last five years, utility bills have risen 30 percent, largely because of the cost of fuel. In California, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, Virginia, Texas and elsewhere, consumers are girding for higher electricity rates. The price of coal