According to a USA TODAY analysis, electricity rates across the
country have skyrocketed during the last five years. The average
household paid $1,419 for electricity in 2010 — the fifth yearly
increase in a row. Electricity costs now consume a greater
portion of Americans’ after- tax income, the most since 1996.
Government policy is the major reason electricity costs are
increasing faster than the rate of inflation. The U.S. EPA has
waged war on conventional forms of electricity generation and
consumers are paying the price. Approximately 60 percent of the
electricity generated in the country comes from coal-fired power
plants, many of which are being retired due to onerous new EPA
regulations. Consumers Energy reported earlier this month that
it was ending its plan to build a new coal plant near Bay City
and will retire seven other plants around the state in the
coming years. None of this should come as a surprise to
consumers. Indeed, President Barack Obama publicly stated that
his energy policy would caus