by Steve St Angelo of SRSrocco Report
If things couldn’t get any worse for struggling Americans this year, electricity prices reached a new all-time high in September. Residential electricity prices surged 20% since the beginning of the year, and will likely continue to increase significantly in the coming years.
And… to make matters even worse, adding more Green Energy of Wind & Solar, will also JACK UP the Electricity prices due to the increased costs associated with highly intermittent Wind & Solar needing expensive Natural Gas generating balancing power to offset the declines when the wind stops blowing and the sun stops shining.
Unfortunately, a quarter of all Americans could face “Energy Emergencies” this winter:
If we get a very cold winter, power grids across the country could come under severe stress due to relying on a great deal more expensive Natural Gas Power. Unfortunately, since 2012, U.S. coal-fired power generation is down a stunning 70% as dozens of coal-fired plants have been retired. This has caused the price of Residential Electricity per Kilowatt Hour to surge this year as natural gas prices have exploded higher due to the Russian-Ukraine war.
What took years to increase, happened in just ONE MONTH as the Average Residential Electricity Cost per Kilowatt Hour jumped from 15.9 cents in August to 16.3 cents in Sept. From 2017 to 2020, it took three years to see a similar increase from 12.9 cents to 13.2 cents per Kilowatt Hour.
As the world hits the ENERGY CLIFF in the next few years, we should get used to much higher Energy Prices across the board. This is why owning Gold & Silver Bullion is extremely important. These metals will protect wealth during a time Energy Price Inflation will wreak havoc on most Americans.
Why Are U.S. Electricity Prices Surging Higher?
Two reasons… 1) Hitting the Energy Cliff, and 2) Transitioning to more Natural Gas & Wind-Solar Power. As I mentioned, U.S. coal-fired power generation has declined a whopping 70% in the past decade. The following chart shows the U.S. Power Generation by Source JAN-SEP 2012 versus 2022.
You will notice Coal-Fired Power has declined the most, with increases coming from Natgas, Wind & Solar. There wasn’t much change in Nuclear and Hydropower. By cutting inexpensive (yes, but polluting) Coal power and adding expensive Natgas, and highly intermittent Wind & Solar, we are setting up the U.S. Power Grid for a Disaster.
We can see the Net change over the past ten years (JAN-SEP):
U.S. Coal-Fired power generation for Jan-Sep 2022 is down 487 Gigawatt Hours (GWh) compared to the same period in 2012, while Natgas is up 315 GWh, Wind (+219 GWh), and Solar (112 GWh). Coal and Nuclear are the cheapest forms of Energy while Natgas, Wind & Solar are the most expensive. And… we cannot ramp up Wind & Solar without more Natural Gas balancing power.
So, I forecast that U.S. Residential Power rates will likely double in the next 3-5 years. And what happens when U.S. natural gas production PEAKS and DECLINES? We have retired so many Coal-Fired Plants, we can’t go back to burning coal because we don’t have the Spare Coal Capacity.
This is why it is essential for Americans to learn how to use less electricity in the future, or they will be paying a much higher Power Bill.