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Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas may face a triple-whammy on energy bills
KANSAS (KSNT) – With the possibility of federal tax credits being repealed, low energy assistance programs on the chopping block and Evergy seeking a rate hike, Kansans face a triple-whammy when it comes to energy bills. Several studies from this year indicate the average electric bill for families could rise as much as $400 under Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' (OBBBA), according to The Independent. The Clean Energy Buyer's Association (CEBA) raised the red flags in a recently commissioned report on May 15 on the repeal of federal energy tax credits. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget reports that under the bill, $249 billion in energy investment, production and manufacturing credits would be phased out. Additionally, the bill would strip funding for various environmental projects. Cutting federal investment and production tax credits could raise electricity and natural gas prices and lead to an economic slowdown, according to the CEBA. The report claims that cutting the credits could lower household incomes in 19 states between 2026 and 2032. What to know for Germanfest 2025 in Topeka 'If these tax credits disappear, American households and businesses in both red and blue states would experience economic harm,' CEBA CEO Rich Powell wrote in the report from May 15. 'This is not a partisan issue. Americans voted to combat the cost-of-living crisis in the 2024 election. Now is the time for Congress to incentivize private investment in more sources of low-cost, reliable energy that fuels economic growth and jobs, helps the United States secure energy dominance and independence, and decreases energy costs nationwide.' Kansas could lose 5,250 jobs and see energy prices increase 14.3% for households and 16.7% for businesses, according to CEBA. CEBA also reported that Kansas could see an average loss of $420 in household incomes and a $600 million decrease in state GDP. 27 News reached out to Evergy to see what federal tax credits they receive, have applied for, and whether they'll lose them under the OBBBA. The company didn't answer questions regarding tax credits but said it's working with the Edison Electric Institute to see how changes in legislation would impact the industry. 'The bill is not final and predicting what effect it may have on prices is unknowable given the changing nature of generation sources and increased usage,' Evergy spokesperson Gina Penzig wrote. Car insurance rates in Kansas and the impact of traffic violations Evergy has submitted a request with the Kansas Corporation Commission for $196.4 million, or an 8.62% rate increase, to cover the cost of increased operating expenses. If the proposal is approved as-is, the new electric rates would take hold in September 2025. Residential customers could see an average monthly increase of $13.05. Evergy will be holding public hearings on the rate hike proposals later this month. Those aren't the only things that could hurt wallets. On Tuesday, April 1, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) terminated the employment of everyone working on the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), according to a now-former employee. Kansas's Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) helped distribute funds from LIHEAP to lower-income families under the Department of Children and Families. Those programs won't be continued under the OBBBA, according to the Independent. Free driving school for teens coming to Topeka 'To date, the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) has not received information from federal partners about any potential impacts to Kansas' Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP),' DCF Deputy Director of Media Relations Erin La Row told 27 News in April. 'The current LIEAP application period ended on March 31, 2025. DCF continues to process applications and draw down federal funds as usual at this time.' 27 News checked back with DCF on June 5 for a status update on LIEAP. La Row said DCF still hasn't received any updates from its federal partners. For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Republican push to cut green tax credits would raise utility bills, new data shows
As House Republicans propose taking a sledgehammer to the green tax credits in Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, new data shows the loss of those incentives could lower some Americans' household income by more than $1,000 a year due to increased utility bills and job losses. Though Donald Trump has called climate spending a 'waste' of money, the data – published by the industry group Clean Energy Buyers Association (Ceba) on Thursday – provides evidence that rescinding them would actually increase expenses for ordinary Americans in red and blue districts alike. The rollback would increase the price of electricity and gas, the report found. And it would lead to job losses and 'economic slowdown', it says. 'Americans voted to combat the cost-of-living crisis in the 2024 election,' said Rich Powell, CEO of Ceba. 'Now is the time for Congress to incentivize private investment in more sources of low-cost, reliable energy that fuels economic growth and jobs, helps the United States secure energy dominance and independence, and decreases energy costs nationwide.' The new figures, crunched for Ceba by the National Economic Research Associates consulting firm, focus specifically on credits 48E and 45Y, for clean energy investment and production respectively. In a reconciliation package draft this week, the House ways and means committee proposed phasing out these incentives after 2031, and placing many new restrictions on them in the meantime. If the rollbacks proceed as proposed, the new study found, at least 19 states would see the cost of energy increase for both consumers and industry between 2026 to 2032. (More states would likely see similar impacts, but the authors did not examine all 50 'because of the turnaround time for research', Ceba said). New Jersey is the state expected to see the biggest economic losses if the clean energy investment and production credits are repealed, the authors found. There, the authors found the rollback could increase household gas and utility bills by 2.9% and 13.3% respectively. The repeal would also trigger the loss of 22,180 jobs, they found. All told, households across the state would see a stunning $1,040 average loss in annual household income and a $3.24bn decrease in state GDP, the authors wrote. 'As commercial and industrial activity declines, demand for labor and capital falls, leading to wage losses, declining household income, and shrinking investment,' the research says. The authors' outlooks for state-level electricity markets assumes an incremental growth in electricity demand due to the growth of data centers. Some of Ceba's members are tech giants – including Amazon, Google and Meta – who are bringing more data centers online. An earlier Ceba report, published in February, forecasted the effect on electricity prices alone across all 50 states. If the clean energy investment and production credits are repealed, the average American household would see their annual household utility bills increase by $110 by 2026, it found. Wyoming would see the largest rise of 29.5% on average for households across the state, the earlier report found.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Repealing energy tax credits would raise electricity costs, study says
This story was originally published on Utility Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Utility Dive newsletter. Repealing technology-neutral clean energy tax credits would raise the cost of energy for consumers and industry across 19 states from 2026 to 2032 by increasing reliance on natural gas generation sources that have constrained availability, according to a new study released Thursday by the Clean Energy Buyers Association. Republicans in Congress have targeted the tax credits for early phase-out as they seek to fulfill President Donald Trump's campaign promises to extend certain tax cuts and repeal clean energy incentives the president has derided as a 'scam.' The study found that energy-intensive sectors such as iron and steel, chemicals, cement, aluminum and nonferrous metals would be hardest hit. CEBA's members include many of the technology giants, such as Amazon, Google and Meta, whose data centers and AI models are largely driving the increase in electricity demand. 'They are very concerned that if we don't handle this rising electricity demand in a very, very responsible way, that we're going to see very high electricity price increases both for our own businesses and for our customers,' CEBA CEO Rich Powell said in an interview. He said many CEBA member companies are in 'growth mode,' pouring huge investments into building new technology, manufacturing and retail sites. 'Anything that destabilizes the electricity system right now, and the economics of the electricity system, could be really difficult for our businesses,' he added. The study, which NERA Economic Consulting conducted for CEBA, modeled the state-level electricity market outlooks assuming incremental electricity demand from the growth of data centers under two scenarios, with and without the federal investment and production tax incentives. It also provided a breakdown of projected cost increases in certain states. Seven of the 19 states would see double-digit percentage increases in average household and business electricity prices in the 2026-2032 period, according to the study. Maine would see the highest average increases, projected at 20% for households and 19.3% for businesses. The increased costs would reduce economic growth, the study states. 'As commercial and industrial activity declines, demand for labor and capital falls, leading to wage losses, declining household income, and shrinking investment,' it states. 'The scale and severity of these impacts vary by state but are significant and far-reaching.' Utilities have also voiced concerns. The Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned utilities, has come out in favor of keeping the incentives, saying they support Trump's stated goals of keeping energy prices as low as possible and strengthening U.S. competitiveness, national security and energy dominance.
