Latest news with #energyprices
New York Times
10 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Electricity Prices Are Surging. The G.O.P. Megabill Could Push Them Higher.
The cost of electricity is rising across the country, forcing Americans to pay more on their monthly bills and squeezing manufacturers and small businesses that rely on cheap power. And some of President Trump's policies risk making things worse, despite his promises to slash energy prices, companies and researchers say. This week, the Senate is taking up Mr. Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill, which has already passed the House. In its current form, that bill would abruptly end most of the Biden-era federal tax credits for low-carbon sources of electricity like wind, solar, batteries and geothermal power. Repealing those credits could increase the average family's energy bill by as much as $400 per year within a decade, according to several studies published this year. The studies rely on similar reasoning: Electricity demand is surging for the first time in decades, partly because of data centers needed for artificial intelligence, and power companies are already struggling to keep up. Ending tax breaks for solar panels, wind turbines and batteries would make them more expensive and less plentiful, increasing demand for energy from power plants that burn natural gas. That could push up the price of gas, which currently generates 43 percent of America's electricity. On top of that, the Trump administration's efforts to sell more gas overseas could further hike prices, while Mr. Trump's new tariffs on steel, aluminum and other materials would raise the cost of transmission lines and other electrical equipment. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Trump budget proposes closing Northeast heating oil reserve
WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's budget proposes to shut as soon as in a few months the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, which stores 1 million barrels of diesel and was designed to protect consumers. The reserve, created in 2000 by former President Bill Clinton, holds enough for roughly 10 days of heating homes. It has not been tapped since 2012, when it provided fuel to emergency responders in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The proceeds of a sale of the ultra-low sulfur diesel in fiscal year 2026 would go to U.S. deficit reduction, the proposal said. At current prices, revenues from a sale would be about $86 million, but closing the facility could save on maintenance costs. U.S. budget proposals lay out an administration's policies, and what lawmakers ultimately adopt often differs from White House requests. Trump's predecessor, former President Joe Biden, had proposed in November, 2022 to expand the reserve as a protection against spikes in heating oil prices and inflation after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine boosted energy prices. That plan, never put in place, would have funded purchases from the reserve from revenue from sales from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the world's largest emergency stockpile of crude oil. The Department of Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the proposal to close the heating oil reserve.
News.com.au
26-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Australians urged to search for ‘better deals' as energy prices set to soar
Australian Energy Regulator Chair Clare Savage delves into how energy prices are set to rise by up to ten per cent. The Australian Energy Regulator announced significant power price increases across New South Wales, South Australia, and south-east Queensland, driven by rising wholesale and network costs. New South Wales is set to see the highest hike, while consumers are urged to shop around for better deals as default offers may not reflect the best market prices.
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Consumers in four states facing higher electricity bills
Energy prices could lift anywhere from 0.5 per cent to 9.7 per cent in different parts of the national electricity grid.
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Electrity prices to rise on east coast
Andy Park: Household power bills are set to rise about to 9 per cent from July for some, following a pricing decision by the Australian Energy Regulator. For more on this, business correspondent David Taylor joined me earlier. David, what is the default market offer and how will it change from July 1? David Taylor: Well, Andy, I'll hit you with some jargon first up. The Energy Regulator has released its final determination for the default market offer for electricity prices for next financial year. So the default market offer is a price for electricity for customers on standing offers. So not negotiated contracts with their providers. Most households and businesses, Andy, are on standing offers. It's basically what you get when you call up or sign up for a deal. From July 2025, residential customers on standing offer plans will experience increases of half a per cent to 3.7 per cent in southeast Queensland, 2.3 per cent to 3.2 per cent in South Australia and 8.3 per cent to 9.7 per cent in New South Wales. And Andy, small business customers on standing offer plans will experience increases of 0.8 of 1 per cent to 8.5 per cent. And there's a big range there because, Andy, it depends on the region that you're in. Andy Park: So why is this safety net energy price for households and businesses increasing? David Taylor: Well, simply because the cost of making or producing the energy has gone up, especially in New South Wales. Now, Clare Savage is the chair of the regulator that's made this decision. It determines prices for New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia. She says it was a difficult decision to make and many factors determine an energy bill, including the cost of making power. Clare Savage: Retailers, the people who sell it to you, they buy forward contracts in there against sort of spot prices in the market. And those forward contracts have been higher. And some of that's to do with less reliable coal plant that's been running in New South Wales. So it can fall over sometimes and drive big price spikes. 9.7 per cent, yes, is the worst case scenario. But what we want to see customers doing is out there looking for the best deal. Some of the cheapest plans in the market can be between 18 and 27 per cent below the default market offer. So shopping around is a great strategy. David Taylor: Clare Savage there. And one thing that Clare Savage hasn't mentioned is, of course, the cost of finance for these energy companies to produce the energy, because they obviously have to finance the way they do business. Rising long term interest rates, therefore, are also a big part of this story. Tim Buckley is a director of Clean Energy Finance. Tim Buckley: It's complex. Energy is complex. There are four key components, network costs, wholesale prices, retail costs. All of those have gone up significantly across the board. Interest rates are up. So network costs are up. Unfortunately, the network exists for 50, 60, 70 years. The grid transmission poles and wires, they're there for 50, 60, 70 years. So we're exposed to long term interest rates. And there's also a slow delay in getting that through. So interest rates were in a 60 year down cycle until three years ago. They've been going up. This, unfortunately, is the inevitable delayed work through of long term interest rates going up. Andy Park: Clean Energy Finance Director Tim Buckley and David, when hearing prices are rising, many might be concerned it's bad news for inflation. Could that be the case? David Taylor: It could be. But we have found, Andy, that energy prices are very political. And in terms of headline inflation, the Treasurer and Treasurers across state and capital territories have decided to offer rebates. So we'll have to wait for political decisions on the back of this independent regulatory decision. But so far, history shows that big price changes like this don't impact long term inflation. Andy Park: David Taylor.
