For October, he had paid $376. For November, with virtually no change in his volume of work and without having turned up the thermostat in his two-room shop, his bill came to $788, a staggering increase of 110 percent. “This is insane,” he said, shaking his head. “We can’t go on like this.”
For months, utility companies across New England have been warning customers to expect sharp price increases, for which the companies blame the continuing shortage of pipeline capacity to bring natural gas to the region. […]
The utilities argue that they are hamstrung unless they can increase the pipeline capacity for natural gas, which powers more than half of New England. That would not only lower costs for consumers, they say, but also create thousands of construction jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue.
The region has five pipeline systems now. Seven new projects have been proposed. But several of them — including a major gas pipeline through western Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, and a transmission line in New Hampshire carrying hydropower from Quebec — have stalled because of ferocious opposition.
h/t Don B
But those eeeeeevil pipelines, ya’ know! They’ll destroy our planet!
Besides, we’ll all be better off when we go back to living in caves, without even using tallow candles!
/sarc
This is typical New York Times covering up for the left. There is no mention of shutting down coal plants in the article. Higher prices are the natural result of letting left-wing politicians take over our energy production. I figured the media-government complex would shift blame over to the power companies who are only trying to make the best of the poor cards they have been dealt.
–A year ago, the governors of the six New England states agreed to pursue a coordinated regional strategy, including more pipelines and at least one major transmission line for hydropower. The plan called for electricity customers in all six states to subsidize the projects, on the theory that they would make up that money in lower utility bills.
But in August, the Massachusetts Legislature rejected the plan, saying in part that cheap energy would flood the market and thwart attempts to advance wind and solar projects. That halted the whole effort.–
The left want to make wind and solar competitive by ruining the old reliable methods. I bet 24 cents per kW/h will wake a few people up, but you can’t fix stupid.
Existing pipelines should shut down for 72 hours in the middle of January. That will get the pitchforks out. The masses won’t wake up until the importance of infrastructure is emphasized and there is no better way to do that than to plunge the continent into darkness and cold for a few days.
As ye sow, so shall ye reap.
Of course it will go on. In Britain old age pensioners are told to freeze quietly to death, in the holy cause of renewables. Coming soon to a province near you! Unless it’s Ontario where it already has!
Exactly so, it’s indeed the NY Times running interference for the left. The same group also trying to shut down every nuclear plant in the region.
“Consumers have been left in the middle, as baffled as they are angry.”
I have limited sympathy for the customers. At some point they have to realize they can’t be opposed to everything or let a tiny minority block everything. And as long as they persist in electing politicians afraid of their own shadows, energy poverty is what they’re going to get. And good and hard.
“But in August, the Massachusetts Legislature rejected the plan, saying in part that cheap energy would flood the market and thwart attempts to advance wind and solar projects……..”
And here we all are…..
Elections have consequences!
That will only happen when the people smarten up and realize that it is not the evil company’s fault, but deceptive activist politicians causing the trouble. Let them freeze in the dark, they are getting what they voted.for!
Getting what you voted for good and hard, takes on a whole new perspective when you and your house are freezing in the darkness.
But these beleaguered citizens should cheer up, their legislatures and government offices have plenty of wood in them and wood is always good when a man is cold and afraid of the dark.
” Let those Eastern bastards freeze in the dark”?.. They are doing it to themselves.
“Environmentalists say it makes no sense to perpetuate the region’s dependence on fossil fuels while it is trying to mitigate the effects of climate change,”
Ah,I get it now,the new plan to “mitigate the effects of climate change” is to freeze the elderly to death. And they don’t have to literally freeze, just living in a very cold house will cause enough strain on the people mentioned in the article to die of heart failure caused by hypothermia.
The Medical Examiner can call it “death by natural causes” and everyone can tell themselves “she WAS quite old you know”.
It isn’t going to change until the gas valves are shut off and the hydro switches are thrown on the lines leading to the Liberal/Democrat strongholds.
For the last few years under obama,us dumb ol’ red necked OKIES have been telling you guys to get your acts together. We have coined the expression “let those bast–ds starve and freeze in the dark.” Youall have forgotten the more important consequence is not freeze, but is starve. Be on the look out, dummies. You may think the obumbles the incompetent,PBHFN, will force us to give up our food to you. Well, when they come for it, all you may get is some nice government sausage. Enjoy, bon apetite!
For shame! Complaining about high utility bills is the hallmark of misanthropes, misogynists, islamophobes, and men with small penises who hate polar bears.
Theco-wackos wont be happy until we have all returned to living a primative lifestyles worshipping nature and trees making sacrifices when theres a lonar or solar eclypes and eating our food raw becuase these bunch of granola munchers dont approve of fire and having everyone sitting lotus style around a tree going OOOOOOOMMMMM OOOOOOMMMMM OOOOOMMMMM and replacingChristmas,New Years,Easter,Thanksgiving with Earthday the only day The tree hugger wackos do celebrate
The price they pay for being green is a lot of green.
I feel no envy.
In the U.S. they have a right to recall elected officials. There is a legal remedy.
In the U.S. they have a right to recall elected officials
Oh really? So how come the Muzzie is still in office?
Where is this climate change? Is it the changing of the seasons? Or is it just “glowball warming” in a more garden variety boogieman, yes it is the latter since Y2K,Holy Ozone, Acid rain, new ice age bla bla bla never happened the world charlatans and thieves concocted this scam to remove money from the masses at a higher rate. All the trillions thrown at windmills, bio fuel, solar, cow farts, etc has done nothing to slow the changing of the seasons, they have been doing the same thing for 5 billion years and one has to be a moron or a liberal to think piddly Suzuki or Gore or any other crooked snake oil salesman can change a damn thing about this earth.
I am constantly told by leftists that “renewables” can produce electricity as cheaply as conventional coal and gas plants can. It is a lie, of course, and the Massachusetts legislature admitted it here by saying they have to protect their precious green stuff from “overproduction” by conventional sources. I hope that the East Coast will be hit so hard by this idiocy that our government will have to stop killing our energy supplies, but I suspect we will all have to suffer. A 153 Megawatt coal plant near me is supposed to be mothballed in 2015.
Maybe. But only bed-wetting eunuchs who like getting whipped enjoy their energy bills.
The plan called for electricity customers in all six states to subsidize the projects, on the theory that they would make up that money in lower utility bills.
But in August, the Massachusetts Legislature rejected the plan, saying in part that cheap energy would flood the market and thwart attempts to advance wind and solar projects
i.e: It is government policy to reject sustainable hydro power in order to increase electricity prices. Why not just forbid fire?
This is known among the erudite as the “Siberian Solution”…
Cheers
Hans Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group ‘True North’
these eastern bassturds do like voting demoKKKrap, just like Detroit, and they fail just like Detroit:-)))
I’d call it a big win!!
The Northeast is solidly lieberal, this misfortune of high energy prices couldn’t happen to a more deserving group of idiots. Perhaps their belief in global warming will heat their homes, if not, too bad. Let ’em freeze in the dark.
“…these eastern bassturds do like voting demoKKKrap…”
and
“…The Northeast is solidly lieberal…”
Well, enjoy your liberal/democrat-free zones, wherever you are – because, as your populations get more and more urbanized, and evermore people want their arses wiped, you’ll get the same kind of voting stupidity.
Ah yes, it is pleasant indeed to see the New England voters getting what they voted for!
I have seen figures to the effect that an insufficiency of affordable power in the UK does in something like 10,000 older people per year. But I don’t have confidence in the sources.
Why people take this is beyond me. These groups are shills for special interests making money out of sabotaging economies for other Nations
“Why people take this is beyond me.”
That’s simple, most people are sheeple; they expect others to take care of them.
They don’t realize that an increasing number of ‘others’ don’t care if sheeple die.
I always believed the instant cure for anti energy infrastructure slacktivism was some nice shortages and price spikes.
Here’s a great idea for keeping warm when electricity gets too expensive, or just stops arriving at the plug…
Ya’ know them endangered white bears? Be a kind soul, and take one in. You can cuddle up to them in the dark and keep all toasty, comfy warm!
If only the utility companies had the legal power to disconnect the protesters when there are capacity shortages to help alleviate the shortages. We would soon find out who was serious about not needing improvements.
I worked for a utility that needed to upgrade the substation in a growing part of town. The neighbors were blocking it because the unmanned substation was “noisy.” The heavily traveled four lane road in front of it, and the shopping center next to the substation were “not too noisy.”
Rationing by price increase is the efficient, painful, flexible
way to deal with shortages. That is why the left hates it so much.
They prefer permanent crises so they can stampede the gullible.
Serves then right. Something about chickens coming home to roost. Hopefully the winter is long and colder than normal.
Jamie, I just came back from one of those nodick (socialist Finland) countries, and I shudder me lad, if it ever gets that bad around here I’m heading for the mountains in BC:-))
” Let those dumb Eastern bastards freeze in the dark”?..
fixed that for you.
Doom sayer PAUL EHRLICH said that giving the world cheap abundant energy is like giving a idiot child a machine gun WOO HOO Mr Ehrlich what they did was give a idiot of a butterfly specialy a degree on huckterism and a snake oil salesmanship
“I’m heading for the mountains in BC”
Yup, or further north. Did that decades ago, best move I ever made.
Finally, the idiots who vote for Leftists reap what they sow. It’s happening to Ontario now as well. I’m leaving Ontario once I retire from the military. Which is a better place to live Alberta or Saskatchewan? I want to live simply and own a gun or two. Don’t want to live in a large city but a small town with a grocery store and a pub will do nicely. Don’t mind living near the US/Canada border. Seriously, I’d like to get some input. I’ve lived in Edmonton…but that was 20 yrs ago–and it’s changed considerably since 1994.
If you like mountains, then Alberta. Both have prairies and boreal forest with lakes. I liked small-town Alberta when I lived there, but that was 40 years ago.
natural gas is darn near worthless and yet the price can be jacked up to reflect 110% increase in a man’s bill. ridiculous. if they can still deliver the gas to him then they have no shortage.
We have coined the expression “let those bast–ds starve and freeze in the dark.”
Actually our Alberta Premier, Ralph Klein, infamously coined that phrase several decades ago. But you Americans can yet again pretend to co-opt a piece of someone else’s culture.
It’s what you’re good at.
er, correction: That was Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed who coined that phrase.
“natural gas is darn near worthless”
The cost is for getting it out of the ground and delivered to the consumer.
Go pick your own vegetables and it’s free, buy them at the store after thousands of miles of shipping and they’re not cheap.
Can’t wait for these idiots, who for the most part voted Democrat, freeze to death this winter. It will be a hard lesson learned for everyone in these six states – of imbeciles. I have no pity for any of the idiots who keep supporting lying liberal/socialist politicians – and they all are.