Report Warns Climate Lawsuits Could Add $1,500 to US Energy Bills
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 7
Report Warns Climate Lawsuits Could Add $1,500 to US Energy Bills
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 7
Summary
$1,500 a year in added household energy costs could result if climate lawsuits and “superfund” laws succeed, according to a new report by Heritage Foundation economist EJ Antoni and Power The Future’s Daniel Turner.
The report pegs the total burden at about $194 billion annually, arguing energy companies would pass legal penalties and higher risk premiums through to consumers via roughly 41 cents a gallon for gasoline and a 9% jump in electricity rates.
More than 30 lawsuits have been filed by 11 states, Washington, D.C., and dozens of cities, while New York and Vermont have enacted climate superfund laws and federal proposals would seek $1 trillion over 10 years.
The warning lands as electricity prices have already risen 7% last year and 9% early this year, with one in six households behind on energy bills and low-income families facing the heaviest hit.