Recession Pulls Plug on Electricity Prices

Utilities have to pay for needed upgrades: Daily Beast

(NEWSER) - The Daily Beast delivers some bad news after looking at the regulatory filings of utilities across the country: Electric rates are going up, and they won't be coming back down for a while. The problem is that the utilities have to make badly needed repairs to the nation's creaking power plants, or build new ones altogether to comply with stricter environmental laws. More»

Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida at the top

(NEWSER) - Ohio accounts for more air pollution than any other state, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council spotted by LiveScience . The state's power plants pumped out 44.5 million pounds of chemicals in 2009, or 12% of all US industrial air pollution. Overall, US power plants let loose 771 million pounds of toxic chemicals that year, with about half coming from the electric sector. More»

Experts offer tips for saving money on air-conditioning

(NEWSER) - Almost one-fifth of Americans' spending on utilities goes toward keeping cool, but the total doesn't have to be that high, reports USA Today . With most of the US in the grip of a heat wave , some pointers for becoming less reliant on less air-conditioning and lowering your electric bill:

• Get wet: Running cool water over pulse points in your wrists and splashing your face or temples can lower your body temperature.

Barry Wong insists he's serious

(NEWSER) - If you thought Arizona couldn't get any less hospitable to Hispanic people—er, illegal immigrants—think again. Barry Wong, who's running for the state's Corporation Commission, is pushing a plan to cut off electricity to any building suspected of harboring illegal immigrants. He'd have the power to do that, he contends, because the commission regulates utility rates, and the blackout would lower rates for everyone else. More»

Utilities, transport, even gambling, are now $3.5B drains

(NEWSER) - Municipally owned businesses like utilities, public transportation, and betting parlors used to bring in much-needed cash flow, but the recession has done its predictable work. State and local governments nationwide will likely hemorrhage $3.5 billion this year running these concerns which brought in upwards of $120 billion during the '90s. “With tax collections in decline, we really need this money,” one finance director tells USA Today . More»