As if Americans aren’t suffering enough amid soaring inflation, their heating bills this winter could be 54 percent higher than they were a year ago, when Donald Trump was president and energy costs weren’t as exorbitant as they are now.
“We expect that households across the United States will spend more on energy this winter compared with the past several winters because of these higher energy prices and because we assume a slightly colder winter than last year in much of the United States,” the U.S. Energy Information Administration wrote in an alarming report Wednesday.
The EIA, which is the statistical arm of the Biden administration’s Department of Energy, said prices for all fuels will be higher this winter than in previous years, and those costs will be passed down to consumers.
“On average across the United States, we expect prices for all fuels to be higher than in recent winters,” the EIA wrote.
“Rising wholesale commodity prices for natural gas, crude oil, and petroleum products are being passed through to retail prices.”
#TodayInEnergy – EIA expects U.S. households to spend more on energy this winter. https://t.co/Vh5saYd9an pic.twitter.com/i0moyhfLbV
— EIA (@EIAgov) October 13, 2021
Rocketing energy prices aren’t surprising after President Joe Biden undercut America’s oil independence by stopping construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and halting new oil and gas leases on public lands.
This was part of a sweeping initiative to make climate change a focal point of his administration’s domestic and foreign policies.
So far, all it did was erode the nation’s energy independence, eliminate energy-sector jobs and set the stage for higher utility costs for all Americans, including sky-high gas prices. That’s what we’re seeing now.
The EIA report said Americans will be impacted by steep energy prices regardless of which fuel source they use to heat their homes.
- “We forecast that households in [the South, Northeast and the Midwest] will spend $631 (54%) more on average for propane this winter compared with last winter.”
- “We expect households that use natural gas as their primary space heating fuel will spend $746 this winter, 30% more than they spent last winter.”
- “We expect that households heating with propane in the Northeast will spend an average of $2,012, which would be 47% more than last winter.”
- “We forecast that U.S. households that heat primarily with electricity will spend an average of $1,268 this winter on their electricity bills, which is 6% more than last winter.”
Naturally, these heating costs will be even higher if the winter is colder than expected: Propane users would see a 94 percent price increase, according to the EIA.
It will be unspeakably tragic if people freeze to death because they can’t afford to pay their sky-high heating bills.
Biden and the Democratic Party claim to champion the middle class and low-income groups, but those are the people who are being hurt the most by surging energy prices and rampant inflation.
Inflation is a cruel tax on everyone.
According to the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, for households earning the US median annual income, inflation rate has made food, fuel, & housing costs $175 more expensive every month.
That’s $2,100 a year. pic.twitter.com/fGesdZASYE
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) October 8, 2021
Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, said the poorest Americans will suffer the most.
“This is going to create significant hardship for people in the bottom third of the country,” Wolfe told The Associated Press. “You can tell them to cut back and try to turn down the heat at night, but many low-income families already do that. Energy was already unaffordable to them.”
BREAKING: Inflation was up 5.4% over last year in September – the highest rate in 13 years.
Prices rose 0.4% in Sept, up from 0.3% in August
Gas, food and goods continue to be key drivers of inflation. Used car prices fell slightly but remain 24% higher than last year. pic.twitter.com/8cN1eHaBvQ
— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) October 13, 2021
Carol Hardison is the CEO of Crisis Assistance Ministry, which helps poor people in Charlotte, North Carolina.
She agreed that surging consumer prices will hurt low-income Americans the most.
Where are Americans seeing inflation?
A lot of places:
Rental cars +43% over last Sept
Gas 42%
Used cars 24%
Bacon 19%
Hotels 18%
Beef 18%
Pork 13%
Eggs 13%
TVs 13%
Kids’ shoes 12%
Furniture 11%
New cars 9%
Chicken 8%
Apples 8%
Restaurant prices: 5%
Electricity 5%
Rent 2.9%— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) October 13, 2021
Hardison told the AP that households seeking her group’s assistance this year have unpaid bills that are twice as high as they were a year ago.
While Americans are buckling under the weight of our cratering economy, Biden’s top priorities appear to be mass-importing unvetted armies of illegal aliens and stoking race wars.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.