High prices for utilities

According to the Pennsylvania Utility Commission (PUC), there are areas in Pennsylvania where energy costs are rising by 50%.

"Most regulated electricity generators in Pennsylvania change the price charged for the generation portion of non-customer accounts (also known as "comparable rates" (PTC)," The PUC said in a release. "On average, the PTC accounts for 40-60% of bills. The PTC accounts for 40-60% of total utility costs, depending on how the public and individual consumers use the service."

The Pike County Light Power PTC, which serves about 4,800 customers in northeastern Pennsylvania, has the largest increase in their PTC, from 6.5234 cents to 9.796 cents per (kWh), with an increase of 50.2 percent.

PTCs located in Allentown and includes Bucks, Montgomery and Chester counties. Will see electricity rates increase from 7.5 cents/kWh to 9.5 cents/kWh, or up to 26 percent.

"The upcoming price change, combined with lower temperatures, is an important time for consumers and businesses to evaluate their energy potential and find a way to save money and energy in the months ahead," PUC chair Gladys Brown Dutrieuille said in a statement.

Jason Hayes, director of environmental policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, recently blasted the Biden administration for its energy policy.

Explaining that he finds it difficult to understand why some Western leaders can't seem to grasp the importance of reliable, affordable energy and electricity for ordinary citizens, Hayes said: "The only countries that seem to understand that we need reliable and affordable dispatchable energy are China and Russia. And they're the only ones who produce energy, and they're more than happy to hold that energy hostage for the rest of the world."

Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline that carried Canadian oil to and through the United States, and suspended oil and natural gas leases on federal lands in his first hours in office. Several states have sued to block the pause, and the courts have so far sided with the states. Last week, Biden's Interior Department report called for as much as 50% higher costs for developers to drill on federal lands. Biden is also reportedly considering closing Michigan's Line 5 pipeline, which supplies energy to the Upper Peninsula of the swing state.