Would current climate legislation raise household energy bills?
While it is true that ACES would increase the unit price of carbon-intensive resources, it would reduce overall household energy expenditures in the early years. This is because energy efficiency provisions in ACES would reduce the amount of energy that Americans need to maintain their lifestyles while customer rebates from utilities could further return money to customers. Together, ACES would decrease average household energy expenditures by 7 percent in 2020 relative to business as usual – an average savings of about $122 per household. Energy efficiency provisions play a keystone role in achieving household savings: the EPA estimates that ACES without energy efficiency provisions would result in a net cost, rather than savings, to households in 2020. After 2030, ACES would cause household energy expenditures to rise above business as usual, though energy efficiency programs would continue to contain costs. If energy efficiency provisions were funded in full past 2030, we could see
