Bill to raise energy costs

Americans worried about energy prices may be in for a shock if a climate bill heading through Congress gets the green light.

A new preliminary study by the U.S. Energy Information Association says the legislation will increase the cost of energy 20 percent by 2030.

The report also states that most greenhouse-gas-reduction targets for polluting companies will be met through carbon-offset projects, rather than actual pollution-reduction measures, reported Bloomberg.

Sponsored by Representatives Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the bill is designed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions 17 percent by 2020 and 42 percent by the decade thereafter.

Approved by the House, the bill is now making its way to the Senate. Meanwhile, a different report by the Congressional Budget Office estimated the legislation would raise each household’s annual energy costs by about $150 by 2020 and nearly $600 by 2030.