EPA analysis: Senate energy bill would lower electric bills

By Renee Schoof | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — The energy and climate bill that Republicans call a light-switch tax would lower electricity bills, at least in its early years, the Environmental Protection Agency reported Tuesday.

The EPA study of the proposed American Power Act, sponsored by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, said that energy bills for the average household — not including gasoline — would decrease by 10 percent by 2020, rise by 1 percent in 2030 and rise by 16 percent in 2050. The increases after 2030 largely would be offset by rebates, protective plans for low-income households and other measures, the analysis said.