Trump/Rick Perry scheme to Raise Coal Energy Prices even more in Wisconsin, goodbye tax cut savings.

The Republican agenda has never been about saving taxpayer money, or even serving their voters. It's always been about serving business, and spending taxpayer cash on their "horse and buggy" throwback agenda.

Want proof? Wisconsin utility customers are about about to see their energy costs rise thanks to Trump and the Republican "picking winners and losers" energy plan. That's bad news because:

"Electricity rates paid by businesses and residents of Wisconsin now rank highest among eight Midwest states."

A Lump of Coal for Wisconsinites: I guess we've been bad this year, saving our hard earned money with energy saving home products, solar panels and wind turbines. After Republicans here proved the "free market" was always just a lie (the Foxconn taxpayer giveaway), on a national level, they're now doubling down on that idea, going for broke:

Industry analysts are warning that Trump administration efforts to support coal and nuclear energy could upend wholesale markets and drive up electricity rates for Wisconsin consumers.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry has proposed a new rule that would boost prices for electricity generated at plants with a 90-day supply of fuel on hand — which translates to coal and nuclear generators — in an attempt to slow market trends toward natural gas and renewable sources.

Yup, it's as blatantly anti-free market as you can get:

“The wholesale market is basically capitalism at its best,” said Gary Radloff, an energy policy researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “To sort of come out with a rule that says we want to prop up coal and nuclear plants that aren’t competing in the wholesale market is kind of anti-capitalism. They’re using this rationalization that the grid stability is threatened, and there is absolutely no evidence that that’s true. I mean none. It’s a solution in search of a problem.” 

“This would blow the market up,” former FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff told the industry publication Utility Dive. 

Industry experts say the rule would put upward pressure on rates, especially in states such as Wisconsin that still rely heavily on coal for fuel.

And lets dispel some of the renewable energy myths:

But the study that Perry cites as the impetus for the new rule actually showed that cheap natural gas and falling electricity demand — not renewable energy tax subsidies — are primarily responsible for the demise of coal, and that the early retirement of coal and nuclear plants has not affected grid reliability. 

Outage data from the Energy Information Administration show that of the nine major outages in Wisconsin since 2014, four were due to coal shortages. (Severe weather and vandalism were the other culprits.) 

Horse and Buggy Energy Policy? Heck, this runs counter to big energies own plans:

But CUB director Content said the proposal seems out of step with Wisconsin’s investor-owned utilities, which have all pledged to to reduce their carbon footprints. Xcel Energy has lead the way, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent during the past decade and pledging a 60 percent cut by 2030. 

While he doesn’t expect the rule would change the long-term trend, Tyler Hueber, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a clean energy advocacy group said it could delay retirement of coal plants and slow investment in new alternatives.

“This is like propping up the horse and buggy industry when the automobile is hitting mass markets,” he said. “It’s a look to the past.”