The Associated Press made a long-overdue observation this week. “Cleaner air could mean higher electric bills,” reads a headline by reporter Jonathan Fahey. In truth, electricity prices have been on the increase for years thanks to the Obama administration’s obsession with alternative energy and the shuttering of coal powered plants. But those costs will only magnify in the coming months and years thanks to new draconian EPA regulations. “Electricity prices are probably on their way up across much of the U.S. as coal-fired plants, the dominant source of cheap power, shut down in response to environmental regulations and economic forces,” reports the AP. Notice they still can’t get it exactly right – electricity prices are not probably going up; they are going up. The AP adds, “[T]he Energy Department predicts retail power prices will rise 4 percent on average this year, the biggest increase since 2008. By 2020, prices are expected to climb an additional 13 percent, a forecast that does not include the costs of coming environmental rules.” In other words, those are very conservative estimates, and these policies will only further hurt those stifled under Obama’s recovery. More…