…White House issues a correction saying saving is over a year – which is still met with disbelief
- Joe Biden had incorrectly promised Americans they could save $500 a month by switching their homes to renewable energy during his Thursday speech
- The White House quickly published a correction that makes clear that Americans would actually save around $500 a year, not a month
- Biden also announced the release of 180 million barrels of oil over six months from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
- He said record high gas prices had two roots: the pandemic and Putin’s war
Joe Biden vastly overpromised Americans that they can expect savings of $500 a month by transitioning to renewable energy, which the White House corrected by saying the savings would actually come over a year.
In a fumble during his speech on gas prices on Thursday, Biden touted rebate programs for consumers switching to green energy but incorrectly cast how much would be saved.
‘If your home is powered by safer, cheaper, cleaner electricity like solar or heat pumps, you can save about $500 a month on average,’ Biden said.
The White House corrected Biden’s remark in a transcript, making clear he meant to say the savings he predicted would be over a year, not a month.
‘His plan will help ensure that America creates millions of good-paying union jobs in clean, cutting-edge industries for generations to come,’ the statement said
‘And it will save American families money in the immediate future – including more than $950 a year in gas savings from taking advantage of electric vehicles, and an additional $500 a year from using clean electricity like solar and heat pumps to power their homes.’
Biden addressed the subject while announcing plans to order the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the strategic petroleum reserve for the next six months.
Biden is grappling with fallout from surging energy prices, including gasoline that has reached an average of $4.23 per gallon, after the United States banned imports of Russian oil and gas.
The average electric bill for homeowners was $115 per month in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Between 2009 and 2019, the average monthly electric bill for a U.S. homeowner never surpassed $120.
Even yearly savings, though, would take years for homeowners to realize, given the upfront cost of installing solar panels and heat pumps in homes.
Biden said Thursday that record gas prices were caused by the pandemic and Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine as he unveiled a two-pronged plan to increase supply and reduce demand.
He announced he would release a million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic reserve for the next six months and accelerate the switch to electric vehicle.
But his analysis of the cause of the crisis will attract criticism for opponents who accuse him of shifting the blame for his administration’s economic woes.
‘The problem we’re facing with gas prices has two roots,’ Biden told reporters at the White House.
‘First, the pandemic. When COVID struck demand for oil plummeted so production slowed down worldwide.
‘Because of the strength and the speed of recovery, demand for oil shot back up much faster than the supply. That’s why the cost of gas began to rise last year.
‘The second root is Vladimir Putin.’