New rules will soon be in place to govern fossil fuel usage and cut carbon pollution coming from America's power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed the plan last year, and it is expected to be finalized this summer. Most of the rules have to do with the generation of electricity, so it might not be obvious that the plan would have implications for the average consumer. As it turns out, the EPA plan could make a big difference in homeowners' utility bills – hopefully a positive one.

Reduction in Energy Bills

While many people fear that new clean energy rules will cause the retail price of electricity to skyrocket, experts are predicting otherwise. According to an analysis by the National Resources Defense Council, low and fixed-income households should actually see their utility bills fall by an average of 8 percent. In total, the group suggests that consumers could save as much as $37.4 billion on their electricity bills by 2020.

Why such a rosy picture? As the nation switches to more sustainable energy sources like wind, the costs of production will fall. Furthermore, since the fuel price for wind and solar is zero, consumers will be shielded from volatile prices of coal and natural gas, which can make electricity bills vary widely. What's more, the Clean Power Plan will promote investment in household energy efficiency to encourage families to reduce their own consumption.

A Boost to the Economy

Some think tanks are also predicting a boost to the economy as we transition to a cleaner energy grid, with jobs available to build and maintain the emerging infrastructure. People will be needed to work on windmills and solar installations, for example.

"The most important takeaway from our analysis is that, after accounting for the various ways in which the Clean Power Plan puts upward and downward pressure on employment, we find a net increase in jobs,” Industrial Economics Principal Jason Price said to UtilityDrive.com, forecasting a net gain of 74,000 jobs in 2020 and as many as 273,000 jobs by 2040.

Health and Climate Concerns

There should also be ancillary benefits to the EPA plan. Cutting down on fossil fuel emissions means less pollution in the air near ground level, too, so people should suffer from fewer related health problems. NRDC predicts that the change will prevent up to 6,600 premature deaths, 150,000 asthma attacks in children and 3,300 heart attacks.

In addition, the less carbon the nation burns, the less we accelerate climate change, which is poised to cause unpredictable but inevitably expensive disruptions in familiar weather patterns.

All in all, nobody knows for sure what will happen with the new EPA rules, since they haven't been finalized yet. However, if the experts' predictions are anywhere close to reality, Americans will be able to celebrate cheaper and more environmentally-friendly energy in the not-too-distant future.

When it comes to electrical tasks in yousitur home, it’s never a good idea to turn them into a DIY project. Electricity is a very necessary and useful utility, but can be extremely dangerous too and it’s crucial that you call in a certified, skilled and insured electrician to handle the job for you. Look for a professional and reputed company that provides 24/7 services and keep their number easily accessible at all times; this will ensure you get prompt services exactly when you need them. Here we discuss in which situations you should call in an emergency electrician to tackle the job for you:

This is extremely dangerous and you should immediately turn-off the circuit breaker that you feel is connected to that wire. Do not try to repair this yourself as there could be a chance that the circuit breaker you turned off isn’t connected to that particular room wire at all and this exposes you to the risk of electrocution.

This is a situation you shouldn’t take lightly at all. It’s important that you keep all your family members and pets away from that room and switch off the circuit breaker you think is connected to that wiring line. If you have any water pooling, puddling or accumulated (as in a flood situation), call in a skilled electrician to check all the wiring and address the problem without delay, as this is a major electrocution risk.

It’s not often that a home will lose power completely, while there is no similar problem in the neighbourhood. However, if the power does go out only in your home, quickly check with your neighbours and check whether the street lights have also lost power. If everything seems to be alright there, you may have a major electrical problem on your hands.

In all these situations, do not try to find out what the problem is; call in a regular electrical maintenance done. The company you hire for the job will send out skilled professionals at pre-decided schedules to conduct a thorough check on the wiring. In case any potential problems are noticed, you will be informed about them and they will be addressed without delay. This reduces the chances of major electrical problems surfacing out of the blue.

Now that the weather is warming up, you'll have more time to get those household jobs you've likely been putting off done. There'll likely be lots of trips to the hardware store, power tools, shouts of victory and the occasional groan of defeat along the way as you undergo a renovation. Before you launch into your summer projects here are a few tips to make sure you have a productive home improvement season.

Do your homework

Research your project before you start by finding stories and reading product reviews. Doing your due diligence on a job before you even pull out a tape measure will help to prepare yourself mentally.

Stick to the plan

Before you start knocking down, peeling off, unscrewing or disconnecting, make sure you have a clear plan of what you want to do and how you want to achieve it. The last thing you want is to turn a two hour job into two day patch-up.

Measure twice, cut once

Not being meticulous about your measurements often leads to "an inch off here" or "an inch to much there," which is all you need to ruin a great day's work.  Making sure you get the right size pipes, joints and parts the first time you go will save you multiple trips to the hardware store.

Get the right tool

Much like the previous point, using the wrong tool can lead to you undoing your hard work. We've all been tempted to jury rig something that's "close enough" to what we want, but that sometimes turns out to be not just unwise but also unsafe.

Have a backup plan