As I posted on CEI’s GlobalWarming.org, Senator Bingaman (D-NM) has introduced federal legislation that would require utility companies to generate at least 11 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. The extra costs for renewable energy, of course, would be imposed on electricity customers.
There is a bipartisan group of Senators who support this bill–for some reason, most Republican Senators get that cap and trade is an energy tax, but don’t realize or care that they are imposing a massive energy tax through this mandate.
This bill increases taxes, creates a mandate to buy something the public doesn’t want (not unlike the individual health care mandate), and ignores state rights. It combines elements of cap and trade with ObamaCare–for politicians, it isn’t a smart bill to support. More importantly, it is bad policy.
Under existing law (Senate Bill 3), NC has a 7.5% renewable energy mandate–there is little chance this can be met (through any reasonable means).
There also are cost caps to ensure that customers don’t have to pay an excessive amount to reach the 7.5%. There is no such cost cap in the federal bill–this means that energy costs will go up as high as necessary to reach the 11 percent number.
Since North Carolina, and other southeastern states, don’t have the same renewable resources as other states, we will especially get hit hard by this federal mandate.
As I wrote in this 2007 report discussing a letter about a proposed renewable energy mandate:
North Carolina, along with eight other states and the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, recently sent a letter to Congress opposing a federal renewable energy requirement, arguing:
“The reality is that not all states are fortunate enough to have abundant traditional renewable energy resources, such as wind … this is especially true in the Southeast and large parts of
the Midwest.”
This proposed energy tax is bad for all Americans, but will be especially bad for North Carolinians.
