Pulling a FAST One...

I sit around and wonder how things get passed inside our Senate or House of Congress - things that lack common sense -- things that don't seem right, things I do not support. Now I know...please read the FAST FACTS below.

Fast Facts:
The House budget includes a placeholder, budget reconciliation, that would slip in a cap-and-trade proposal that has yet to be defined, debated or detailed.

Budget
reconciliation is a legislative maneuver to bypass normal Senate procedures.
1. It limits debate to 20 hours when most legislation has unlimited debate.
2. It lowers the normal vote requirement from 60 votes to a simple majority in the Senate.
3. It imposes guidelines on what amendments can be offered, which is not the case for most legislation.

Based on previous climate
proposals, the likely effects of a cap-and-trade proposal are:
1. Increased energy costs, construction costs, fertilizer prices, and also higher gas and diesel prices.
2. The cost of corn production would go up by $40-80 an acre. ($3-7 billion for Nebraska Farmers)
3. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the Environmental Protection Agency will have to spend $1.7 billion to hire 400 additional staff just to set up the program and write the rules.
4. A $3,000 per year energy tax on every American family.

Senator Johanns did something about it! Click on the link below (or the title to this article) to read the Senator's entire press release. It's worth a few minutes of your time.

THANK YOU SENATOR JOHANNS!

http://www.dawsonpower.com/blogsupport/Johanns_&_Climate_Legislation.pdf

How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?

Dawson Public Power District sold 483,114,863 kilowatt hours in 2008 to customers in our service territory. Based on a formula that is derived from what we purchase from NPPD, our (2008) carbon footprint was 394,827 tons.

The question becomes….why do I care? I used a carbon footprint calculator online (you can find them all over the internet), and my family’s annual carbon footprint is approximately 44 tons give or take a ton or two.

If a carbon tax (in the form of a literal tax or a cap and trade program) is imposed based on proposals being discussed by the federal government, we could expect to see a significant increase in our residential electric rates because utilities must collect the tax which becomes an additional cost to the end use customer.

Lots of numbers have been thrown into the ball park…$20 per ton, $50 per ton, and higher. No one has discovered the secret formula that will be enough to pinch (force) those companies who are responsible for large CO2 outputs into finding economical ways to curb the CO2.

I’ll play ball. Quick math says 44 tons (my footprint) times $20 per ton equals $880 annually added to my current electric bill and at $50 per ton, I’m screaming because I just added a $183 tax per month to my bill. BUT….we won’t be taxed individually; this tax will be socialized across the country according to the output of the generators. That means those people who conserve electricity or use energy efficient appliances will pay for those customers who don’t.

Let’s socialize the tax across Dawson PPDs average annual carbon footprint. At $20 per ton, our cost of power goes up 36% which means the kwh price at your home went from 7.27¢ to 9.0¢. At $50 per ton, which is an 89% increase in wholesale power cost to us, your kwh price went from 7.27¢ to 11.45¢. Dawson PPDs average residential customer uses about 1,347 kwh per month. That’s a difference between $97.93 per month (no tax) and $154.28 ($50 per ton tax). Your residential bill went up almost $60 per month for the same energy consumption.

We know it’s important to reduce CO2 emissions. But we also know it has to be done in a balanced manner so that our customers are not socked with electric bills made huge by a carbon tax. We want you to know what the costs COULD BE when you hear politicians throwing out numbers like $20 per ton or $50 per ton.

The numbers I use are a literal tax on carbon output by our electric generators. To use the cap and trade approach, the people who will benefit most are the traders on Wall Street – making the middle man the place to be as “offsets” become a commodity. Do we really want commodity brokers controlling our electric bills? And do we really want our utilities becoming tax collectors for the federal government?

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

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SO IMPORTANT, IT'S A BOARD RESOLUTION!

Dawson Public Power District's board of directors are working hard for our customers. They are very concerned about what effect a cap and trade system will have on our rates. So much so, they plan to pass a board resolution at the April 2009 meeting.

The resolution cites why Dawson PPD feels the way they do and what could happen if Congress passes a program like this. We will be sending this resolution to all of our congressional leaders. We encourage you to contact your elected representative!

If you would like to read the resolution, please click here: http://tinyurl.com/cvmqrx