“Fee and Dividend”: the Best Way to Address Climate Change
James Hansen champions an alternative solution to address climate change called “fee and dividend” which would impose a fee on any pollution source (mines, wells, ports of entry) and distribute the revenue back to the public. Both “fee and dividend” and “cap and trade” attempt to reduce carbon emissions by raising the price of fossil fuels, but Hansen insists that the former is simpler, more effective, and less vulnerable to speculation and gaming. I agree with him.
A pollution tax is the easiest way to incentivize alternative technology and energy efficiency. Give the dividends back to legal citizens, just like Governor Palin did in Alaska.
Cap and trade would create bloated bureaucracies, gaming and corruption. Fee and dividend would promote clean energy without the bureaucracy. Right now America seems to lag behind many other industrialized countries in developing clean technology. We are addicted to cheap coal and oil. Those countries that lead the way to clean energy will benefit economically because they will develop clean technologies and services that they can eventually export to the rest of the world as the demand for clean energy grows.
Interview with Climate Scientist James Hansen on Why He’s Pleased the Copenhagen Summit Failed, “Cap and Fade,” Climategate
Shopping for gas and electric rates
When was the last time you checked your electric and gas utility rates? You may pay twice as much as you would pay if you called your supplier – or shopped for a competitor – for the best, most recent tariff.
Natural gas prices are very volatile. Tariffs change every quarter. If NYMEX natural gas prices drop, or natural gas futures drop; you could be stuck with the previous, higher tariff, unless you call to ask for the best available tariff each quarter. But be careful when you switch suppliers. There may be hidden charges, such as the “gas cost adjustment charge”, which typically varies between $0.70 and $2.80 per MCF per month. No utility in PA has been able to define this particular charge for me.
Gas rates have dropped significantly in 2009. Unregulated suppliers obviously know to play the game, but residential consumers are not so up to speed, based on my experience and what I am reading: “PUC: Effective natural gas competition doesn’t exist.”
Many consumers have no idea where to start and who to call in order to start shopping for the best competitive supply tariffs. Some utilities have several competitive suppliers of gas or electric. Others only have one supply. Each state is different, and each utility is different.
Further c0mplicating the comparisons in PA, we have that nebulous “gas cost adjustment charge”. As I said, it’s not clear how the utility determines this charge each month, but I do know that it changes monthly or quarterly, and you may or may not have to pay it, depending on which gas supplier you choose. Unfortunately this type of nebulous, hidden charge doesn’t make it any easier for consumers to compare gas tariffs.
As a consumer I would rather see my regulated utility company collectively bargain with the suppliers serving my market and take care of that supply side transaction, to make sure that I the consumer am always getting the best available supply tariff ($/mcf of natural gas), and then simply pass that rate along to me, plus the local distribution tariffs, plus the customer charge. If the supply falls, the price would go up and I would pay it. If they supply goes up, the price would fall and I would pay it. In my ideal system I would always get the market price without me having to work the phones every quarter, sift through the various hidden charges to try to compare and shop for the best supply side tariffs.
But that’s not how the game works. At least, not in most states.
The way it works in most states is that every residential consumer has to work his or her phones, and compare the various charges and tariffs throughout the year, in order to make sure that he or she is getting the best deal at any given moment. Your supplier will NOT notify you if their “going rate” suddenly drops. You have to call them and ask them for it. Or you might find a competitive supplier with a better supply tariff plus charges. They press a button, and voila! Your rate changes! But watch out for those hidden fees! Oh, and don’t forget. You may need to do this for both electric and gas!
There are winners and losers in this game. If you have internet access and patience, you may have an advantage. If you don’t give a damn, you will probably lose given today’s volatile natural gas prices. There are websites to help electric and gas utility customers navigate this mess. For example in Pennsylvania, you can visit a website affiliated with the state Office of Consumer Advocate, where they publish a natural gas shopping guide, updated monthly. And they have a similar shopping guide for electric. I added these links on the EnergyAnalysis links page. These guides are also available in PA by mail by calling 1-800-684-6560.
If you live in another state, do a google search, or call your public utility commission or state consumer agency to find similar shopping guides. Good luck!
A123Systems Announces Plan to Build U.S.-based Lithium Ion Battery Mass Production Facilities
Watertown, MA (A123Systems Press Release) – A123Systems today announced it has submitted an application under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program to qualify for $1.84 billion in direct loans to support the construction of new world-class lithium ion battery manufacturing facilities in the United States, with the first construction location in southeast Michigan.
If A123’s application is approved, this program would enable the company to dramatically expand production capacity in the United States, with full production volumes designed to supply battery systems for five million hybrid vehicles or half a million plug-in electric vehicles per year by 2013.
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EIA: Retail Prices
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