Deseret News | CO2 bill could mean higher electricity costs, Rocky Mountain Power says

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CO2 bill could mean higher electricity costs, Rocky Mountain Power says

Non believer! | 10:33 p.m. Aug. 19, 2009

Some of the same people who can't predict (using scientific methods) if it will rain this weekend, then firmly promise us that all the ice on the planet will melt in 10 years unless we all drive hybrids. What a farce!

veedub | 12:15 a.m. Aug. 20, 2009

So the cap and trade bill will increase the cost of electricity? And three-fourths of the increased cost of power will be directly tied to the cost of implementing the program? One more example of our public dollars at work--to enrich and empower the government, that is. By the way, my suburban lot has five large trees, multiple shrubs, a vegetable garden, flowers and a nice green lawn. A carbon sink if I ever saw one. So how many carbon credits do I get? Why do I get the feeling that the answer to that is "None!"?

Cause of global warming | 7:13 a.m. Aug. 20, 2009

All those ice cap meltings can be attributed to daylight savings time. That extra house of sunlight is melting the ice caps. All we need to do is get Congress to get rid of the silly time change.

Comments continue below

Business as unusual | 8:02 a.m. Aug. 20, 2009

True, the cap and trade system will indeed increase costs for current electricity generation of coal, for which Utah generates about 90 percent of its power from.

The whole purpose of the bill is to send a price signal and encourage utilities to switch to renewables so that those utilities can profit from the credits they'll get for generating clean energy. Utah is blessed with the best solar and geothermal resources, and it can create new industries for its rural communities. Wind in our canyons, on our farms, and from Wyoming can also help curb our coal use.

The biggest benefit of solar, wind, and geothermal -- they are PRICE STABLE. No fossil fuel costs that bounce with every terrorist attack, hurricane, international incident, or cap and trade move. The more renewables you have on your system, the more price stable your energy.

yes, cost will go up if we stick with business as usual. now's the time to move into new non-carbon based energy sources to help stablize our electricity rates!

gp | 8:08 a.m. Aug. 20, 2009

This is the biggest scam in history, all for nothing, except huge piles of money into the coffers of the carbon traders. I will fight tooth and nail all the days of my life to expose this terrorist plot coming right out of our own goverment. Any person on the carbon agenda will be my enemy.

No coal the answer | 8:15 a.m. Aug. 20, 2009

Which means, since we finally are figuring out there is a cost to the pollution we are emitting, that we need to move away from coal more quickly. Which may mean higher costs in the near future, but long-term it will be to our benefit.
And to "non-beliver"; please learn the difference between climate science (long-term changes over thousands of years) and weather (short-term atmospheric conditions affected by overall climate.) Atmospheric chemists have shown we need to reduce CO2 emissions or we will affect the overall climate of the earth.

Dave | 8:18 a.m. Aug. 20, 2009

Al Gore says "thank you for the donation".

Mike | 9:07 a.m. Aug. 20, 2009

No Coal is not the answer, responsible use of our resources is the answer. Why do we have to completely stop using coal, can't we just improve the way we use it and a marginal cost increase? Technology is a wonderful thing, surely we can work toward reduced pollution (aka CO2 emmissions) without a government imposed tax on energy. Why does the answer always have to be government imposed taxes (carbon credits) as opposed to incentives that work within the free market system? I don't have a problem with working toward a solution that reduces emmissions and or pollution, I have problem with the government always being involved with such endevors.

Anonymous | 9:37 a.m. Aug. 20, 2009

So Cap-and-Trade is NOT about greenhouse gases or global warming. It is about trading credits for the right to GENERATE or USE ENERGY.

How insane is that?

Keep in mind that the present financial crisis is the direct result of the GOVERNMENT getting into the mortgage loan market in the form of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, purchasing loans from banking institutions and mortgage lenders who were required by law to make bad loans. Those loans, in turn, were “bundled” and resold as assets, but they were worthless.

Nothing is more worthless than carbon credits. Nothing is more dangerous to the economic future of the nation than the Cap-and-Trade Act. The U.S. Senate must defeat this bill which has already been passed by the House. YOU must defeat this bill by demanding your Senators vote against it.

Price Stability? | 11:36 a.m. Aug. 20, 2009

@Business as unusual

What's so great about stable prices when they are three times the average price of so-called "volatile prices" ?

lost in DC | 12:01 p.m. Aug. 20, 2009

it will cost possibly up to 20% more for my electricity. That's a big indirect tax BO is imposing on me. And of course, since the carbon credits will be traded on the CBOT, BO's cronnies are set to make a mint off of it.

business as unusual, Pacific Corp offers "green electricity" for $1.95/KWH more (I think) than their regular coal-fired power. Are you paying the extra and using it, or are you still using coal-fired electricity? You'd have a little more force behind your argument if you are paying the extra.

Saddest thing of all | 12:31 p.m. Aug. 20, 2009

. . . is that we Americans will be robbed of 5, 10, 20, perhaps as much as a doubling of our utility and energy bills -- TO NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER!

Even if you believe in the global warming fairy tale, cap and tax will do NOTHING to slow or prevent CO2 buildup in the atmosphere. EVERY DROP of oil, EVERY OUNCE of coal we don't burn will be MORE THAN compensated for by uncontrolled industries in competitor nations.

These nations [India, China, Russia, other Asian nations, nearly all of Latin America] have made it clear they consider global warming to be an American or a Western problem, and have indicated they do not intend to handcuff themselves the way we are considering doing. In fact, most cap and tax scams have us SUBSIDIZING these competitors to increase their use of energy.

What a gullible breed! [Agent K]

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