Will a New Energy Tax Be Coming to Your Town Soon?
http://www.articleorange.com/articles/185/1/Will-a-New-Energy-Tax-Be-Coming-to-Your-Town-Soon/Page1.html
L V Page
I'm a freelance writer and enjoy writing on a variety of subjects, especially traveling.I also have a lot of experience in broadcasting, advertising and marketing.
By L V Page
Published on 12/7/2006
On Election Day 2006, the voters in Boulder Colorado approved a new tax, a “carbon tax,” for all city residences and businesses. Includes information about similar taxes in other cities and states. Will this tax, or, a similar one, turn up in your community at some time in the future?
Will a New Energy Tax Be Coming to Your Town Soon?
On Election Day 2006, the voters in Boulder Colorado approved a new tax, a “carbon tax,” for all city residences and businesses. Is this a tax that will turn up in your community at some time in the future?
This measure, which passed with a 58 percent majority, was introduced by the Boulder City Council and supported by the Chamber of Commerce. They hope this tax will help reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases. They are trying to enable Boulder to reach goals set by the UN Kyoto Protocol, an entity which seeks to reduce global warming. (The protocol requires 35 developing nations to reduce their emissions of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide. The US and China, the world’s top two polluters, have not signed the pact.) A business group in the city, Boulder Tomorrow, opposed the new tax.
It will begin in April, 2007 and will add about $46 a year to an “average” business energy’s bill and about $16 annually to an “average” homeowner’s electric bill. (Other estimates place the annual cost a little higher.) This fee will be determined by the number of kilowatt-hours used by the business or home. Residents who power their homes with wind power, will not be affected by this tax. City officials have said currently 200+ businesses and 5,600 residences are powered by wind.
This new tax will generate about $1 million for the city each year. Xcel Energy, the city’s main energy company will collect the tax and disburse it to Boulder’s Office of Environmental Affairs. City officials say the tax is to pay for the “climate action plan” – efforts to increase energy efficiency in buildings and homes and to reduce the miles traveled by vehicles in the area.
Jonathan Koehn, Boulder’s Environment Affairs Manager, indicated the goal is to reduce the carbon levels to 7 percent less than those in 1990. That would be a 24 percent reduction from current levels of usage. Boulder officials estimate a savings of $63 million over the long term.
Oregon has a similar fee which began in 2001. Two of the states largest investor-owned utility companies added a three percent fee, also based on electrical usage. These utilities transfer millions of dollars to the Energy Trust of Oregon, a nonprofit organization. This trust distributes cash incentives to businesses and residents for using alternative energy sources like solar and wind power, biomass energy and for structural improvements to improve efficiency. Michael Armstrong, a policy analyst with the Portland Office of Sustainable Development, said that Portland had several programs for “sustainable living,” but had not yet proposed a carbon tax.
Another Colorado city, Fort Collins, has raised rates to pay for renewable-energy programs. Some utility companies in the US have increased fees based on electric consumption and earmark the funds for programs similar to the Ft. Collins program. Others transfer the collected monies to organizations similar to the Energy Trust of Oregon.
So, that is three American cities with a tax or fee being enacted based on electrical usage. And numerous utilities raising rates to encourage more prudent energy use and encourage the development of alternative energy sources. How far behind can your own city or town be in passing a similar fee? Possibly your own utility company has already raised their fees or imposed an additional fee on top of “normal” rates. Officials from local communities across the country are sharing information on similar programs. It’s easy to believe that gradually, these taxes and/or fees and rate increases will creep into more and more communities around the US. Energy costs seem to go only one way – up.
This measure, which passed with a 58 percent majority, was introduced by the Boulder City Council and supported by the Chamber of Commerce. They hope this tax will help reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases. They are trying to enable Boulder to reach goals set by the UN Kyoto Protocol, an entity which seeks to reduce global warming. (The protocol requires 35 developing nations to reduce their emissions of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide. The US and China, the world’s top two polluters, have not signed the pact.) A business group in the city, Boulder Tomorrow, opposed the new tax.
It will begin in April, 2007 and will add about $46 a year to an “average” business energy’s bill and about $16 annually to an “average” homeowner’s electric bill. (Other estimates place the annual cost a little higher.) This fee will be determined by the number of kilowatt-hours used by the business or home. Residents who power their homes with wind power, will not be affected by this tax. City officials have said currently 200+ businesses and 5,600 residences are powered by wind.
This new tax will generate about $1 million for the city each year. Xcel Energy, the city’s main energy company will collect the tax and disburse it to Boulder’s Office of Environmental Affairs. City officials say the tax is to pay for the “climate action plan” – efforts to increase energy efficiency in buildings and homes and to reduce the miles traveled by vehicles in the area.
Jonathan Koehn, Boulder’s Environment Affairs Manager, indicated the goal is to reduce the carbon levels to 7 percent less than those in 1990. That would be a 24 percent reduction from current levels of usage. Boulder officials estimate a savings of $63 million over the long term.
Oregon has a similar fee which began in 2001. Two of the states largest investor-owned utility companies added a three percent fee, also based on electrical usage. These utilities transfer millions of dollars to the Energy Trust of Oregon, a nonprofit organization. This trust distributes cash incentives to businesses and residents for using alternative energy sources like solar and wind power, biomass energy and for structural improvements to improve efficiency. Michael Armstrong, a policy analyst with the Portland Office of Sustainable Development, said that Portland had several programs for “sustainable living,” but had not yet proposed a carbon tax.
Another Colorado city, Fort Collins, has raised rates to pay for renewable-energy programs. Some utility companies in the US have increased fees based on electric consumption and earmark the funds for programs similar to the Ft. Collins program. Others transfer the collected monies to organizations similar to the Energy Trust of Oregon.
So, that is three American cities with a tax or fee being enacted based on electrical usage. And numerous utilities raising rates to encourage more prudent energy use and encourage the development of alternative energy sources. How far behind can your own city or town be in passing a similar fee? Possibly your own utility company has already raised their fees or imposed an additional fee on top of “normal” rates. Officials from local communities across the country are sharing information on similar programs. It’s easy to believe that gradually, these taxes and/or fees and rate increases will creep into more and more communities around the US. Energy costs seem to go only one way – up.