On November 4th the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office issued a press release announcing that it will join “24 States, Cities, and counties” in defense of the EPA’s clean power plan (CPP). There are 18 states involved in this ‘defense’ posture, half of whom are already bound up by a the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. These RGGI states have been paying higher electricity rates for years as a result of the sort of carbon trading schemes and regulations that CPP would impose on the entire nation.
And it can’t be a coincidence that a super-majority of the defenders of CPP have the most expensive electric rates in the nation.
Connecticut (3rd worst), Delaware (13th worst), Maine (11), Maryland (12), Massachusetts (6), New Hampshire (tied 5th), New York (4), Rhode Island (9), and Vermont (tied 5th), all participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas initiative. They are already screwing residents and business owners with a carbon tax trading scheme.
Highly regulated California ranks 8th worst for electric rates with Hawaii–which The Hill.com notes does not even need to comply with CPP–has the highest electricity rates in the nation. Washington DC, another would-be defender of CPP has the 10th most expensive rate per kwh.
Among the other city and county sponsors Philadelphia pays 15.8 cents/kwh on average while Chicago is paying 15.7 cents/kwh (both higher than 3rd worst CT). New York City averages 19.8 cents per kwh (more than second ranked Alaska at 16.3/kwh). South Miami and Broward County hover around 11.8/kwh, tied with ME.
Eighteen of the twenty-four petitioners supporting CPP have an economic interest in handicapping everyone else which is exactly what the EPA’s Clean Power Plan does. It creates a national carbon trading scheme. The addition of this shadow tax on energy could even the playing field a bit by screwing over everyone else, depending on how the government decides–on a case by case basis–who must do what to comply.
New Hampshire and the RGGI states are operating under the assumption that as a region they are already in compliance and the NH AG’s press release speaks highly of past efforts to justify the imposition of similar burdens on others.
“For many years, New Hampshire regulators and industry have worked together to address greenhouse gas emissions in a responsible and cost-effective manner through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”) and by emphasizing the inclusion of renewables in our energy portfolio. The Clean Power Plan recognizes the value of these programs and will help bring the rest of the nation in line with reasonable greenhouse gas reduction goals.”
Not all the states have an obvious self-interest. Iowa, Oregon, Illinois, Virginia, New Mexico, and Washington State are defending CPP. Iowa is ethanol Mecca so there’s some sense in that but I’m not familiar enough with the other states energy footprints to guess–aside from the obviously liberal states–what they gain from a national carbon tax and further layers of regulation in the energy sector.
I’ll have to do some digging.
In the mean time, it is nice to see the Democrat AG of a left-wing NH governor in agreement with our RINO US Senator. That will look great on Senator Ayotte’s already embarrassing resume.
Oh, and don’t forget…political class cronies and the banking system stand to make billions annually which will then find their way to the politicians who support the expansion. Goldman Sachs has been waiting for years to be the beneficiary of national carbon trading scheme they have been waiting to ‘manage.’ Obama, Ayotte, and the rest have made it a reality, with the state of NH helping to push the wagon across the finish line.
This has never been about the environment or the planet, it’s just a way to tax everyone and everything to expand government control and to enrich a select few. The Republicans supporting it are either planning to be on the take or useful idiots for the progressive agenda. Neither of those is good for you or your wallet.
And, of course, there is the largest problem of all. There is no evidence that CO2 has any impact on temperature or that if the temperature were to rise (from any cause) that it would be anything but beneficial.
And there is zero evidence that the government can do anything other than cripple our economy, making ourselves a third rate America hobbled by progressives and their RINO water-carriers while China and India double or triple the amount of CO2 we might save annually under the yoke of CPP.
