Coastal Cash-In Cap-and-trade Bilks Midwest

Written By: Dave Hoopman  |  Posted: Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Last March, a National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) analysis of cap-and-trade legislation showed it would make electricity more expensive to produce, and thus more expensive for consumers. No surprise there: The purpose of cap-and-trade legislation is to force changes in people's behavior by raising the price of power.

But there was one big surprise. The NRECA analysis showed the Midwest, Plains, and Southern states-where electric cooperatives abound-would bear a bigger share of the expense than the East and West Coasts. This, NRECA said, is because Southern and heartland electricity producers use coal as their primary generation fuel and will need more emission allowances to continue serving their customers.

Sign into your account to read the rest of this article. »