Cap & Trade: The Costs

The Courier-Journal ran an article over the weekend that finally brought the issue of the "costs" associated with global warming regulation to the fore. The bottom line is that the Waxman-Markey "cap & trade" legislation that recently passed the House of Representatives will "increase by about $10.50 per month for a typical home in three years, and $18 a month by 2020" for the 'typical' home served by LGE and KU.

We're not sure what a 'typical' household is but let's consider the percentage increases included within the same article: 14% by 2012 and 24% by 2020. Now - lets assume that a customer is on the budget plan, which runs them $100 a month. We'd think that this represents a pretty large cross-section of LGE customers. The percentages suggest that  that  budget-plan customer's bill would increase by $14 by 2012 and $24 by 2020. Annually: $168 and $288 respectively. But, remember - these are only the costs that you will see on your utility bill. These costs will be hidden in the price of everything that requires energy to create - which means everything you buy.

And what will we get out of it? A 17 percent reduction in global warming gas emissions. And, of course that sounds like a lot for just a little. 

But a deeper look at the data suggests otherwise....