1 orcas power & light cooperative ambassadors legislative kick-off meetings october 7 & 8,...
TRANSCRIPT
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Orcas Power & Light Cooperative
Ambassadors Legislative Kick-off MeetingsOctober 7 & 8, 2010
Washington’sElectric Cooperatives
Our Energy, Our Future:A Dialogue with America
Mobilizing co-op consumers to ask their elected representatives tough questions about the future of energy.
Washington’sElectric Cooperatives
Join the Campaign: www.ourenergy.coop
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What are we talking about?
• Cap and Trade/Carbon Tax
• Conservation/Energy Efficiency
• Renewable Energy Standard/RPS
• Net Metering
• Feed-in Tariffs/Standard Offer Contracts
• On-bill Financing
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Cap and Trade/Carbon Tax
• Not the same but have same goal:– Placing a cost on carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions
• Cap and Trade– Establishes limits on CO2 emissions– Permits issued for the allowed emissions
(allowances)– Allowances can be “traded” if surplus or
needed
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Cap and Trade/Carbon Tax
• Cap and Trade (continued)– Current proposals have serious flaws in the
proposed “trading” schemes
• Carbon Tax– More transparent– More effective in influencing behavior– Determining appropriate level is difficult– Politically it is DOA
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Conservation/Energy Efficiency
• Not the same thing– Conservation – Not using or reduced usage– Energy Efficiency – Smarter usage
• Washington State– Conservation requirements (RPS)– EE requirements on targeted items
• Federal– Proposals for energy efficiency requirements
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Renewable Energy Standard/ Renewable Portfolio Standard
• Enacted in over half of the states
• Federal proposals but no law yet
• Inconsistencies are rampant– Different definitions of “renewable”– Different levels of requirements– Different eligibility requirements
• Requirements exceed availability
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Net Metering
• Accounting for electricity generated on the retail customer’s side of the meter
• Retail customer gets credit for excess electricity– Excess electricity is “banked” for future bill
credit
• Payments are tricky because of federal jurisdiction over wholesale power purchases
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Feed-in Tariffs/Standard Offer Contracts
• No federal – only states enactment
• Jurisdictional issues – wholesale pricing
• Legislates “winners” and “losers” among production technologies
• Puts “business risk” on retail customers without any share of potential profits
• No regulatory oversight – retail customers at the mercy of generators
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On-bill Financing
• Provides funds for up-front investments in conservation and energy efficiency
• Great idea if done correctly– Restricted to residential and small commercial– Identified and quantified savings for retail
customer– Specific “pay-back” periods– Appropriate risk assignments
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That’s what are we talking about!
• Cap and Trade/Carbon Tax
• Conservation/Energy Efficiency
• Renewable Energy Standard/RPS
• Net Metering
• Feed-in Tariffs/Standard Offer Contracts
• On-Bill Financing
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Information
• Orcas Power & Light Cooperative– www.opalco.com
• Washington Rural Electric Cooperative Association (WRECA)– www.wreca.coop
• National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)– www.nreca.coop– www.ourenergy.coop
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PO Box 7219
Olympia, WA 98507
360.357.6048