Estimating costs of electric utility compliance with proposed revisions to the Clean Air Act

摘要

Several bills have been in Congress to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from electric power plants. The effects of these bills on electricity costs depend on features of the bills, on the mix of generating capacity owned by different electric utilities, on the technologies available for complying with the legislation, and on the time horizon used to calculate the costs. A system of computer software has been developed to make utility-specific estimates of the effects of different legislation on electricity costs. Example results from the model suggest that the emissions trading systems proposed in some legislation may have less effect than expected on compliance costs. 19 refs., 8 figs., 5 tabs.