To head off an expected gasoline price increase, two Republican legislators Dec. 1 announced they are sponsoring legislation to exempt motor fuels from California’s carbon cap-and-trade program. Their effort comes as transportation fuels and natural gas are scheduled to come under cap-and-trade Jan. 1. The legislation by Assemblymember Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) and Sen. Andy Vidak (R-Hanford) would exempt transportation fuels, including natural gas, from the program. “We’re all enjoying the lowest gas prices in years, but when the gas tax kicks in we will feel the pinch at every level of our economy,” Assemblyman Patterson said at a press conference announcing the measure. Including transportation fuels under cap-and-trade could boost the price of a gallon of gasoline by 16 to 76 cents, the two San Joaquin Valley Republicans maintained. Clovis Unified School District legislative analyst Steve Ward told reporters that the school system would have to pay another $100,000 for fuel each year, money he said that could be spent on books or new computers for students. The Legislative Analyst estimated earlier this year that the price of gasoline could go up by 13 to 20 cents/gallon, possibly more. A bill by Assemblymember Henry Perea (D-Fresno) to exempt gasoline from the cap-and-trade program failed to pass last summer. * * * * * California and Quebec‘s first joint carbon allowance auction Nov. 25 sold 23,070,987 vintage 2014 allowances for $12.10/ton apiece and 10,787,000 vintage 2017 allowances for $11.86/ton, the California Air Resources Board announced Dec. 3. Each allowance gives the buyer the right to emit the equivalent of a ton of carbon dioxide. The next auction is planned for Feb. 18. * * * * * California and Quebec, Canada, plan to auction off 297,102,336 vintage 2015 and 41,726,000 vintage 2018 carbon emissions allowances in four separate auctions in 2015, the California Air Resources Board announced Dec. 1. The minimum bid price for both vintage 2015 and 2018 allowances will be $12.12/ton, or $12.08/ton Canadian. Each allowance confers the purchaser the right to emit a ton of carbon dioxide. Of the vintage 2015 allowances to be auctioned, 215,480,291 are owned by California and Quebec and 81,622,045 are allowances that the state is providing for free to electric and natural gas utilities. * * * * * Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member Philip Moeller is calling for a full commission review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s clean power plan. The plan seeks to cut carbon emissions from existing power plants 30 percent by 2030. “My primary concern relates to implications of the clean power plan on the reliability of the nation’s electricity system,” he wrote Dec. 1 to agency administrator Gina McCarthy. His letter comes after the North American Electric Reliability Corp. warned in a report that the clean power plan poses reliability challenges (Current, Nov. 13, 2014).
