EEI President Kuhn Sets Out Priorities for Climate Change Bill

EEI President Thomas Kuhn, in an op-ed published by The Hill, set out a list of core priorities EEI sought to have included in the climate change bill. Kuhn noted EEI "support for reducing U.S. carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050, together with a series of measures to reduce resulting price increases for our customers."

Kuhn stressed the need for "strong consumer protections" as "crucial to building the public support necessary to sustain U.S. climate policy over the long haul." To meet that goal, "EEI and its members are advocating that a full 40 percent of emission allowances should be allocated" to utilities, with state regulators overseeing the use of the allowances to benefit consumers. Kuhn called for a price collar on allowances, which he called "especially important during the early years of a climate program," a time of high compliance costs and inflexibility "for reducing emissions."

Kuhn praised President Obama "for joining the Copenhagen talks, a step that may well help accelerate worldwide progress on the climate front. Equally important, we hope that the president's engagement abroad will help spur action in the Senate."