EEI's Kuhn Joins Senators for Climate Bill Rollout

Appearing Wednesday with Senators John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., as they unveiled their new climate change bill, EEI President Tom Kuhn called the package an "historic achievement" and said EEI supports "continued Senate debate" on the legislation, Greenwire and other news organizations reported. Kuhn cited the bill's inclusion of a "hard" price collar and its provision of emission allowances as signs of progress.

Duke Energy Chairman, President and CEO Jim Rogers was quoted as saying the legislation "helps get the transition right to a low-carbon world." FPL Chairman and CEO Lew Hay added that "it protects all the customers." Kerry said his proposal had support from "people from across the ideological spectrum," including the Pentagon as well as environmentalists, the Associated Press reported.

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., was quoted as saying: "It's important to try to get it done. Whether we can succeed or not, I don't know. It is a long shot."

According to the Los Angeles Times: "The proposed legislation mandates reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels via a so-called cap-and-trade system for power plants and, eventually, factories -- with strict curbs on the types of trading that could be done. It would require oil companies to obtain emission permits at a set price not determined by the trading market. The legislation would immediately send two-thirds of the revenue from emissions permit sales directly back to consumers as refunds on their utility bills, Kerry said, and eventually refund nearly all of the proceeds to consumers, in an effort to blunt energy cost increases."

- Related stories also appeared in the New York Times and Christian Science Monitor.