Rhode Islanders - it's going to get a lot worse if Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is able to push through his carbon tax on electricity. Residents of Alberta saw a 9% increase in electricity costs when carbon taxes were implemented. It will be much worse in Rhode Island because of the regions dependence on LNG.
You better hope Senator Whitehouse fails in his push to add a carbon tax to electricity or get ready to pay dearly for electricity.
Just to be clear, it's not the "large corporations" that are paying the carbon tax; the consumers pay the carbon tax, just like when you pay a sales tax at the grocery store, the store collects the tax from the consumer and sends it to the State. The same is true for carbon taxes, your utility will collect the carbon tax from you and send the proceeds to the State. Make no mistake, it is us, the consumers that pay the carbon tax, not those big dirty generators.Â
If you live in Rhode Island and are wondering when would the carbon tax end, that depends on where you're electricity comes from, fossil or renewable resources. The answer to this question is available online. 92.3% of Rhode Islands Electricity is produced by Natural Gas, a fossil fuel that is subject to a carbon tax. Rhode Islanders should be prepared to pay a carbon tax until Natural Gas equals 0% - that's a long way from 92.3% - at least 10 years is my guess. FYI: The carbon tax goes up each year as an "incentive" to move to cleaner generation.Â