Report Finds RGGI Has Been A Success
A new study finds that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Inc. (RGGI), a cap-and-trade energy auction, has added $1.6 billion in economic value to its 10 member states, including Massachusetts.
The report by the Analysis Group's Boston office gives a glowing review of the program, finding that customers saved $1.1 billion on electricity bills and another $174 million in natural gas and heating costs during the three years of the program.
A total of $1.3 billion in energy efficiency measures have been funded using proceeds from the RGGI auctions, which has led to the creation of 16,000 jobs.
RGGI works by auctioning off allowances that power suppliers purchase to offset each ton of carbon dioxide deposited into the environment.
Power plans bought $912 million worth of allowances between 2008 and 2011, the study found, which were distributed to the 10 member states and used for energy efficiency work, worker training programs and renewable energy installations.
The 10 states along the East Coast that make up RGGI account for one-sixth of the country's population and generate one-fifth of the country's gross domestic product, but they only use 11 percent of the power generated in the country and contribute only 6 percent of the carbon emissions in the U.S., the study found.
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