Full Title: High Cost of CEPP in Arizona
Author(s): Isaac Orr, Mitch Rolling
Publisher(s): Center of the American Experiment
Publication Date: October 13, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
The Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP) advanced by Congressional Democrats
as part of the proposed $3.5 trillion reconciliation package would require electricity providers to increase the amount of carbon dioxide-free electricity sold on their systems by 4 percent every year or pay penalties.
Achieving this goal would cost an additional $119.4 billion (in constant 2021 dollars) in the state of Arizona, compared to operating the current electric grid. This would result in a 45 percent increase in electricity prices by 2031, compared to 2019 rates. The cost of complying with the CEPP would increase to $246.9 billion if the Palo Verde nuclear power plant were to cease operations, which would raise electricity rates by nearly 90 percent from 2019 rates.
If borne by residential, commercial, and industrial electricity customers in Arizona, rather than federal taxpayers, the additional costs imposed by the CEPP would be more than $1,200 per customer, per year through 2052.
Higher electricity prices would lead to higher costs for all Arizonans, but low-income households would be disproportionately hurt because these families spend a higher percentage of their income on energy bills relative to their more affluent counterparts.