That's how much we Americans would be paying as a whole if the Federal Government charged 1¢⁄kWh in taxes for every kWh used for all of the Residential, Commercial, Industrial and Transportation levels. This is based on the total electricity usage of each sector over the 12 month period from July 2010 to June 2010, which is summarized below.
Now, in places like Wyoming, with the lowest overall electricity rates in the country in 2010, and especially in the Industrial sector with a 4.79¢⁄kWh average, this tax would represent a 20% increase in the rate of electricity, but in places like Hawaii, with the highest overall electricity rates in the country, and with Residential rates averaging 28.1¢⁄kWh, this represents a mere 3½%.
Currently there are no federal taxes at least on residential electricity usage. So if the 1¢⁄kWh tax was enacted, it would be the first ever tax on electrical usage at the national level. And after all, $37.6 Billion is just a drop in the bucket in terms of federal spending. None the less, it's money that could be used to pay for much-needed infrastructure improvements and given the balanced-budget oriented Congress, this would at least allow for the payment of some infrastructure projects which could include investments in solar, wind and geothermal power.
The main problem I see with this across-the-board tax is that like all flat taxes, it's in some ways regressive. Where as the rich can afford to conserve and reduce electricity usage, lower-income folks won't be able to afford such modifications and so will end up requiring more and paying more for the same amount of service. I therefore don't support such a tax as is but think this is a debate that we as a nation should have. Much or the U.S. infrastructure, including even the electrical grid itself, is aging and passed it's original life expectancy. We need to invest in the next 20, 30 and 50 years to keep America equipped to maintain its commercial edge.
| Month | Residential (MWh) | Commercial (MWh) | Industrial (MWh) | Transportation (MWh) | Other (MWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2010 | 155,553,653 | 128,192,270 | 84,809,418 | 658,253 | |
| August 2010 | 154,953,988 | 128,966,878 | 86,888,581 | 608,458 | |
| September 2010 | 125,769,782 | 119,324,357 | 82,676,592 | 628,120 | |
| October 2010 | 96,754,911 | 108,437,492 | 81,372,705 | 607,314 | |
| November 2010 | 93,170,152 | 101,398,996 | 78,804,962 | 595,314 | |
| December 2010 | 130,379,651 | 107,864,455 | 79,688,183 | 672,258 | |
| January 2011 | 146,430,729 | 107,907,906 | 78,933,839 | 696,590 | |
| February 2011 | 121,728,957 | 99,356,722 | 75,565,871 | 650,399 | |
| March 2011 | 105,476,318 | 103,550,741 | 81,262,696 | 657,024 | |
| April 2011 | 94,799,256 | 100,725,066 | 79,358,719 | 619,441 | |
| May 2011 | 98,306,883 | 107,068,609 | 81,574,661 | 620,181 | |
| June 2011 | 126,369,341 | 117,547,425 | 83,152,045 | 637,512 |
Source: the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Sales Revenue Spreadsheet (xsl).
No comments:
Post a Comment