Montgomery County Council members are poised to pass a carbon tax to fight global warming that would apply only to the county’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
Council members say the measure showcases leadership in reducing the area’s carbon footprint, but critics counter that it comes at the expense of businesses already facing new taxes — in the name of political correctness.
The bill, sponsored by Councilman Roger Berliner, D-Bethesda, would place a $5 tax on each ton of carbon dioxide for power stations that produce more than 1 million tons in a given year.
Mirant Corp.’s Dickerson generating plant is the county’s lone station to meet the tax threshold. It generates 3 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, accounting for a quarter of the county’s total.
Multiple council members said the bill has enough votes to pass.
» The Montgomery County Council unanimously voted to reduce pension payouts to public safety and senior employees. Last year, the council approved cost-of-living adjustments to employees’ pension plans, even though salaries did not reflect such an increase. The “phantom” pensions will be paid out this year because county officials didn’t want to make a retroactive change.
Supporters argue it makes sense for one of the county’s largest polluters to help fund clean-air initiatives.
“This is the least painful, fastest way to raise millions of dollars for the county,” Berliner said, pointing to the roughly $15 million county officials expect the measure to raise next year. Montgomery County is facing a nearly $1 billion budget gap.
However, Mirant officials say the tax will raise electricity prices in the county and lead to a surge of power from out-of-state producers not bound by the county’s stringent environmental regulations.
“An increase in our price to produce will likely result in the electricity market not calling on our station,” said Mirant spokeswoman Misty Allen.
But bid records show that Mirant has not been a recent energy provider locally for Pepco, the largest electricity supplier for the Maryland suburbs and the District. Pepco officials said it is possible Mirant could participate in the market through third parties but that they would not know about it.
But bid records show that Mirant has not been a recent energy provider locally for Pepco, the largest electricity supplier for the Maryland suburbs and the District. Pepco officials said it is possible Mirant could participate in the market through third parties but that they would not know about it.
Berliner had a more blunt reaction to claims of higher electricity bills: “That’s bull [expletive],” he told The Washington Examiner.
Since power is bought through competitive bidding, Berliner said, Mirant would lose out on bids if its prices weren’t low enough.
In a letter to council members, Pepco officials said they would be “unable to quantify” the effect the law would have on rates.
The carbon tax would be coupled with expected dramatic increases in the county’s energy tax rate.
Mirant already pays a steeper price for carbon dioxide emissions under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate carbon-trading auction in which companies pay for higher levels of pollutants.
The County Council is expected to vote on the carbon tax Wednesday, a day before coming to an agreement on a $4.3 billion budget.
