ACES Allowance Allocation Update

By Teryn Norris. Originally posted at the Breakthrough Institute

The allowance allocation in the latest version of the American Clean Energy & Security Act (available here) contains some differences compared to the first version, which we analyzed after its introduction on May 15th. Below is a graph comparing the bill's average annual value of allowances between 2012-2025 for each sector (at $15/allowance). Sectors highlighted in gray experienced a decrease in funding, while sectors highlighted in yellow experienced an increase:



The new funding for small LDCs is described in the summary of changes as follows: "The substitute amendment adds a new provision in section 782(a) to allocate 0.5% of allowances to small electricity local distribution companies for energy efficiency, renewable electricity and low income assistance programs. This allocation lasts from 2012 through 2025 and then phases out over the next five years."

This funding appears to come at the expense of state funding for renewable energy deployment and energy efficiency, however, the LDC funding can only be loosely defined as funding for clean energy deployment given its potential use for low income assistance programs.

Download allowance allocation analysis from May 15 (xls)

Download allowance allocation analysis from June 25 (xls)