Duke Energy says Carolinas electricity rates would rise by at least 13 percent under President Obama's plan to address climate change by auctioning off carbon credits.
Obama would set the nation's first limits on emissions of carbon dioxide, the gas linked to global warming. Under an approach outlined in his proposed budget last week, industries and utilities such as Duke would be able to trade allowances to release the gas.
But Duke CEO Jim Rogers, who supports the carbon cap, says Obama is wrong to insist that those allowances be initially auctioned to carbon emitters. Rogers calls an auction a "carbon tax" that would be passed on to consumers, with most of the burden placed on coal-dependent states such as the Carolinas.
"He's going to create a market that's going to dramatically drive up the costs for allowances," Rogers said Monday. "It's going to be a feeding frenzy."
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