attainment for 8 hour ozone (15v counties)

and fine particulates

(26 counties).

Programs

are in place to bring these areas into attainment. Georgia is part of the annual S02 and NOx allowance

trading programs

under the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR).

While the D.C. Court of Appeals

vacated

CAIR in July 2008, it was temporarily reinstated

in Dec. 2008. CAIR will likely remain in place until 2016 when EPA's strict Mercury

and Air Toxics Standards

(MATS)

rule eliminates

the need for a CAIR replacement program. EPA has exempted

Georgia

from the seasonal

NOx trading program

because

its models found Georgia

did not significantly

contribute

to downwind

state ozone non-attainment. In order to meet MATS'

strict rate limitations,

17 of Georgia's

coal-fired

units without

advanced post combustion

SO2 controls

will be forced to invest in additional

emission

control projects

or retire. Fourteen

units have announced

plans to retire by 2015. Two units have plans to retrofit FGD scrubbers. Georgia coal fired powerplants

had an average

sulfur dioxide

emission

rate of 0.45 lbs SO2/MMBtu in 2012, 9% above the national

average

of 0.41 lbs SO2/MMBtu

3. Georgia

utilities have spent $2.3 billion to retrofit their coal units with FGD scrubbers

to reduce S02 emissions.

To date, 12 of Georgia's

29 coal units have FGD scrubbers

or other advanced

SO2 controls.

Georgia coal units have reduced

their average

S02 emissions

rate over 67 percent from their 1997 average of 1.38 lbs SO•/MMBtu

as a result. Scrubbed

coal units represent

over 61% of Georgia's

total coal capacity. Georgia's

average

coal emission

rate should decline further in 2015 when 13 unscrubbed units implement

their planned

retirement

and the remaining

3 units must retrofit scrubbers

or retire. Georgia

Coal Plant Average

SO2 Emission

Rate: 1997-2012 (Ibs SO2/MMBtu) 1.501.40 1.38 1.32 1.301.201.101.000.90 0.800.700.60O.500.40 O.300.200,10 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 0.54

0.41 1.35 1.38 1.37 1.30

0,71

0.45

2011 2012 2012 US Avg. Georgia coal plants emitted

101,074

tons of SO2 in 2012, a 78% decrease

from the 463,370

tons of SO2 in 2008. Georgia

utilities are well below their CAIR allowable

emissions

limit of 213,057 tons per year in 2012 and 149,140 tons per year starting in 2015.

3 EPA CEMS monitoring

data: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/areas/etscem.htmGeorgia's coal-fired

stations

had an average

NOx emission

rate of 0.14 lbs/MMBtu

in 2012, a 39% decrease

from Georgia's

2007 average

NOx rate of 0.23 lbs/MMbtu

and a 71% decrease from their 1997 average

(0.48#NO

MBtu) 4. This decrease

is attributable

to Georigia

utilities having already

invested

$2.05 billion in retrofitting

9 of Georgia's

29 coal units with Selective Catalytic Reduction

(SCR) controls.

With plans to spend another

$1.7 billion for two more planned SCR retrofits

and 14 additional

coal units retiring,

NOx emissions

should decrease

even further.

10.

11.

12.

13. Georgia

Coal Plant Average

NOx Emission

Rate: 1997-2012 (Ibs NOx/MMBtu) 0.600.500.400.30
0.20
0.10 0.48 0.45 0.43

0.26 0.25 0.23 0.15 0.16 0.14 0.19

0.00 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2012 2012 US Avg. Georgia coal plants reported

annual NOx emissions

of 32,791 tons in 2012, a 65% decrease

from the 94,500 tons emitted in 2008. Georgia

is well under its Clean Air Interstate

Rule (CA/R) NOx emissions limits of 66,321 TPY in 2012 and 55,268 by 2015. Following the Kingston,

TN coal ash spill in Dec. 2008, Congress

encouraged

EPA to develop standards to prevent

against future coal residual

impoundment

wall failure. As part of the data collection effort, the EPA collected

impoundment

data from 543 power plants plants and assessed their potential

risk. EPA found 30 plants posed "high hazard potential"

that could result in loss of life in cases of a impoundment

failure..The

impoundment

walls at all Georgia

coal plants were determined to be structurally

sound. Georgia is a member

of the Southeast

Regional

Carbon

Sequestration

Partnership

(SECARB) being coordinated

by the Southern

States Energy

Board. According

to the 2012 Carbon Sequestration Atlas of the United States and Canada,

SECARB

studies have found that Georgia has the potential

to store between

145-159

billion metric tons of C02 in its deep saline formations. EPA monitoring

data show acid rain deposition

in Georgia

has decreased

significantly

under the 1990 Clean Air Act. The state has low acid rain deposition

rates (0.10-0.15

H ÷ kg/ha).

4 EPA CEMS monitoring

data: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/areas/etscem.htm14. 0"17 Hydrogen

ion wet deposition

from measuremet made at the Central

Analytical

Laboratory

Sites not pictured: AK01 0.03 kcjlha

o:01 AK03 0+02 kgtha PR20 0.14 kgllla •t•1994

.0.30

Naliot+ai Atmo,%'Jlleric

t-)el:)ositio•

Pr-Qgram/Natiotlal

Tre[+ds Neb+vork http :/!nadp.sws.uiuc+edu +o 3:

H(kgll•a) •0.10 0.10 0.15 0.15 0.20 0.20 0.25 0+25 0.30 0.30 0,35 0.35 0,40 0.40 0.45 0.45 0+50 0.50 0.55 0.55

Sites not pictured: Alaska 01

0.02 kg/ha Alaska 03

0.02 kg/ha Alaska 06

0.01 kg/ha Puerto Rico 20 0.41 kgfha Virgin Islands 01 0.13 kglha

Hydrogen

Ion Wet Deposition:

2010

(kgtha) 0.50 0.40 0.30 0.20 0.10 •0

EPA's National Atmospheric

Deposition

Program/National

Trends Network 2007 data. Data posted at !_•_t_t.l•://_+).•_@_,+s•:_s_,u•_uq._e_,_d_tj/_•j_ata_/Energy Cost

Impacts

on Georgia Families Energy prices and stagnant

incomes

are straining

the budgets

of Georgia's lower- and middle-class

families.

Georgia

households

with annual

incomes below $50,000,

representing

53% of Georgia's

population,

spend an estimated average of 22% of their after-tax

income

on energy.

Energy

bills for the poorest households earning

less than $10,000

represent

71% of their family

incomes, before accounting

for any energy

assistance

programs.

Increased

energy

costs are competing

with other necessities

for lower-

and middle-income

family budgets across

Georgia.

Georgia

Family

Energy

Costs as Percent

of After-Tax

Income

8o% I

71%
60%

4O%

20% 1 7%

0% <$10K

$I 0-<$30K

$30-<$60K >I=$80K Annual Household

Income February 2013 www.arnericaspower.orgEnergy Cost

Impacts

on Georgia Families This paper assesses

the impact of energy costs on Georgia

households

using energy consumption

suwey data and current

energy price data from the U.S. Department of Energy's

Energy Information

Administration

(DOE/EIA).

1 Energy costs are summarized

by household

income

group using Georgia

data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

2 Energy expenditures

as a percentage

of after-tax

income are estimated for the effects of federal and state income taxes and federal social insurance

payments. Key findings

include: Some 53% of Georgia's

families

have gross annual incomes

of $50,000

or less, with an average

after-tax

income of $22,377,

less than $2,000 per month. The median household

income of Georgia

families

in 2011 was $46,007,

8% below the national

median

household

income of $50,054. Measured in constant

1990 prices, residential

electricity

prices in Georgia

are 16% below 1990 levels, while the price of residential

natural gas has increased by 42%. The relatively

low cost of electric power is due in part to Georgia's historic reliance

on domestic

coal for most of its electric generation. Energy costs are consuming

the after-tax

household

incomes

of Georgia's

lowand middle-income

families

at levels comparable

to other necessities

such as housing, food, and health care. Georgia

families

spend an estimated

average

of 12% of their after-tax

incomes

on energy.

The 1.9 million Georgia

households earning less than $50,000

devote an estimated

average

of 22% of their after-tax incomes to energy. The 830,000

Georgia

families

with annual incomes

of $10,000

to $30,000,

nearly one-quarter of the state's population,

spend an estimated

average

of 25% of their after-tax

family budgets

on energy. The 336,000

poorest

families

in Georgia,

living well below the federal poverty line and earning

less than $10,000

per year, are being squeezed

hardest

by energy cost increases.

Many of these families

receive state and other energy assistance to help reduce energy costs. Yet for most lower-income

families

and for 931,000

Georgia

households

receiving

Social Security-

representing

27% of all Georgia

households

rising energy costs are competing

with other basic necessities for the family budget.Chart I

14 Georgia

Residential

Natural

Gas and Electricity

Prices, 1990-2012 (Constant

1990 $)

12108

42 1990

1995

2000

2005

2010
Source: U,S. DOE/BA (2012 data through November.) Energy Expense

Estimates Estimated household

energy expenses

for Georgia

are based upon DOE/EIA residential electric

and natural gas sales data for Georgia

through

November

2012. 9 Total household

energy costs are distributed

by income category

using DOE/EIA residential energy survey data. Gasoline prices have declined

from their 2012 peaks, but are above $3.50 per gallon in many areas. Gasoline

accounts

for the largest single increase

in consumer energy costs since 2001. EIA's February

2013 Short-Term

Energy Outlook

projects

2012 average retail gasoline

costs at $3.61 per gallon, nearly two and a half times higher than the $1.47 per gallon price in 2001. The increase

in gas prices follows a decade-long

trend of increased

market shares of pickup trucks and SUVs, and an increase

in the average

number

of vehicles owned per household.

1° Many families

continue

to own low-efficiency

vehicles

with low trade-in values. DOE/EIA's

2001 Survey of Household

Vehicles

Energy Use (2005) provides information on regional

gasoline

use by household

income category.

These regional gasoline consumption

data are updated

using EIA's 2013 national

average

retail gasoline price projection

of $3.61 per gallon. To be conservative,

household

gasoline consumption is reduced

by 10% from 2001 levels, reflecting

trends in retail gasoline sales. 11

4The table below summarizes

estimated

Georgia

household

energy expenses

by income group, with the percentage

of after-tax

income represented

by energy costs: Estimated Georgia

household

energy

costs by income

category Pre-Tax Annual

Income: <$10K $I0-<$30K

$30-<$50K

_>$50K

Average Residential energy $

$1,701

$1,789

$2,034

$2,670

$2,269 Electric $ $1,312

$1,356

$1,574

$2,019

$1,725 Natural Gas $ $315

$351

$373

$528

$441 Other* $ $73

$82

$87

$123

$103 Gasoline $ $2,055

$2,818

$3,830

$5,192

$4,054 Total energy $ $3,755

$4,607

$5,863

$7,862

$6,323 Energy % of after-tax

income *Other includes LPG and wood.

71%

25%

17%

10%

12%
The share of household

income

spent for energy falls disproportionately

on lower- and middle-income

families

earning

less than $50,000

per year. The 24% of Georgia households

earning

between

$10,000

and $30,000

spend an estimated

25% of their after-tax

income on energy.

While many lower-income

consumers

qualify for energy assistance,

these government

programs

are hard pressed

to keep pace with the escalation of energy prices.

In 2012, Congress

reduced

annual funding

for the federal LIHEAP energy assistance

program

from $5.1 to $3.5 billion. The average

Georgia

family with an after-tax

income of $52,994

spends an estimated $6,323 on energy,

or 12% of the family budget.

The 1.9 million Georgia households earning

less than $50,000,

representing

53% of households,

allocate

22% of their after-tax

incomes

to energy.

The large share of after-tax

income devoted

to energy poses difficult

budget choices

among food, health care and other necessities. Disproportionate Impacts

on Senior

Citizens The impacts

of increased

energy costs are falling disproportionately

on Georgia's 939,000 households

of Social Security

recipients,

representing

27% of the state's households. In 2011, Social Security

recipients

in Georgia

had an average

household Social Security

income of $16,081.12

Some 60% of these senior households

had additional retirement

income averaging

$24,140

before taxes. Unlike young working

families

with the potential

to increase

incomes

by taking on part-time

work or increasing

overtime,

many fixed income seniors are limited to cost-of-living increases

that may not keep pace with energy prices. Maintaining

the relative affordability

of electricity

and natural gas prices, and increasing

low-income energy assistance,

are essential

to the wellbeing

of hundreds

of thousands

of Georgia's senior and lower-income

citizens.Conclusion The escalation

of Georgia

consumer

energy prices

together

with high unemployment and sluggish

income growth among lower- and middle-income households underscore

the need to find ways to reduce energy cost impacts

on Georgia families,

especially

lower- and fixed-income

households. Acknowledgment: This paper was prepared

for ACCCE by Eugene

M. Trisko, an energy economist and attorney

in private practice.

Mr. Trisko has served as an attorney

in the Bureau of Consumer

Protection

at the Federal

Trade Commission

and as an expert economic witness

before state public utility commissions.

He represents

labor and industry clients in environmental

and energy matters.

Mr. Trisko can be contacted

at emtrisko@earthlink.net. End Notes

1 Data on residential

energy consumption

patterns

by income

category

are from U.S. Department of Energy,

Energy Information

Administration,

2009 Survey of Residential Energy Consumption

(RECS).

Georgia

electricity,

natural gas and other residential energy costs are based on 2012 state data from U.S. DOE/EIA

Electric

Power Monthly (January 2013), Natural

Gas Monthly

(January

2013) and State Energy Data System data available

at www.eia.•/•seds. 2013 gasoline

price projections

are from DOE/EIA Short Term Energy Outlook

(February

2013). 2 Household

incomes

in Georgia

by income category

are derived

from the distribution

of household income in U.S. Census

Bureau,

American

Fact Finder, Georgia

Selected Economic Characteristics:

2011 (2012).

4 Congressional

Budget Office, "Effective

Federal

Tax Rates Under Current

Law, 2001 to 2014," (August

2004). Effective

federal tax rates for the income categories

employed

in this paper were interpolated

from CBO's tax rates by income quintile

and adjusted

for changes in the American

Taxpayer

Relief Act of 2013. s State tax data are estimated

from state tax rates compiled

by the Tax Foundation (2012). o U.S. Census

Bureau,

American

Fact Finder, Georgia

Selected

Economic

Characteristics 2011 (2012). 7 U.S. DOE/EIA,

Electric

Power Monthly

(January

2013).
9 Id., and U.S. DOE/EIA,

Natural

Gas Monthly

(January

2013). lO U.S. DOT, 2001 National

Household

Travel Survey,

"Summary

of Travel Trends," (December 2004). 11 The Department

of Transportation's

2009 National

Highway

Transportation

Survey (NHTS) reports that average

vehicle-miles

traveled

per household

declined

from 21,187 miles in 2001 to 19,850 miles in 2009. DOE/EIA

data indicate

that retail gasoline

sales in barrels per day declined

by 10.1% from 2001 to 2012 on a household-adjusted basis.The regional

household

gasoline

expenditure

estimates

presented

in this report are comparable to the national

expenditure

data reported

in the 2009 NHTS after adjustment for gasoline

price differences. 12 U.S. Census

Bureau,

Georgia

Selected

Economic

Characteristics:

2011 (2012).