US Utilities Expect Carbon Taxes, Emissions Rules - Reuters

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HOUSTON - US power company executives said Thursday that they expect a series of rules and taxes will be imposed, possibly within five years, on carbon pollution, a contributor to greenhouse gas accumulation and climate change. Those regulations will challenge electric power providers using coal for fuel and may contribute to further reliance on natural gas plants and increased acceptance of nuclear power.

Power companies that ignore the coming rules are likely to be on the losing end of the requirements, the executives said at a Houston energy conference. "I think if our point of view is it's not going to happen then we'll be on the menu and not at the table," said James Rogers, chairman and chief executive of Cinergy Corp

"I think there is only a 25 percent chance carbon will be regulated by '09," Roger said. "I think it is inevitable it will be regulated." The executives said carbon sequestration will likely be a centerpiece of future legislation with taxes and a pollution credit trading system.

"All of forms of power generation create carbon," said Walter Higgins, chairman, president and chief executive of Sierra Pacific Resources. "Some sort of carbon sequestration is the most likely intermediate-term carbon solution."

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