A Goldilocks moment for RGGI?

The Northeast’s cap-and-trade system just posted a record-high price for power plants to pollute.

But many of the program’s supporters breathed a sigh of relief: They had worried the price might be even higher.

The latest auction of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which covers electricity- sector emissions for 10 East Coast states, cleared at $35 per ton of carbon.

To some climate hawks, the $35 price tag is a sweet spot: high enough to support decarbonization but not too high to risk the program’s political support.

“We’re talking about a very, very small percentage of overall bills,” said Jamie Dickerson, senior director of climate and clean energy programs at Acadia Center, an advocacy group.

Meanwhile, this week’s auction brought in $642 million for the program’s 10 states. They will use that funding for things like direct ratepayer relief, which lowers costs immediately, as well as energy efficiency, which holds down electricity costs by lowering peak demand — a major factor in utility costs.

“The reinvestment, in particular into energy efficiency, has really given like two to three times as many lifetime energy bill savings compared to those upfront costs,” Dickerson said.

To read the full article from Politico, click here.