What happened to the tax credits on hybrid cars?

I wish I could afford a hybrid car, but at $20-$26,000 that's unlikely. To make matters worse, the Los Angeles Times reports that tax incentives on many of the most popular hybrid cars are expiring - just when we needed them. The $3,150 tax credit on the best-selling Toyota Prius ended last fall.  The Honda Civic hybrid tax credit was cut in half from $1,050 to $525 on July 1st. It will disappear at the end of this year.

Under the 2005 law that set up the hybrid tax credit system, it begins to be phased out after 60,000 models have been sold. There are still a few credits available, including for the Ford Escape hybrid, Mercury Marina, Chevy Malibu and Nissan Altima. But better hurry if you are interested. The government has a very useful website, www.fueleconomy.gov where you can check the credits for each vehicle.

- David Adams

How much will Progress Energy's nukes cost? Sorry, that's redacted

Wondering what Progress Energy's nuclear project will cost you? Sorry. That's not public information.

Progress Energy has blacked out its cost estimates for its Levy County nuclear project in recent filings with the Florida Public Service Commission. The utility had offered a public estimate in March of $17-billion, saying customers could see an increase of about $7.50 per 1,000 kilowatt hours starting as early as January. Now, the utility has asked the commission to black out its latest estimates on how the project could impact monthly bills. So why redact the cost estimates now?

"We have said all along that they are subject to change," said utility spokesman C.J. Drake. (This is true. This story notes their frequent use of the word "non-binding" in their cost estimates.)

Does that mean the cost has gone up or down?

Commission defers Florida Power & Light fuel rate increases

The Florida Public Service Commission on Tuesday afternoon voted 3-2 to spread Florida Power & Light's requested fuel rate increase over 17 months instead of allowing the utility to recover all of the money this year.

The commission reached the same decision earlier in the day for Progress Energy. As in the Progress Energy decision, commissioners Katrina McMurrian and Nancy Argenziano dissented.

McMurrian though the utilities should be able to recover all of the increase in fuel costs this year. Deferring the payments over 17 months means interest charges will be added on, increasing the cost to customers. Plus, additional fuel increases may be likely for 2009 if fuel rates continue to soar, leading to "rate shock" in 2009.

Argenziano insisted that she would not allow fuel cost recovery until the commission had the opportunity for a broad review of electricity bills.

McCain's energy policy flips and flops; top aide says he's just pragmatic

The Los Angeles Times takes a long look at presidential candidate John McCain's votes on energy issues over the years and finds that "the Arizona senator has swerved from one position to another . . ., taking often contradictory stances on the federal government's role in energy policy."

Specifically:

*"At times he has backed measures to ease restrictions on oil drilling off the coast and in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Other times he has voted to keep them. He has championed standards to require that automakers make vehicles more fuel-efficient, yet opposed standards to require that utilities use less fossil fuel by generating more power from renewable sources, such as wind and solar.

*"McCain has rejected federal tax breaks for renewable energy producers, but backs billions of dollars in subsidies for the nuclear industry.

*"He has criticized corn-based ethanol for doing "nothing to increase our energy independence." Yet while campaigning in 2006 in the Midwest corn belt, McCain called ethanol a 'vital, vital alternative energy source.' "

A senior policy advisor to the Arizona senator explained that his changing positions simply reflect a pragmatic approach to governing. "Sen. McCain is interested in getting results," he said.

[AP photo of Sen. McCain giving speech on energy in Las Vegas June 25]

--Craig Pittman

Lower your electric bill today

With rates on the way up for utilities throughout the state, there's only one sure way to lower your bill: use less electricity.

• Set your thermostat between 78 and 80 degrees, or higher if you're comfortable. When you leave the house, turn it up by 5 to 7 degrees instead of turning it off.
• Close drapes, blinds and shades in the hottest part of the day.
• Use ceiling and portable fans to keep air moving. Ceiling fans can make a room feel 2 degrees cooler.
• Unplug "vampires." These are cable boxes, televisions, phone chargers, iPod charging stations. All of them draw power even then they are not charging a device, and even when they are in sleep mode. These devices can add as much as 10 percent to your power bill. You can also put the devices on power strips, and turn the strip off when the appliances are not in use.
• Turn your computer and monitor off. Screen saver modes save NO power. Sleep modes continue to draw electricity. With most computers, powering your computer on and off does not wear it out. There is more wear and tear on electronics from heat stress of constantly running.
• Change to compact fluorescent light bulbs. The energy-saving light bulbs use about a third of the energy of incandescents.
• Put off the flat screen television purchase, or unplug the one you have when it is not in use. Many flat screen televisions can use as much power as an energy-efficient refrigerator.
• Turn off lights when you leave the room.
• Consider "zoned" air conditioning systems that allow you to cool only the rooms you are in, or a small window unit to cool only the rooms in use.
• Get a clothesline. It's hot out. Let the heat dry your clothes. A dryer uses lots of electricity, and adds heat to your house that your air conditioner has to work against. Florida law says homeowners associations can't ban clotheslines.
• Check with your utility about home energy audits that can see where you are wasting electricity. Some utilities also offer rebates on energy-saving devices like thermal wraps for hot water heaters, or solar thermal hot water installation. (Both Tampa Electric and Progress Energy offer audits and other programs.)

If you're having trouble paying your bill, there is help.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer

Police to charge offenders "fuel surcharge" for car chases (and those exploding gas pumps will really cost you)

Police car chases are risky enough. Now, defying the police is going to cost speeding drivers even more if they force police to guzzle gas.

From 1 July, motorists caught speeding in Holly Springs, Ga., will have to pay an extra $12 to cover the costs of the gas that police use while chasing them down, says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The town's police chief says he expects the "fuel surcharge" will generate up to $26,000 in revenue per year.

Elsewhere, high gas prices are making police think of other ways to save gas. That includes not sitting in stationary police cars with the air conditioner running. Officers in Pennsylvania are being told to park under a tree instead.

[Still from the movie "Bullitt'' courtesy of Warner Bros.]

- David Adams

Gas prices force schoolbuses to park, deputies to stop patrols, other government cutbacks

The ripple effect of rising gas prices is hitting municipal governments pretty hard. Already rocked by the housing market collapse and its effect on property taxes, city and county governments across the country are now facing even bigger budgetary woes because of the impact of paying for gas too, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"The El Paso County Sheriff's Department in southeastern Colorado has ended car patrols of its 2,000-square-mile jurisdiction. One Ohio sheriff is putting his deputies into golf carts. Stillwater, Okla., has stopped mowing the grass on nearly half of its parkland. Cleveland is remapping its trash pickup routes to cut costs," the Times reports.

"In suburban Seattle, the Northshore School District has cut eight bus routes, requiring some students to walk farther to get to their stops...In St. Joseph County in Indiana, the library system is facing major cuts and has decided to park its Readmobile for most of the summer."

"I know it's a step backwards," El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa told the paper, explaining why his deputies will now only respond to calls for help instead of patrolling regularly. "But when the dollars aren't there, they aren't there."

[St. Petersburg Times photo by Brian Tietz]

--Craig Pittman

White House: Greenhouse gases?! Don't open that e-mail!

This may be the funniest story of the day: According to the New York Times, when the EPA sent the White House an e-mail that contained the agency's formal conclusion (after years of lawsuits) that greenhouse gases are in fact a pollutant under the Clean Air Act, the White House Office of Management and Budget simply REFUSED TO OPEN IT.

That way it didn't exist -- sort of the electronic equivalent of putting your fingers in your ears and singing, "La-la-la-la!" so you won't have to hear something you don't want to hear. Presumably if the EPA had tried to hand-deliver it, the Secret Service would've tackled the messenger and wrestled him to the ground.

"The document, which ended up in e-mail limbo, without official status, was the E.P.A.’s answer to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that required it to determine whether greenhouse gases represent a danger to health or the environment," the Times reported. "This week, more than six months later, the E.P.A. is set to respond to that order by releasing a watered-down version of the original proposal that offers no conclusion...

"Over the past five days, the officials said, the White House successfully put pressure on the E.P.A. to eliminate large sections of the original analysis that supported regulation, including a finding that tough regulation of motor vehicle emissions could produce $500 billion to $2 trillion in economic benefits over the next 32 years."

[Photo: Government Printing Office]

--Craig Pittman

Crist clarifies his position on offshore drilling

Addressing his Climate Summit in Miami this morning, Florida Governor Charlie Crist could not ignore the thorny issue of offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Clarifying his apparent reversal last week over offshore drilling, he called for an "open discussion" of the issue "without compromising Florida's sensitive eco-sytems and her natural beauty."

He went on: "Only when we are able to do so far enough from Florida's coast, safe enough for our people, and clean enough for our beaches, should we even consider increasing our oil supply by drilling off Florida's shore. Let me repeat: far enough, safe enough and clean enough."

As someone sitting next to me said: "That's a lot of qualifications!"

- David Adams

[St. Petersburg Times photo by Scott Keeler]

- David Adams

Crist's 2nd Climate Summit: defining "our next step forward"

Florida Governor Charlie Crist opened his second climate summit in Miami this morning saying he hoped the meeting would "chart the course of the green future of the Sunshine State."
He used the occasion to sign the state's new Energy Bill #7135, calling it "Florida's most comprehensive energy economic policy in the history of our great state."
When he hosted his first summit last year, Crist said people were not entirely convinced about his plans. "After one year everyone is on board," he said. Now it was time to "define our next step forward," he added.
That meant exploring every possible way to protect Florida from the threat of global warming by tapping into its "entrepreneurial spirit." He compared the task ahead to the challenge in the 1960s set by the Kennedy administration to put a man on the moon. "Just as America continues to reach for the stars from our great state, Florida can once again launch America into the coming green tech business boom," he said.
In order to "liberate us from our current addiction to fossil fuel ... we must be innovative, we must reach higher," he added.
That meant training new talent and expertise to fill a new era of "high wage, high demand jobs" in the green tech field. "We must equip our workforce ... a trained workforce is key to developing the alternative and renewable energy sources and energy efficiency we must have in order to reduce our carbon emissions," he said.

- David Adams

Florida launches second Climate Change Summit

Florida Governor Charlie Crist hosts his second Climate Change Summit in Miami Wednesday and Thursday.

The Governor will use the occasion to sign the state's new Energy Bill passed by the legislature, which includes provisions to establish a cap and trade system to control the gases believed to cause global warming. In an overview of the summit published in today's St Petersburg Times I take a look at what has been achieved since last year's landmark summit.

Watch the summit live here.

- David Adams

"It´s not a bubble, it´s a tumor." Congress discusses oil price speculation

Those were the words of one expert who testified in hearings before Congress yesterday about the dramatic rise in oil prices. One energy analyst said the real price of oil was only $60 a barrel. Others say the culprit is a tight market for oil which has forced up prices.

In recent years, commodities markets have seen a flood of new money from institutional investors — such as hedge funds, pension funds and index funds linked to commodities. Investment from commodities-linked indices jumped from $13 billion in 2003 to $260 billion today, according to Michael Masters, the head of Master Capital Management LLC, a hedge fund.

Some blame energy trading markets that were deregulated in late 2000 at the request of Enron. MSNBC 'Countdown' host, Keith Olbermann has pointed the finger at Senator John McCain´s economic advisor, Texas Republican Phil Gramm who chaired the Senate Banking Committee that wrote the deregulation.

A congressional committee is investigating the issue. But results aren´t expected until the Fall. I wonder what the price of oil will be by then!

- David Adams

McCain's Clean Car Challenge gets a $300K push; meanwhile Obama's advisers are tied to ethanol

Republican candidate John McCain is giving a speech today to issue a "Clean Car Challenge" to automakers, according to the Associated Press. If they produce a zero-emissions vehicle, a McCain administration would push to give buyers $5,000 tax credits, he promises.

Also, he says his administration would offer a $300 million prize for development of a new, more powerful battery for hybrid vehicles that surpasses current technology. The bounty would equate to $1 for every man, woman and child in the country, "a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency," McCain said in remarks prepared for delivery Monday at Fresno State University in California.

Meanwhile the New York Times is reporting that his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, has close ties with the ethanol industry. One of his national campaign co-chairmen, former Sen. Tom Daschle, sits on the board of three ethanol companies. And his lead adviser on energy and environmental issues, Jason Grumet, came to the campaign from the National Commission on Energy Policy, a bipartisan initiative associated with Daschle and former Sen. Bob Dole, another advocate of ethanol.

The two candidates sharply differ on ethanol, with McCain calling for an end to government subsidies while Obama would continue them.

--Craig Pittman

[Associated Press]

Offshore drilling = kiss your clean beach buh-bye

Stephen Leatherman has seen every kind of beach in America, and he really likes the ones in Florida. The man known as Dr. Beach usually ranks them among the prettiest in America. This year he picked Pinellas County's own Caladesi Island as No. 1.

If oil companies start drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, that's likely to change. "We've got some of the finest, whitest sand in the world," said Leatherman, a professor at Florida International University in Miami. "Oil doesn't seem to go with that. … This could lower the value of our beaches."

Where there's offshore drilling, the beaches suffer, and so does the water. There are spills large (like the fiery Ixtoc blowout that dumped 3-billion barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 1979, pictured here) and small, as well as a plethora of pollution. Oh, and all those fish swimming around the derrick? Don't eat 'em.

Here's the full story about the consequences of offshore drilling from today's St. Petersburg Times, and here's one about Gov. Charlie Crist's about-face on the issue, and here's an excellent examination of whether all this will have any impact at all on rising gas prices.

[Photo of Ixtoc oil spill from NOAA]

--Craig Pittman

Iraq oil goes to big four in exclusive deal

Nearly four decades after being kicked out of Iraq, four Western oil companies are on the verge of signing no-bid contracts to service Iraq's largest fields, according to today's New York Times.

"Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company . . . are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry," the Times reports. "The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations."

The no-bid contracts -- unusual for the industry -- gives the big four a leg up on more than 40 other companies, including companies in Russia, China and India that wanted Iraq's business too. "The contracts, which would run for one to two years and are relatively small by industry standards, would nonetheless give the companies an advantage in bidding on future contracts in a country that many experts consider to be the best hope for a large-scale increase in oil production."

Is Iraq the safest oil field to be working these days? Although they're not burning the way they were back in 2003, it's still a risky location. But with oil prices what they are today, "there is no shortage of companies coveting a contract in Iraq. It is not only one of the few countries where oil reserves are up for grabs, but also one of the few that is viewed within the industry as having considerable potential to rapidly increase production," the Times notes.

[AP photo of Marine and burning oil well at the Rumeila oil fields in Iraq,  March 23, 2003]

--Craig Pittman

Struggling with high electric bills? There's help

It's getting hot, and electric bills are on a sizzling rise as utility customers turn down the thermostat. To top it off, the state's utilities are looking to increase rates for fuel and other services.

If you're struggling to pay your electric bill, you maybe able to get help. The Florida Public Service Commission on Thursday highlighted some of the assistance programs. Times columnist Ivan Penn details more information on how to get help.

Read about rate increases sought by Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas.

Read about fuel rate increases sought by Progress Energy Florida.

Different utilities have different programs available. Read on for more information...

Obama: Energy key to his economic plan

The heart of Sen. Barack Obama's economic plan is to spend $15 billion a year for 10 years on energy technology, according to an interview he gave the Wall Street Journal today. That technology would focus on wind, solar, and nuclear energy.

That $15 billion "would be funded by revenue collected from a separate Obama proposal to cap greenhouse emissions through a system of trading pollution permits," the Journal reports. "Sen. Obama would auction those permits to producers of carbon dioxide, such as electric utilities, and figures the sales would yield about $100 billion a year. Most of that would go to consumers as rebates on utility bills, he said."

In addition, the Democratic presidential candidate told the Journal, he would set up an "infrastructure reinvestment bank" that "would finance $60 billion in high-speed railways, improved energy grids and other projects over a decade."

The Republican candidate, Sen. John McCain, is less enamored of government intervention in the energy market. He has taken to saying Sen. Obama would represent "Jimmy Carter's second term," says the Journal. But Obama told the Journal that large-scale government intervention in the energy market is necessary. While McCain argues that venture funds are investing heavily in energy technology, Obama contends there is a gap in funding between innovation and commercialization that should be filled by Washington.

"You have this point in time when things haven't quite taken off yet and still entail huge risks," he said.

[Photo: Getty Images]

--Craig Pittman

McCain: Allow offshore drilling

Sen. John McCain today said he will call for lifting the two-decade old federal moratorium on gas and oil exploration that covers most of the U.S. coast and let states decide whether to allow drilling.

"We must, we must, embark on a national mission to reduce our dependence on foreign oil," McCain said during a media availability at his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Va.

Read more on the Times political blog The Buzz and an article in Tuesday's St Petersburg Times by  Washington correspondent Wes Allison.

Heating oil prices shooting higher too; no more advance contracts

Sure the calendar and the thermometer say summer's coming, but the rising price of oil is affecting more than just the cost of your morning commute. The price of heating oil  -- yes, heating oil for the winter -- is already hitting record highs as speculators rush to lock in contracts, Reuters reports.

As of 1 p.m. Thursday, the price of a gallon of heating oil for December hovered at just more than $4, after reaching a record high price of $4.07, according to New York Mercantile Exchange data. Last winter, the average price was $3.85, Reuters says. But analysts warn that this year prices could reach $5.

Distributors are recommending that customers lock in to 12-month contracts, but companies are increasingly unwilling to sell them. Clemons Fuel Oil in St. Petersburg, for example, no longer offers advance contracts. They only sell to customers at that day's price.

"Trade associations say pre-buy programs traditionally offered by dealers in May and June to lock in prices for consumers are nowhere to be found as oil prices continue to shatter record after record as part of a six-year rally," says Reuters.

    [AP photo]

--Andrew Dunn

China-Cuba oil drilling is a myth, says Sen. Martinez; pro-drilling GOP leaders keep peddling the story as true

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Florida, took to the Senate floor today to try to put the kibosh on a growing myth on Capitol Hill, being spread by members of his own party: That China is drilling for oil and gas just 60 miles off Key West, closer to Florida than American companies can drill.

"China is not drilling off the coast of Cuba," Martinez said. "Reports to the contrary are simply false. They're rumors, akin to urban legend."

The China argument is a favorite of pro-drilling forces on Capitol Hill who don't like federal restrictions on drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. With gas prices over $4 per gallon, Republicans again are trying to open up more of nation's coasts to drilling.

New worries over grid security

A security firm discovered a weakness in the software that protects the electric grid, the Associated Press reports.

"Attackers could gain control of water treatment plants, natural gas pipelines and other critical utilities because of a vulnerability in the software that runs some of those facilities, security researchers reported Wednesday," according to the AP.

Read the full story here. This follows a story in The National Journal two weeks ago that claimed recent blackouts, including Florida's statewide blackout in February, may have been caused by Chinese hackers. Florida Power & Light blamed the blackout on human error.

Read more on this issue here.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times Staff Writer

GOP sides with oil companies, against Democrat plan to roll back Big Oil tax breaks -- and against breaks for alt-fuels

A Democrat-backed bill that "would have rolled back some $17 billion in tax breaks and pressured major oil companies to invest in new energy sources by hitting them with a windfall-profits tax if they did not," says the New York Times, failed to get enough votes in the Senate today to move forward.

"The package also would have instructed the Justice Department to pursue members of OPEC for alleged price fixing and required oil traders to put up more cash on futures exchanges to address speculation, which many observers believe is contributing to the unprecedented run-up in world crude oil prices," the Washington Post reports.

"Republican opponents of the oil-tax measure have argued that higher taxes on the oil companies would backfire, driving up gasoline prices and discouraging new domestic oil production and exploration," the Times reports. "If the bill were approved, the American people 'will get exactly what they don’t want,' said Senator Pete Domenici, Republican of New Mexico, who predicted higher prices and more reliance on imports."

Instead Republicans want to "increase environmentally safe exploration of untapped oil resources in the United States" -- i.e., drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Meanwhile, in a separate vote, Senate Republicans blocked consideration of legislation that would extend tax breaks for wind, solar and other alternative energy sources.

       [AP photo]

--Craig PIttman

Gas is up, driving is down, greenhouse gas is down -- but so is traffic at the Kwik-E-Mart

Federal officials are saying greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. fell by 9 million metric tons for the first quarter of 2008. The reason: high gas prices are making everyone park the car and figure out some other way to get around.

The feds are reporting the first decline in miles driven on U.S. roads since 1979, according to a story today in the Washington Post.

Th e Federal Highway Administration, "estimated vehicle miles traveled on U.S. roads for March fell 4.3 percent, or 11 billion miles, compared with March 2007," the Post reports. "It was the first time that March travel on public roads fell since 1979 and the biggest yearly drop for any month in history."

As a result, "business at roadside convenience stores has slowed," the Post reports. MasterCard says it's seen a 4 to 5 percent decline in gasoline purchases.

Don't look for relief any time soon. Reuters  reports that the latest federal guesstimate is that gas should peak at $4.15 a gallon in August. But this is from the same agency that predicted it would peak at $3.73 a gallon in June.

"Nationwide, about 8 percent of Americans say they have changed their commuting patterns and are taking public transportation," the Post reports.

[Image taken from The Simpsons.]

--Craig Pittman

Tax carbon or cap and trade? GAO experts split on which is best -- but say it's time to set a price on GHG

Eight of the experts the Government Accountability Office consulted for a new report it just released today say the government should set up a cap-and-trade system for controlling carbon, while seven favor a tax on greenhouse gases. But they all agreed on one thing.

"All of the panelists agreed that the Congress should consider using a market-based mechanism to establish a price on greenhouse gas emissions," the GAO reported. "Experts differed on the initial stringency of the market-based mechanism, with 14 of the 18 panelists recommending an initial price between less than $1 and $20 per ton of emissions."

Most of the panelists consulted by the GAO "preferred either a tax on emissions or a hybrid policy that incorporates features of both a tax and a cap-and-trade program."

[Photo by NASA]

--Craig Pittman

Obama vs. McCain: How their energy plans stack up

The failure of the Lieberman-Warner bill Friday means it will be up to the next occupant of the White House to take the lead on dealing with global warming. Both Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama say they favor caps on greenhouse-gas emissions -- but that doesn't mean their positions on energy are identical, notes an interesting analysis in today's Wall Street Journal.

"Obama is pushing a bigger government role in fostering the development of technologies to reduce emissions and alternatives to fossil fuels," the Journal notes. Meanwhile, McCain "argues for a more hands-off approach, saying 'unintended consequences' can result from wrongheaded interference in the marketplace."

McCain says he's reluctant to support government incentives such as tax credits for wind and solar energy, and compared his stance on those to his position on corn ethanol: "I'm a little wary -- I have to give you straight talk -- about government subsidies. When government jumps in and distorts the market, then there's unintended consequences as well as intended."

Obama, on the other hand, "is promising to invest $150 billion over the next decade in alternative fuels such as cellulosic ethanol that can be made from materials such as switchgrass and wood chips. He'd push a requirement that the U.S. by 2025 get at least 25% of its electricity from renewable sources like the wind, the sun and geothermal energy."

      [AP photos of Obama on bike and McCain in Everglades]

--Craig Pittman