The 10 states that have launched a regional effort to cut carbon dioxide emissions at power plants released a series of technical documents July 11 in anticipation of their first auction of emissions allowances, including detailed bidding procedures and an auction schedule.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) auction, scheduled for Sept. 25, will represent a significant marker for the effort by northeastern and mid-Atlantic states to cap and then to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from electric utilities to help curb global warming.

Using an emissions trading approach, RGGI calls for stabilizing those emissions from 2009 through 2014 and then reducing emissions by 2.5 percent in each of the next four years. The regional initiative, launched in 2003, will conduct the first auction of carbon dioxide emissions allowances ever held in the United States.

The technical materials released July 11 also provide eligibility criteria for bidders, information on the auction format, and procedures that must be used by potential bidders to participate in the auction.

RGGI is being implemented by 10 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont (132 DEN A-3, 7/10/08).

The materials also include a sample version of the qualification application to help guide potential bidders. However, the actual applications--along with other official documents--will not be made available until July 24.

RGGI states also plan to publish their formal auction notice on July 24. That date marks the beginning of an official 60-day “pre-auction process” leading up to the auction on Sept. 25.

By Dean Scott

Copyright 2008, The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.