Utilities Pay Up: How Ending Tax Dodging by America's Electric Utilities Can Help Fund a Job-Creating, Clean Energy Transition

The power sector is responsible for a third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, making it the country’s single largest contributor to climate pollution. In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency released a Clean Power Plan aimed at curbing these emissions, with specific state-by-state goals. Many utilities firms quickly opposed the Obama administration initiative to cut power plant emissions on the grounds that it would require costly investments in clean energy generation. A cheaper, faster route to achieving the Clean Power Plan goals would be to reduce electricity demand through improved energy efficiency. This report calculates how much additional revenue would be available for investment in energy efficiency if utilities paid their fair share of taxes.