The Economic Impacts of Failing to Build Energy Infrastructure in New England

This energy infrastructure study was prepared for the New England Coalition for Affordable Energy by La Capra Associates, Inc. and Economic Development Research Group after constraints in previous years cost the region approximately $7.5 billion. New England’s reliance increased dramatically between 2000-2015 as natural gas was being used to fuel nearly half of the region’s generation. Analysts on this report used the REMI model to evaluate the economic consequences of constrained or insufficient energy infrastructure investment in terms of employment and disposable income. In this analysis, energy price impacts were studied separately and then translated into changes in costs as felt by different customer groups, such as residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The study simulated two scenarios with the REMI model based on insufficient energy infrastructure investment between 2016 and 2020: the macroeconomic effects of unrealized construction activity and the ensuing higher energy costs.

La Capra Associates, Inc. & Economic Development Research Group – The Economic Impacts of Failing to Build Energy Infrastructure in New England [full PDF]

Measuring the Economic Impacts of Public Service New Hampshire Electric Generation Asset Divestiture Options

The Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH), now Eversource Energy, signed and filed with the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission a formal Settlement Agreement with various other parties, agreeing to sell all of its remaining electric generation facilities. Divesting all of its electric generation assets helped accomplish the long-term goal of fully deregulating the electricity industry within New Hampshire. REMI was utilized in this study to model the economic and demographic effects of potential divestiture scenarios, which included a settlement scenario that allowed for the securitization of all stranded costs. All the scenarios modeled had aggregate impacts that created jobs, output, and gross state product (GSP), while the economic activity generated from the relative cost savings also increased state tax revenue savings.

Regional Economic Models, Inc. – Measuring the Economic Impacts of Public Service New Hampshire Electric Generation Asset Divestiture Options [full PDF]

Economic and Policy Impact Statement: Approaches and Strategies for Providing a Minimum Income in the District of Columbia

The Office of the Budget Director of the Council of the District of Columbia produced an economic and policy impact statement analyzing the potential for a locally-funded guaranteed minimum income or universal basic income for residents of the District of Columbia. The study estimated the cost of living in D.C. while also testing the strength of the public social safety net. Researchers then used their findings to create three different methods for providing D.C. residents a minimum income and calculate the economic consequences of these methods. The Office used a 70-sector REMI model to forecast the impact of a minimum income program on the region’s economy and labor market, as well as simulate four separate scenarios to provide an array of possible economic impacts of a minimum income program rather than a single predictive data point.

The Office of the Budget Director of the Council of the District of Columbia – Economic and Policy Impact Statement: Approaches and Strategies for Providing a Minimum Income in the District of Columbia [full PDF]

Modeling Georgia Fundamental Tax Reform Using REMI

The REMI model was used in this study by the Fiscal Research Center at Georgia State University to evaluate the effects of fundamental tax reform on different sectors of Georgia’s economy. Fundamental tax reform for this report refers to a substantial tax change that will reduce income taxation and increase taxes on consumption. Analysts incorporated the REMI model to run two simulations of tax alterations in the state and found that, in the specification in which the cost of capital declines, employment and gross state product grow modestly over the baseline, but when the cost of capitol does not change, employment and gross state product decline modestly relative to the baseline. In the model, the shift from income tax to a value-added-tax-style consumption tax must induce a reduction in the cost of capitol to have positive effects on gross state product and employment. The REMI model focused on the role that fundamental tax reform has on relative prices across consumer goods and how consumer decision making may be impacted by those changes.

Fiscal Research Center at Georgia State University – Modeling Georgia Fundamental Tax Reform Using REMI [full PDF]

Impact of Introducing an Electric Vehicle Tax Credit on the North Carolina State Economy

A 70-sector REMI model of the North Carolina economy was utilized by Keybridge Public Policy Economics to evaluate two scenarios (“baseline” and “policy”) that helped to estimate the impact on state gross domestic product (GDP) of implementing a $2,500 tax credit for the purchase of both battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids with an electric battery capacity of at least 10 kilowatt hours. The model used the aggregate change in the amount and distribution of consumer spending, as well as the change in North Carolina state government spending, as key input assumptions in order to calculate the impact of the electric vehicle tax credit on North Carolina’s economic output. Researchers identified that the policy increases the state’s real GDP during each year of the study period, with the cumulative 5-year GDP boost to the economy at $37 million and the cumulative 16-year gain at $52 million. The analysis also found that North Carolina motorists would pay less for transportation fuel as a result of the significant increase in electric vehicles on the road, and that the state tax credit would substantially increase the number of electric vehicles sold, which then boosts cash inflows to state households from the federal income tax credit.

Keybridge Public Policy Economics – Impact of Introducing an Electric Vehicle Tax Credit on the North Carolina State Economy [full PDF]