TEQs or Tradable Energy Quotas, a form of energy rationing proposed by David Flemming to manage the fossil fuel energy descent and mitigate AGW caught my eye recently, here's the summary from the author:
Available on: http://www.teqs.net/ - I strongly recommend people look into this in more detail, while the summary is excellent, it won't answer you questions on how it might work practically, but I think the author(s?) have thought about most of the usual objections quite well!
Naturally, it was deemed "inappropriate at this time" by the UK government because it is assumed that restricting energy usage overtime would throw a spanner in the works of economic growth and the government might actually have to admit there is a serious problem with continued use of fossil fuels for energy production and then do something about it...1. TEQs (Tradable Energy Quotas) is an electronic system for fairly reducing consumption of carbon-intensive energy, at the national scale.
2. There are two main reasons why this may be desirable:
a) maintaining a fair distribution of fuel and electricity during challenging times.
b) providing a method to guarantee achieving national carbon reduction targets.
3. TEQs (pronounced “tex”) are measured in units.
4. Every adult is given an equal free Entitlement of TEQs units each week. Other energy users (Government, industry etc.) bid for their units at a weekly Tender, or auction.
5. When you buy fuel or energy, such as petrol for your car, units corresponding to the amount of energy you have bought are deducted from your TEQs account, in addition to your money payment. This is the only time you need TEQs units, and transactions are generally automatic, using credit-card or direct-debit technology.
6. All fuels and electricity supplies carry a “carbon rating” in units; one unit represents one kilogram of carbon dioxide – or the equivalent in other greenhouse gases – released in the fuel’s production and use. This determines how many units are needed to make a purchase (thus giving a competitive advantage to low-carbon energy).
7. If you use less than your Entitlement of units, you can sell your surplus. If you need more, you can buy them. All trading takes place at a single national price, which rises and falls in line with demand. Buying and selling is as easy as topping up an Oyster card or mobile phone.
8. The total number of units available in the country is set out in advance in the TEQs Budget. The size of the Budget goes down year-by-year – step-by-step, like a staircase.
9. The Budget is set by the Committee on Climate Change, which is independent of the Government. The Government is itself bound by the TEQs scheme; its role is to support the country in thriving on the available carbon/energy.
10. Since the national TEQs price is determined by national demand, it is transparently in everyone’s interest to help each other to reduce their energy demand, and to work together, encouraging a national sense of common purpose.
Sadly, I think It's unlikely that the UK will see such a rationing system put in place in time to meaningfully manage shortages of petroleum and energy in general, in any case, I also have doubt's that they will be needed because energy prices can only go so high before people lose their appetite and demand is curtailed permanently, however, reading about the TEQs and it's practical ratcheting down of fossil fuel consumption is wholly sensible, at least from a AGW stance.
Reading into this, it obvious that implementing an electronic rationing system on a home scale is impossible and pointless, however sticking to a ever decreasing energy budget would be interesting lifestyle experiment for those of us who haven't yet dedicated much thought, or practically grappled with the issue. Greer's 'collapse now and avoid the rush' comes to mind.
Obviously it will be more challenging for us ERE folk who have already curtailed energy use dramatically through lifestyle choices like good thermostat habits, low car usage etc, however for the most part, I hazard a bet that there's room for improvement for most forum members. In any case, setting an energy budget and sticking to it could be fun to see what living in the near future might look like. I'm not suggesting people start fitting DIY solar water heaters, calculate the minutiae of carbon footprint of your industrially produced potatoes or burning sustainably sourced wood for cooking/heating fuel, but you'll get brownie points if you do .
One of the advantages of the TEQs system, is one can sell their surplus energy on the market, sadly we won't have that benefit in a non-rationed environment, but you'll have a feel good factor of reducing emissions substantially, and saving some money while you are at it. I'll have my own challenge getting DW on board with this experiment, not sure how well it is going to go down. But I guess it's time. If there's appetite from the forum members to join me in this challenge, I'll think about setting some ground rules. If not, well, I hope you find the TEQs proposal interesting at the very least.