Carbon Tax Calculator

A carbon tax calculator to estimate the cost increase on your electricity bill

Have you heard about a carbon tax (British Columbia and Australia) or cap and trade program (California) , which could add a tax or fee onto your carbon emissions?

Use our simple carbon tax calculator to estimate what the impact might be, based on the carbon tax amount, based upon the number of metric tons of carbon emission equivalents (CO2e).

Simply enter the number of kilowatt hours of electricity you consume (per month or year), and the calculator will provide the dollars of increase in your electricity bill from a carbon tax.

Here is an explanation of the fields used in the calculator:

kWh: The number of kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed in a time period (monthly average or annual amount)

Carbon Tax: The proposed carbon tax per metric ton of carbon equivalents (CO2e). We default to $20 per metric ton, but it can be adjusted to your situation. If you do not use US dollars, you can simply enter the amount in your currency.

kWh per ton: This is the conversion of kWh to metric tons of CO2e. The number used is 1450, which is the estimate used by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The number can vary by region of the US, based on the mix of coal, natural gas, hydropower, and renewable energy.

The formula for calculating the increase in your electricity bill:

(kWh) / (kWh per ton) x (Carbon Tax)

In the example shown in the screenshot, if a company consumes 300,000 kWh per month, and the carbon tax is $20 per metric ton, then they can expect an increase in their electricity bill of $4,138 per month. Their current bill would be around $30,000 (assuming $0.10 per kWh), so this would be a 14% increase.

About Us: Help Save Earth is a website dedicated to using data to help people reduce their impact on the environment, using tools such as commuting to work, carbon footprint tracking, green points, and now the Carbon Tax Calculator. We support the idea of the carbon tax, as it helps balance out the external costs of climate change, so the market can respond correctly and drive the right behaviors from consumers and businesses.