Cap and trade may be plum for homeowners California residents would see no net increase in their monthly utility bills as a result of the state's new cap-and-trade system to fight global warming, under a proposal issued Friday by state regulators. [...] the system would actually pay residential customers a small dividend, with the money drawn from the power plants, factories and other facilities that pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Cushion the impactState legislators had already decided that most of the money raised by selling off the utilities' allowances should be returned to the utilities' customers in some form, to cushion the impact that cap and trade might otherwise have on electricity bills. The state's investor-owned utilities, such as Pacific Gas and Electric Co., received a total of 65 million allowances to sell in Wednesday's auction. While California officials want businesses to cut greenhouse gas emissions, they don't want to drive those businesses out of the state. "On the basis of today's decision, we have a solid blueprint for helping customers ease into a carbon pricing regime, and reap the benefits," said Alex Jackson, legal director of the California climate project at the Natural Resources Defense Council.