On May 25, Republicans on the House Local Government Committee reported out Senate Bill 275 (Yaw-R- Lycoming) which prohibits counties, local governments and authorities from promoting clean, cheaper energy sources to reduce climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions.

The bill was reported out of Committee on a party-line vote-- Democrats opposing.

The bill is now on the House Calendar for action.

Background

This legislation is part of an initiative by the American Gas Association to get states across the country to adopt legislation to prohibit local governments from adopting ordinances that would block the use of natural gas in new homes and commercial construction.  Read more here.

A companion bill-- House Bill 1947 (O’Neal-R-Washington)-- was passed by the House in January and is now in the Senate Local Government Committee.  Read more here.

In March, the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook said the falling costs of renewable energy means “robust” competition with natural gas and said electricity is the fastest growing energy source in buildings.  Read more here.

On May 16, the U.S. EIA reported photovoltaic module shipments jumped from 1.3 million kilowatt hours in February to 2.2 million kilowatt hours in March.  Read more here.

This legislation is meant by the natural gas industry to reduce conversions to electricity, even in the face of record natural gas cost spikes as a result of the Russian Ukraine war.

As Bloomberg and others have reported, “U.S. Natural Gas Is On A Path To ‘Crazy Prices’ With No Relief In Sight.”

The spiking cost of natural gas is also affecting electricity, as the Public Utility Commission warned on May 9 when they announced electricity costs will be rising between 16.1 percent and 44.6 percent starting June 1.  Read more here.

However, electric generation companies are moving quickly to incorporate cheaper renewables in their generation mix, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration has reported.  Read more here.

Click Here to watch a video of the meeting.

Rep. Jerry Knowles (R-Schuylkill) serves as Majority Chair of the House Local Government Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-787-9029 or send email to: JKnowles@pahousegop.com.   Rep. Robert Freeman (D-Lehigh) serves as Minority Chair and can be contact at 717-783-2152 or send email to: rfreeman@pahouse.net.

Related Articles:

-- At The Request Of The Natural Gas Industry, House Republicans Pass Bill To Stop Communities From Adopting All-Electric Building Codes

[Posted: May 25, 2022]

5/30/2022