On March 8, the Senate passed Senate Bill 143 (Yaw-R- Lycoming)--  that would block the ability of local elected officials from moving to cleaner sources of energy to address climate change by a bipartisan vote of 40 to 9.

Legislation like this was vetoed by Gov. Wolf in July of last year.  Read more here.

The legislation was introduced at the request of the natural gas industry and is part of a nationwide initiative by the American Gas Association.  Read more here.

It would prohibit elected officials in municipalities from “Adopt[ing] a policy that restricts or prohibits, or has the effect of restricting or prohibiting, the connection or reconnection of a utility service based upon the type of source of energy to be delivered to an individual consumer within the municipality.”

The bill was introduced because a small number of cities in other states, not in Pennsylvania, were adopting ordinances requiring the electrification of new construction and prohibiting the use of natural gas and heating oil as part of initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Duquesne Light [Read more here] and PennEnvironment [Read more here] have pointed out the economic and environmental benefits of electrification of new buildings in Pennsylvania, especially over the last 18 months when natural gas prices were spiking [Read more here].

The bill now goes to the House for action.

Related Articles - Local Energy:

-- Gov. Wolf Vetoes Bill Prohibiting Communities From Moving To Cleaner Energy Sources To Address Climate Change  [PaEN]

-- Duquesne Light Releases Whitepaper On Electrification's Potential To Benefit The Environment, Economy, Local Communities

-- Ohio River Valley Institute Decarbonization Pathway Relies On Zero Emissions Resources, Energy Efficiency, Increased Electrification, Is Less Costly Than Natural Gas, Carbon Capture Options

-- PA PUC: Cost Of Natural Gas Provided By Major Utilities In PA Increased As Much As 154% Over Last Year [PaEN]

-- PUC Alerts Consumers Utility Natural Gas Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 128%, Electric Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 34%; Both Driven By Cost Of Natural Gas On World Markets  [PaEN]

-- Senate Hearing On Electric Grid Reliability: Natural Gas Continues To Have Reliability Problems; Renewables Aren’t Coming Online Fast Enough; Energy Office To Be Proposed  [PaEN]

-- Sen. Yaw Proposes Independent Energy Office To Promote Development Of PA’s Diverse Energy Portfolio - Natural Gas, Nuclear Power, Coal [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - March 4 to 10; Big Week For Spills  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - March 11 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posts 84 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In March 11 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Compliance Reports

-- Feature: 60 Years Of Fracking, 20 Years Of Shale Gas: Pennsylvania’s Oil & Gas Industrial Infrastructure Is Hiding In Plain Sight [PaEN]

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Failed To File Annual Production/Waste Generation Reports For 61,655 Wells; Attorney General Continues Investigation Of Road Dumping Wastewater  [PaEN]

-- DEP Issued 754 Notices Of Violation For Defective Oil & Gas Well Casing, Cementing, The Fundamental Protection Needed To Prevent Gas Migration, Groundwater & Air Contamination, Explosions  [PaEN]

-- DEP Report Finds: Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers Routinely Abandon Wells; Fail To Report How Millions Of Gallons Of Waste Is Disposed; And Non-Compliance Is An ‘Acceptable Norm’  [PaEN]

-- DEP 2021 Oil & Gas Program Annual Report Shows Conventional Oil & Gas Operators Received A Record 610 Notices Of Violation For Abandoning Wells Without Plugging Them  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industry Has Record Year: Cost, Criminal Convictions Up; $3.1 Million In Penalties Collected; Record Number Of Violations Issued; Major Compliance Issues Uncovered; Evidence Of Health Impacts Mounts  [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week - Energy:

-- Gov. Shapiro’s Budget Proposes Major Initiative To Speed Up DEP Permit Reviews/ Inspections; Double Oil & Gas Fund Investment In State Parks/Forests Infrastructure  [PaEN]

-- Rep. Greg Vitali Named Majority Chair Of House Environmental Committee; House Appoints Committee Members  [PaEN]

-- DEP Oil & Gas Advisory Board Meets March 13 To Hear Updates On Regulation Of Natural Gas Storage Areas, Chapter 78 Regs; Federal Well Plugging Program, Carbon Capture, Hydrogen Development  [PaEN]

-- DEP Hosting 6 Regional Engagement Sessions On Climate Action For Environmental Justice Communities Starting April 5  [PaEN]

-- The Guardian: One Of The Worst Global Methane Leaks In 2022 Was In PA - Equitrans In Cambria County; Routine Abandonment, Non-Compliance Of Conventional Gas Wells  [PaEN]

-- DEP Methane Overflight Research Study Resulted In Voluntary Reductions In Oil & Gas, Landfill Facilities; Coal Industry Uncooperative [PaEN]

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Lower Boom On Natural Gas Leaks, Audit Abandoned Gas Well Capping  [PaEN]

-- Save Our Streams PA Hosting April 28-30 Abandoned Well Weekend Workshop In Bradford County  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Meets March 16 On 6 Natural Gas Drilling Water Uses; 4.5 MGD Out-Of-Basin Transfer  [PaEN]

-- Senate Passes Bill Blocking Local Elected Officials From Moving To Cleaner Energy Sources To Combat Climate Change [PaEN]

-- Rep. Fiedler, Labor Leaders, Educational, Environmental Leaders Announce Bill To Create Grant Program To Invest In Solar Energy Facilities At Schools  [PaEN]

-- PA Solar Center Hosts March 17 Webinar On Opportunities For PA In Solar Supply Chain, Solar Recycling And Reuse [PaEN]

-- Penn State PA Technical Assistance Program Hosts March 23 TEC Talk On Trends On Industry Decarbonization At Hazleton Campus  [PaEN]

-- U.S. EIA: 'Increasing Electricity Generation From Renewable Sources Contributes To Lower Power Prices' In 2023  [PaEN]

-- Bill Setting Decommissioning Rules For Utility-Scale Solar Energy Facilities Passes The Senate  [PaEN]

-- Sen. Yaw Proposes Independent Energy Office To Promote Development Of PA’s Diverse Energy Portfolio - Natural Gas, Nuclear Power, Coal [PaEN]

-- U.S. Senate Hearing: Energy, Environmental Impacts Of Cryptocurrency Mining In Pennsylvania  [PaEN]

-- Republicans On Senate Committee Report Out Bill Allowing General Assembly To Kill Regulations By Doing Nothing  [PaEN]

Related Article This Week - Train Derailment:

-- Pennsylvania State Actions Responding To Ohio/PA Train Derailment - Week Of March 6  [PaEN]

[Posted: March 8, 2023]

3/13/2023