PA Environment Digest

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PA House Republicans Announce Energy Package, Including An Energy Advocate Within DEP To Veto Any Action That Would Impact PA’s Energy Portfolio And An Independent Energy Office With The Same Power

On March 26, House Republicans announced a nine-bill package of legislation they said would bring “real energy savings for Pennsylvania’s families and small businesses.”

Republican leader Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) said the package was in “stark contrast to the plan introduced by Gov. Josh Shapiro in recent weeks and proposals put forward by House Democrats throughout the course of this legislative session.”

“It needs to be more affordable to live in Pennsylvania and the package of bills introduced today will have a direct cost-savings to Pennsylvania’s energy consumers, making it more affordable for families and small businesses to find a home in Pennsylvania,” he said.

“This package of legislation is the exact kind of conversation we need to be having: About how to leverage our resources and our ingenuity to get government out of the way, find real savings for Pennsylvania’s families, and focus on our energy assets to deliver meaningful improvement in the lives of Pennsylvanians.”

[Note: Pennsylvania’s electricity generation lacks the stability and lower costs brought by diversity in our fuel mix. It depends on one fuel to generate 59% of our electricity. The price of that fuel is set by foreign markets and can be heavily influenced by the whims of adversarial nations and dictators. Read more here.

[Energy facility investors are moving in a big way to renewables + storage to bring lower prices, stability and reliability to the regional electric grid. Read more here.

[The dramatic spikes in natural gas cost as a result of the Russian war in the Ukraine and international markets now setting the price of gas in Pennsylvania are still being felt in Pennsylvania’s electricity rates, as the Public Utility Commission has repeatedly warned electricity consumers. Read more here.

[Between 75% and 80% of the shale gas produced in Pennsylvania is outside the state and exported to other countries. Read more here.

[In November, Pittsburgh-based EQT Corporation, the largest producer of natural gas in the US, relaunched its "Unleash” LNG Exports initiative that argued the US "has a duty to provide” natural gas to countries like China because they don't have natural gas of their own. Read more here.] Read more here.

[On February 28, Ohio US Senator Sherrod Brown and Oregon US Senator Jeff Merkley introduced the Protecting American Households from Rising Energy Costs Act, legislation that would ban the export of crude oil or liquefied natural gas (LNG) to our biggest adversaries: China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Read more here.

[LNG gas export capacity will double even with the Biden Administration’s pause on permits for new LNG export facilities. Read more here.]

Independent Energy Advocate In DEP

One proposal-- not yet drafted-- would establish an Independent Energy Advocate within DEP appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate who must approve any DEP action that “would impact Pennsylvania’s energy portfolio.”

The Republicans said, “DEP has consistently produced regulations and policies that impact our ability to produce electricity while only them with a narrow argument in favor of the specific regulation at hand. This has been done without considering broader energy implications (exact quote).”

[Note: Without seeing the language it’s hard to evaluate the proposal, but off-hand having two Secretaries of DEP does not seem to be a recipe for efficiency.]

Other Proposals

The other proposals in the package include--

-- Create a new independent agency to promote energy development in Pennsylvania which also must “approve any regulation or action of a state agency that would impact Pennsylvania’s energy portfolio.” [A third DEP Secretary or a second chair of the Public Utility Commission?]

-- Rename the DEP to the Department of Environmental Services.

-- Require government to show how regulations impact affordability for communities at risk for energy poverty by amending the Regulatory Review Act.

-- Authorize new Keystone Opportunity Zones for new energy facilities on closed energy sites [put out of business by competition from natural gas].

-- Set up College 529 or Health Savings Account-type accounts for utility bills.

-- Extend the Property Tax Rent Rebate Program To Account for Utility Costs.

-- Repurpose Act 129 energy efficiency program funding by returning the money to utility bill payers.

-- Direct Pennsylvania to be part of power-exporting state consortium within PJM.

Click Here for the available descriptions of the bills.

Related Articles - Energy Plans:

-- Gov. Shapiro Unveils Cap-And-Invest PA Climate Emissions Reduction Initiative To Reduce Carbon Pollution From Power Plants; Update Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards To Diversify Electric Generation, Improve Reliability [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro On Republican Reaction To His Energy Plan: They’ve Done Nothing And Power ‘Plants Have Closed On Their Watch;’ They’re ‘Used To Doing Nothing;’ ‘Doing Nothing Is Not Acceptable’ [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro Joins Industry, Labor, Environmental, Consumer Leaders To Highlight New Energy Plan To Create Jobs, Lower Costs For Pennsylvanians [PaEN]