On June 24, members of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee were told at a hearing on House Bill 2277 (Otten-D-Chester), the Governor’s Energy Plan would diversify energy generation, improve grid reliability, lower consumer costs by avoiding energy price spikes, generate energy-related employment; or would upend competitive energy markets that work and be a “death wish” for our economy.

Key Hearing Takeaways

-- Meets 3-Part Energy Policy Test: House Bill 2277 meets Governor's three-part test for energy policy: it must protect and create energy jobs, take real action to address climate change, and ensure reliable, affordable power for consumers in the long term

-- Investors Support Renewables: The PJM Interconnection queue is showing us where investors are headed-- 97.8% are renewable or energy storage projects-- we need to skate to where the puck will be in the energy market.

-- Grid Is OK Now, But:  PJM regional grid is in an excellent position now, but generation is coming off the grid as we're seeing that demand increase.

-- One Fuel Dependence Leads To Grid Vulnerability: Over-reliance on one or two sources of power makes it easier to topple the electric grid-- 59% of PA electric generation is now fueled by natural gas-- the PRESS proposal would support 21.

-- Paid Price For Inaction: We have already paid a price for inaction as a result of our over-dependence on natural gas when price spikes caused by geopolitical upsets in the world energy markets increased power costs 40% to 60% in Pennsylvania.

-- 40 GW Of Renewables OK’d Not Built: PJM has already approved 40 GW of renewable energy generation that has not yet been built.

-- Onsite Solar Generates More Jobs: Building onsite solar offers the largest opportunity to grow jobs compared to larger centralized energy generation.

-- Winning The Clean Energy Transition: Pennsylvania cannot avoid the clean energy transition, but we can win it-- this is a critical moment to recognize that we need energy, but we also need to pair it with the goals of reducing emissions, creating jobs, reducing consumer impact.

-- Cautions: Pennsylvania is America’s number one exporter of electricity, second largest producer of natural gas, and third largest producer of coal.  This proposal would upend competitive markets on Pennsylvania-generated electricity, is an insult to consumers and a death wish for our economy.

Click Here to watch a video of the hearing.

Two-Part PA Energy/Climate Plan

The PA Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard (PRESS) introduced in House Bill 2277 (Otten-D-Chester) and Senate Bill 1190 (Santarsiero-D-Bucks) is one part of a two-part PA Energy/Climate Plan announced by Gov. Shapiro in March with labor, business and environmental groups.  Read more here.

The second part-- the PA Climate Emission Reduction Program (PACER)-- was introduced in House Bill 2275 (Abney-D-Allegheny) and Senate Bill 1191 (Comitta-D-Chester)

PRESS continues all of the successful elements of the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS) while making it more inclusive—adding nuclear power, next generation technologies like fusion, and clean forms of natural gas for the first time.

This revitalized energy standard will deliver outsized economic value, improve the reliability of our electricity grid, and position Pennsylvania as a leader in the energy arena for the next twenty years.

PRESS raises the target for the cleanest and renewable energy projects in Tier I to 35% by 2035; it raises the target for Tier II to 10%; and it creates a new Tier III that includes important alternative sources or of power like co-blended or low emission natural gas and other step-stone resources with a 5% target by 2035.

In addition, PRESS ensures the continuity of our existing clean energy nuclear fleet by creating a mechanism for those facilities to receive support in the event they are threatened with closure.

Under PACER, the Department of Environmental Protection will calculate a Pennsylvania-specific cap on carbon emissions and hold our own independent PACER credit auctions. The proceeds will be invested as follows--

-- 70 percent returned directly to electricity consumers, including those in rural areas, as an across-the-board, on-bill rebate by the Public Utility Commission (PUC). This reflects the proceeds expected to come from Pennsylvania electricity customers.

-- 30 percent to support energy efficiency projects that reduce air pollution in Pennsylvania, invest in new job-creating clean energy projects, and support low-income energy consumers with their energy bills through a year-round LIHEAP program. Of that project funding, 40 percent will be dedicated to directly benefit Environmental Justice communities.

Click Here for a more detailed summary of the Governor’s Energy/Climate Plans.

Governor’s Office

Jacob Finkel, Deputy Secretary of Policy, Office of the Governor, provided an overview of the PRESS proposal saying, “The Governor has consistently laid out a three-part test for new energy policy: it must protect and create energy jobs, take real action to address climate change, and ensure reliable, affordable power for consumers in the long term.

“PRESS meets all three parts of the Governor’s test.

“First, PRESS will accelerate economic development and grow our energy workforce. Second, PRESS will enhance reliability and resiliency while lowering emissions. And third, PRESS will help control costs for consumers in the long run.

“But PRESS does more than just pass the Governor’s test—it is a key competitive tool in the race to modernize our energy grid and to ensure the next generation of energy resources gets built here in Pennsylvania."

"Each of these is a strong reason on its own to support PRESS, but taken together, you can see why organized labor, the environmental movement, and Pennsylvania’s Consumer Advocate all stand together alongside the Governor embracing this proposal."

“As we sit here today, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory tells us there are an unprecedented number of new energy projects queued to be developed in our region, powered by remarkable federal incentives.

“The queue allows us to see what may be built in the future and where—right now, it shows 97.8% of future PJM projects will be renewable or energy storage and that, too often, those projects are skipping over Pennsylvania.”

“PRESS is skating to where the puck will be in the energy market.”

“If we do not act, we risk losing the mantle of energy leadership Pennsylvania has proudly carried since the 1800s. If we do not signal to the marketplace that we want new generation built here, those resources will still be built, but in other states.”

“Reliability is at the core of PRESS. We know that the next two decades are going to hold unprecedented challenges: demand for electricity is increasing—PJM recently tripled its estimate for electricity demand by 2034—legacy generation sites are retiring, and extreme weather that puts pressure on the grid is growing more common.

“PRESS is designed to meet these challenges and to promote a reliable grid.

“First, as we’ve been discussing, it encourages the construction of a lot more power resources that will supply what’s most needed: more sustainable electrons.

“Second, it ensures those resources are not all the same. Over-reliance on one or two sources of power makes it easier for extreme weather events to topple even the best-planned grid.

[Note: 59% of Pennsylvania’s electric generation is now fueled by natural gas which has had reliability problems during recent severe weather storms.  Read more here.]

“Just look at states, like Texas, which have seen catastrophic blackouts during extreme weather. Texas responded in part by expanding the share of diverse sources on its grid in the last three years.

“PRESS takes the same approach, expanding the two Tiers of power sources under AEPS into three Tiers and requiring that minimum amounts of all three types exist in Pennsylvania.”

21 Different Energy Sources

“Overall, PRESS includes 21 different sources of energy across those three Tiers. This ensures we will grow the diversity of power sources on our grid in the years ahead.”

“PRESS also strongly encourages the development of baseload resources. It provides a dual credit for long-term battery storage. That will incentivize advanced batteries that can supply power in the moments when they’re most needed.

“PRESS also directs Alternative Compliance Payments towards resilient resources like geothermal and distributed generation for the first time.

“PRESS is cost conscious. We have designed PRESS to be the best value energy portfolio standard in the nation. It has built-in cost control mechanisms that ensure prices remain within defined bands for each Tier of energy.

“Those price limits, the Alternative Compliance Payments (ACPs), get triggered if the cost of energy in a given Tier exceeds reasonable amounts.

“We also have limited the Public Utility Commission’s ability to raise those cost limits for the first five years, and only in small increments after that if it is found to be in the public interest.

“Equally important, many of the resources that qualify under PRESS are low or zero-marginal-cost, meaning that once they are built, the fuel is free. That includes wind and solar, as well as geothermal and advanced nuclear power.

“As I mentioned, Texas has increased the amount of renewables on its grid; in fact, it now has more wind and grid-scale solar power than any other state and studies have shown that those zero-marginal-cost resources are saving Texas consumers close to a billion dollars per month.

“Similarly, deployment of these resources at greater economies of scale in Pennsylvania will reduce our electricity prices, lowering utility bills for everyone.

Saves Consumers $252 Million

“Overall, the Governor’s two energy policy proposals, the Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act (PACER) and PRESS, will unlock billions of dollars in investment in communities across the Commonwealth, create tens of thousands of jobs, and save consumers $252 million in the first five years.”

Click Here for a copy of Finkel’s written testimony.

Natural Resources Defense Council

Robert Routh, Natural Resources Defense Council, told the Committee their analysis found the PRESS proposal would--

-- Will accelerate the build out of renewables in-state, resulting in greater near-term deployment of new clean energy.

-- Results in significantly higher total PA generation and exports, especially into the 2030s. Net exports grow in the policy case to almost 120 terawatt hours (TWh) annually (whereas they decline under BAU). In the 2030s, Pennsylvania is exporting twice as much as the next largest exporter in the country.

-- Result in a cumulative total increase of 278,000 new jobs (full-time

equivalent job-years) in Pennsylvania by 2040. That represents an average annual increase of nearly 17,500 new jobs from 2025 to 2040.

-- Pennsylvania is expected to see $25 billion in federal clean energy tax credits flow into the state over the next two decades, which will minimize costs to ratepayers and local companies. With PRESS, those investments are accelerated. Under BAU, $3.9 billion in credits will have flowed to PA by 2032 (after which there is less certainty about their availability).

“The governor’s Energy Plan would cut climate pollution, lower bills, grow and protect jobs, and accelerate federal clean energy investments in-state. PRESS drives energy production, job creation, and federal funding.”

Click Here for a copy of Routh’s written testimony.

Pennsylvania Solar Center

Sharon Pillar, Pennsylvania Solar Center, said “According to PJM’s 2024 Long-Term Load Forecast, rising energy demand across the PJM footprint due in large part to the development of data centers and acceleration of the beneficial electrification of transportation and industry, PJM is now experiencing substantial load growth for the first time in decades.

“Solar, wind, and storage comprise the majority of PJM’s [new energy generation] queue, which are the energy generation projects investors are willing to build.

"To meet future energy needs Pennsylvania must encourage investors, businesses, manufacturers, and other stakeholders to invest in Pennsylvania’s renewable energy generation industry as fast as possible in order to actually build these resources.

“Pennsylvania must take advantage of federal programs that strongly encourage the development of these resources that can support Pennsylvania’s energy communities, school districts, local governments, and others to reduce energy costs and improve energy reliability and security."

"Renewables and storage are reducing costs of electricity to consumers across the globe; however, the lack of action on making these benefits more widely available is twofold.

“According to the International Energy Association (IEA, 2024), “issues of affordability and fairness are central to clean energy transitions, with debate fueled by two misperceptions.

“First, that today’s pressures on the cost of living are related to clean energy, rather than the real cause – the gas supply crunch that followed the Russian Federation’s cuts to deliveries to Europe.

“Second, the view that clean energy technologies are always more expensive than fossil fuel-based ones, which is not supported by the data.”

“The quicker you move on clean energy transitions, the more cost-effective it is for governments, businesses, and households,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol. “If policymakers and industry leaders put off action and spending today, we will all end up paying more tomorrow. ...the way to make energy more affordable for more people is to speed up transitions, not slow them down.”

Over-Reliance On Natural Gas

Pillar explained, “I think the cost of not doing anything has been very clear in the last few years.

“We've seen this enormous over reliance on natural gas generation and the prices that we've paid.

“We've seen each electric distribution company territory, the cost of electricity has jumped between 40 and 60%.

“During that time, most of that was because of the geopolitical issues that were occurring around natural gas, which is priced on a worldwide market.

“So that's why it's so important that we diversify our energy mix with a number of different resources.

“So we've already paid for not taking more action, and we will continue to pay more if we don't diversify.

“The beauty of renewables is that the cost is in the equipment upfront. Once it's installed,  the energy is free.”

"While working on its essential passage, we are eager to work with the legislature along with our industry coalition partners to also assure the inclusion of provisions that support distributed energy resources, including distributed solar, so that Pennsylvania will have the necessary infrastructure in place for effective management of the Commonwealth’s future energy systems.

“Distributed solar, otherwise referred to as onsite solar or “customer-generator” in the AEPS, allows homeowners, nonprofits, businesses, municipalities, schools, farmers, manufacturers, warehouses, and many others generate electricity onsite to directly reduce their electricity bills.

“Distributed solar also benefits other electricity users by reducing distribution congestion and line loss because distributed solar energy directly serves local electricity needs, and it also creates a stronger grid that protects communities from the breakdowns that can occur from over reliance on centralized generation systems.

“Building onsite solar also has the largest opportunity to grow jobs compared to larger centralized energy sources. Distributed solar is crucial for enabling utilities to manage solar output along with storage, demand response, and electric vehicles to effectively regulate power availability.

“Pennsylvania must prepare for the modern energy economy in order to meet our future energy needs, to take full advantage of technologies of the 21st century grid, to provide thousands of new energy economy jobs to our citizens, and to create energy security and reliability.”

Click Here for a copy of Pillar’s written testimony.

Pennsylvania Environmental Council

John Walliser, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, said, “PEC has long advocated for expansion of the AEPS [Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards] into a broader clean energy standard that values cost-effective low and zero emitting energy resources.

“Foremost is the expansion of leading renewable technologies like solar, wind, and low-impact hydropower, which generate emissions-free electricity and support business and job growth across the Commonwealth.”

“Even better, these technologies are now on equal footing with, if not more advantageous than, traditional fossil-based generation from a cost standpoint.

“They are not subject to the same price volatility and supply concerns as commodity-based generation. That’s a long-term win for consumers.

“PRESS also places value on energy storage, which, when paired with renewables, helps address concerns about curtailment or intermittency. Other innovative technologies like advanced nuclear and geothermal are also part of the energy playbook with PRESS.

“Pennsylvania is home to established and emergent companies who are at the forefront of these new technologies, which will be a fundamental part of energy job growth – both skilled and technical – in the years to come.

“Let’s pair that with maximizing manufacturing investment opportunities and cost savings provided by the [federal]  Inflation Reduction Act and [federal] Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and build the clean energy future here.”

“PRESS establishes a mechanism to support our existing nuclear generation fleet over the long term – which is essential for both emissions-free and baseload power delivery.

“PRESS also includes a place for fossil-based generation with carbon capture, or co-fired with clean hydrogen, to compete when emission reduction performance metrics are met.

“Given that fossil generation will remain part of our energy mix for some time, we need to deploy control measures to dramatically reduce emissions.

“There are unprecedented federal incentives for industry to implement them, and they will soon be required under both recently finalized and additional forthcoming federal regulation.

Over Dependence On One Fuel

“PRESS will also increase the resilience of our energy system.

“Pennsylvania is increasingly dependent on one type of generation that is subject to price volatility and commodity competition.

“As experienced during recent extreme cold weather events and the resultant failure11 of energy delivery, over-reliance is a recipe for disruption.

“With energy demand growing, we are much better served doing everything we can to bring more – and cleaner – source online to stabilize costs and energy availability.

“PRESS provides the additional benefit of valuing energy efficiency measures, which helps lower demand, saves consumers money, and creates jobs.”

“There are other positive facets to what PRESS can leverage for Pennsylvania – from site-specific wins like revitalizing legacy minelands with solar,  to increasing deployment of smaller scale generation that can add even greater resiliency to the grid, but today I wanted to emphasize the broader environmental, employment, economic, and consumer benefits of this legislation.

“Pennsylvania cannot avoid the clean energy transition, but we can win it. PRESS is one of several policies needed to do that, and we urge you to support it.”

Winning The Clean Energy Transition

In response to a question about government subsidizing energy generation, Wallizer said, “It is true that both at the federal level and at the state level, we have been incenting, subsidizing whatever phrase you'd like to use, energy production for more than a century.

“And I think what's really important about this moment is that we recognize that we need that energy, but we're also pairing it with the goals of reducing emissions, creating jobs, reducing consumer impact.

“And I think that's really what the value of this legislation is, and these policies are: How do we make sure that Pennsylvania gets the most bank for the buck? And brings those dollars here.”

Click Here for a copy of Walliser’s written testimony.

PJM Interconnection

Stephen Bennett, PJM Interconnection, provided the Committee with a general overview of its function as the operator of the regional electric grid that includes Pennsylvania.

“PJM's primary focus, our mission, is reliability. It's to keep the lights on, and to do so at the most efficient cost possible.

“You heard before that we are a grid operator and a market operator, and that role does not actually lend itself to policymaking or a lot of policy pronouncements. Our focus is on reliability and the markets that are necessary to do so at an efficient cost.

“For those states that choose decarbonization as a policy priority, PJM works collaboratively with those states to create a platform that hopefully can be leveraged for those states to reach their goals.”

In response to a question about what trends PJM is seeing in the supply and demand of electricity, Bennett said, “What we're seeing now is significant growth for the first time in years, and a lot of that comes from data center development.”

“We're seeing electrification of the [vehicle] fleet, as well as building electrification drive load for the first time.”

“PJM's been here at this Committee and other committees in the state and other states talking about the fact that with that increasing demand, we need to make sure that we have appropriate levels of supply.

“And right now, PJM is actually in an excellent position.

“If you look at NERC [North American Electric Reliability Corporation], which is the federally chartered international agency that looks at reliability across the North American grid, PJM is actually in a really good place from a resource adequacy perspective.

“But what we're seeing is generation coming off the grid as we're seeing that demand increase.

“And there's the potential that if those trends continue at the current velocity, where we could eventually get to a place where we would see our reserve margins and our resource adequacy go below the levels that we would be comfortable with from a reliability perspective.”

“So what we are doing now is, one, raising that potential issue now when we can make changes and look at the trends and hopefully influence them.

40 GW Of Renewable Generation Approved

“And we're just looking for more and more watts to come onto the system. I think you've seen or heard my boss say PJM wants the watts.

“We want natural gas watts, we want nuclear watts, we want renewable. And if you look at our queue right now, it is largely made up of renewable generation.

“So the generators, the developers, the investment that's coming onto our system is predominantly renewable. So we need those facilities to come on.

“We need the 40 or so gigawatts of renewable generation that's sitting there with a certificate to build, we need that to build.

“So whatever can be done to maintain the generation that we have and to bring more generation onto the system is a benefit to our markets and to our grid.”

Why Renewable Projects Aren’t Being Built

In response to a question about why renewable generation isn’t being built, Bennett said, “We have about 40 gigawatts, which is a lot of [renewable] generation that is beyond the queue. So the queue is in no way an impediment to being built and it's not being built. We don't know exactly why that is.

“We've heard a lot of different things.

“For a while, it was the supply chain, so it was difficult to get solar panels in this country for a while. We're being told that's been resolved.

“Some of it's financing. So we're in an inflationary period. We have much higher interest rates. So some of it's financing issues.

“Some of it is permitting issues. Some of it is local land use issues. So there are communities that are concerned about land use, especially the use of farmland for some of the renewable technologies.

“So, we are starting to see it move forward, but I think there's a lot of things that are contributing to the fact that it's not being built as fast as a lot of people would like to see it be built.”

Click Here for a copy of Bennett’s PPT presentation.

PA Manufacturers’ Association

David N. Taylor, Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, told the Committee-- “Pennsylvania is America’s number one exporter of electricity, second largest producer of natural gas, and third largest producer of coal.

“These are domestic energy sources produced by Pennsylvania workers under DEP, OSHA, L&I, and USDOL rules.

“Upending competitive markets on Pennsylvania-generated electricity is an insult to consumers and a death wish for our economy.

“AEPS mandates cost ratepayers, through the purchasing of credits, $528 million in the reporting year of 2022-23, but generated less than 1.5% of Pennsylvania’s electricity.

“This is not just disastrous energy policy, it’s expensively disastrous energy policy – and it’s every single consumer in Pennsylvania who is fronting the bill. The cost burden under the proposed PRESS mandate could increase the Tier I ratepayer costs to as much as $6 billion over 5 years when fully implemented.”

China Dominates Global Supply

“China dominates the global supply chain for batteries and component minerals. Any policy mandating or incentivizing the need for these batteries jeopardizes U.S. energy security to China’s advantage.

“All of the supply chains for solar panels are dominated by the dictatorship in Beijing as the national policy of that government. Handing control of our energy production to a hostile foreign power is foolhardy in the extreme.

“For all of the differences between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, labor and business, I hope we could agree on this much: No American worker should ever have to compete with slave labor and no American consumer should ever be exposed to slave-made goods in the U.S. marketplace.”

[Note: PMA has strongly supported developing LNG Gas export facilities in Pennsylvania to export Pennsylvania gas to overseas markets, including China. Read more here.

[China has been identified as a major market EQT Corporation and the Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition said we have a “duty” to supply with gas to lower their greenhouse gas emissions.  Read more here.

[Concerns have been raised that exporting LNG gas to our economic and military competitor China will result in a loss of jobs in the US and strengthen China’s economy.  Read more here.

[PMA also supported billions of dollars in Pennsylvania taxpayer-funded tax credits for the Shell Petrochemical Plant and natural gas-based manufacturing facilities.]

PMA concluded its testimony by saying-- “For these reasons and more we, the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, oppose any expansions to the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act, including House Bill 2277, seeking to implement Governor Shapiro’s PRESS plan.”

In response to a question about why PMA “is not interested in growing Pennsylvania’s economy and jobs through clean energy,” Taylor said--

“We are not willing to take the opportunity cost of losing organic economic growth from the distortions that will result from all of this government directed market manipulation.”

Click Here for a copy of the Taylor’s written testimony.

Summary Comments

Rep. Martin Causer (R-Cameron), Minority Chair of the Committee, said, “We have so much opportunity in this state. But I will say that I think the biggest threat that we face in this space is environmental extremism.

“We constantly have people who want to pick winners and losers in the energy field, and we have an opportunity where we can be strengthening our grid and lowering energy costs.

“But yet we're still here looking at these issues where we are limiting our opportunities for growth and for energy production. And so I think that is our biggest issue that we face.”

“I think we need to focus on domestic energy production that we have abundant here in the state.

“We have the opportunity to strengthen our grid to make sure that we have resources for the citizens and businesses in our state, and ultimately lower energy costs.

“But I think this legislation is misguided and I think it would be a mistake.”

“I think we can do better. We have another mostly one-sided hearing. I think there's much more to be said.

Rep. Danielle Friel Otten (D-Chester), prime sponsor of House Bill 2277, said, “This hearing will be the first of, I hope, several hearings to discuss the [Shapiro] Administration's Pennsylvania Reliable Energy and Sustainability Standard.

“This has been an evolution from the AEPS [Alternative Energy Portfolio] bill that we've introduced over the last three sessions.

“The current AEPS expired in 2021. We have been working on increasing that and changing that since 2019.

“This legislation is a product of many, many months of conversation and discussion and compromise with stakeholders from the environmental community, from the energy community and from the labor community.

“The goal of this legislation is actually to be inclusive and it does not pick winners and losers. It actually incentivizes increasing supply to match increasing demand, while also incentivizing lowering CO₂ [carbon dioxide greenhouse gas] impacts to the climate.

‘The goal of this legislation is to move the ball forward and to make sure that Pennsylvania continues to compete in the energy marketplace and hold our position as one of the top energy suppliers in the nation.

“And I believe, for me at least, I think the biggest driver is that the market demands are changing, and if Pennsylvania doesn't change with it, we are going to leave our Commonwealth and our constituents behind.

“We have surrounding states that have dramatically increased their alternative energy portfolio standards that are calling for more renewable energy.

“In addition to that, more and more corporate entities are creating corporate clean energy goals, that if we want to continue to be one of the top suppliers of energy in the United States, we need to be willing and able to meet those demands.”

Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware), Majority Chair of the Committee, said, “The only thing I'll say is that climate change is an enormously serious problem, and it's pretty clear that doing nothing and allowing market forces to take their course will not address this problem.

“This bill is an important step in helping us transition away from coal and gas, and oil and other fossil fuels towards non-emitting sources like wind and solar and nuclear, and we have to do something, and this is a very good start and I support the bill.”

Click Here to watch a video of the hearing.

Copies Of Written Comments Submitted:

-- Ron Celentano, Mid-Atlantic Solar & Storage Industries Assn.

-- Devi Ramkissoon, Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia

-- Evan Vaughan, Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition

-- Surabhi Karambelkar & Shallon Ames, Low Impact Hydropower Institute

-- Nicholas Bibby, Advanced Energy United

-- Ryan Martini, Invenergy

-- Flora Cardoni, PennEnvironment

-- Jim Brown, Audubon Mid-Atlantic

-- Mary Keenan, Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association

-- J. Branch Sinkule, Kimberly-Clark

-- Richard D. Whiteford, Climate Change Specialist, West Chester

Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) serves as Majority Chair of the House Environmental Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-787-7647 or sending email to: gvitali@pahouse.net. Rep. Martin Causer (R-Cameron) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-5075 or by sending email to: mcauser@pahousegop.com.

Resource Links - Governor’s Energy/Climate Plan:

-- Sen. Comitta, Sen. Santarsiero, Rep. Friel-Otten, Rep. Abney Introduce Gov. Shapiro's Clean Energy/Climate Plan Bills  [PaEN]

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

-- Senate Republicans Reject Gov. Shapiro’s Offer To Work On Legislation To Make The Electric Grid More Reliable, Diversify Our Energy Sources, Lower Energy Costs For Ratepayers, Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions [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]

-- Pennsylvania’s Electric Grid Is Dependent On One Fuel To Generate 59% Of Our Electricity; Market Moving To Renewables + Storage [PaEN]

-- US EIA Report Shows How Winter Storms Have Reduced US Natural Gas Production, But Disruptions Can Happen Any Time Of The Year [PaEN]

-- PA Senate Republicans Pass Bill Authorizing An Authority To Take Over Permitting Large-Scale Energy Projects; Eliminating Public Comment; Waiving Any Regulation; Providing Immunity From Prosecution; Barbers Reviewing Permits? [PaEN]

-- 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 [PaEN]

[Posted: June 24, 2024]

7/1/2024