By State Senator Scott Martin
For years, Pennsylvania’s energy industry has been stalled by the uncertainty created by then-Gov. Tom Wolf’s attempts to impose a tax on electricity.
Questions about whether Pennsylvania would participate in the multistate Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) have often been cited to explain why energy producers in the state have gone offline, avoided new investments, and hiked prices on consumers.
Every time a state resident opens his monthly electric bill, he’s paying more money because of Wolf’s bad policies.
Gov. Josh Shapiro had a chance to choose a different path. He could have withdrawn Pennsylvania from RGGI and unleashed the state’s energy potential. After the Commonwealth Court ruled that RGGI presented an unconstitutional tax on Pennsylvanians, Shapiro could have accepted the ruling and pursued policies that support broader energy development.
Unfortunately, the governor opted to keep putting Pennsylvania’s energy economy at risk.
Instead of abiding by the court’s ruling, Shapiro has chosen to waste more taxpayer dollars on an appeal that leaves in place the same roadblocks to Pennsylvania’s energy industry.
Instead of working with the legislature to negotiate a bipartisan energy deal, he’s played to one side of the aisle and failed to engage with lawmakers. Instead of taking responsibility for his decisions, he’s pointed fingers at everyone else for the consequences of those decisions.
It’s safe to say that the Wolf Energy Tax has now been replaced by the Shapiro Energy Tax. Consumers should remember this whenever they pay their monthly bill.
Why doesn’t Shapiro withdraw his RGGI appeal to support more energy production, a more reliable grid, more jobs, more investment, and more affordable energy for consumers?
In contesting the court’s ruling, the Shapiro administration said that it “must appeal in order to protect that important authority for this Administration and all future governors.”
Translation: Shapiro cares about more about his own power than the cost of yours.
Instead of taking real action, he’s playing the blame game and offering watered-down solutions.
Shapiro recently introduced his “Lightning” energy plan, which includes the same kind of electricity tax as RGGI, new alternative energy mandates, proposed “rebates” to consumers, and new layers of bureaucracy to replace the existing ones for speeding up energy development.
The plan offers more questions than answers. How much will Shapiro’s new taxes take out of the wallets of consumers? How would the proposed rebates be split among ratepayers? How will the new “clean” energy mandates affect market prices and grid reliability?
The governor’s budget address could have answered many of these questions. Shockingly, the plan he presented to the legislature this month did not book a single penny in new revenues or expenditures related to his energy plan.
Why hide these details? Leaving Pennsylvanians in the dark raises serious concerns about how much Shapiro’s plan would cost the state in the long run.
Shapiro also recently filed a complaint against PJM Interconnection, the region’s grid operator, for prices they had to pay at auction to make up for Pennsylvania’s shortfall of energy production. He dropped the complaint almost immediately after PJM agreed to a settlement that capped market auction prices.
Shapiro claimed the settlement would prevent $21 billion in new costs to consumers, but he has not explained how he came up with that number. If it’s anything like his budget projections, he probably made it up out of thin air.
The most likely scenario in the months ahead is that electricity costs will go up, not down. Saying that Shapiro did anything to help consumers is like a mugger claiming he did his victim a favor by stealing only his wallet, not his watch.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Pennsylvania is rich in natural resources. The state’s energy industry has the potential to make a comeback that bolsters the economy, protects consumers, and strengthens our electricity grid while also aiding U.S. national security.
Higher energy prices have contributed to inflation by increasing the cost of many goods and services across numerous industries. Lowering energy costs would boost our entire economy.
We have opportunities for power generation and economic growth that should make us the envy of almost every other state. We can support a grid that is both reliable and affordable.
We just need Gov. Shapiro to get on board by dropping his appeal and working with us, instead of continuing to work against us.
It’s time for the governor to do more than just complain. It’s time for him to get stuff done for Pennsylvanians – not just talk about it.
State Sen. Scott Martin, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, represents parts of Lancaster and Berks counties.
Nothing contained here should be considered as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any legislation before the General Assembly.
The views expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy.