The Pennsylvania Senate approved legislation Tuesday that would repeal the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax.
RGGI, a multi-state compact enacted through executive order by the Wolf administration in 2019, would increase electricity rates for consumers, cut energy and manufacturing jobs, and lead to the closure of Pennsylvania power plants, according to Pennsylvania Senate Republicans.
In fact, no new investments in baseload generation have come to Pennsylvania in the five years since the Wolf administration attempted to enter the state into RGGI, they said.
“Pennsylvania’s greatest asset is our ability to produce energy. Gov. Shapiro’s push for a carbon tax has already increased costs for Pennsylvania families who are already grappling with the rising costs of food and gas,” said PA Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-39). “Instead, our focus should be on unleashing our commonwealth’s energy potential to strengthen Pennsylvania’s economy now and for the future.”
Ward called RGGI “an unnecessary carbon tax” that would specifically increase Pennsylvanians’ electric bills by 30 percent, eliminate 22,000 homegrown jobs, and increase the cost of everyday products with no significant environmental benefit.
Last year, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that the state’s entrance into RGGI may only be achieved through legislation duly enacted by the General Assembly, not merely through rulemaking promulgated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Environmental Quality Board (EQB). This ruling has been appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court by Gov. Josh Shapiro and remains pending.
Govs. Tom Wolf and Shapiro have faced criticism for supporting Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI despite some bipartisan objections from the General Assembly.
“The RGGI Electricity Tax must be stopped. Even though the Commonwealth Court has ruled RGGI is unconstitutional, Gov. Shapiro has continued his push with the Supreme Court,” PA Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-41) said. “If the RGGI Electricity Tax would go into effect, it would mean hundreds of millions of dollars of increases on electric bills, impacting every electricity consumer in this commonwealth. We must help families feeling the strain of inflation, not put more pressure on their household budgets.”
The Senate approved Senate Bill 1058, introduced by PA Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Chair Gene Yaw (R-23) to repeal the CO2 Budget Trading Program regulation that was promulgated by DEP and EQB. The bill now moves to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for action.
“Leaving our environmental and economic destiny to the whims of RGGI’s New England states is just bad policy for Pennsylvania when our electric power is distributed east and west in the PJM grid,” Yaw said. “It is time to repeal this regulation and focus on putting forth common-sense, environmentally responsible energy policy that recognizes and champions Pennsylvania as an energy producer.”
SB 1058 follows a series of hearings with members of the Ohio General Assembly to discuss PJM Interconnection and reliability of the mid-Atlantic power grid it manages. PJM projects that 20 percent of its existing capacity will retire between now and 2030, leaving the regional transmission organization without sufficient power to meet the demands of consumers.
Thermal generation retirements, like the recently announced Brandon Shores power plant closure in Maryland, coupled with the threat of RGGI, also could compromise the integrity of the electric grid, said the Republicans.
“We face tremendous challenges in the years ahead to ensure our electricity grid is reliable and energy is affordable for Pennsylvanians. RGGI makes it much harder for us to achieve both these goals,” said PA Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Scott Martin (R-13). “The idea of Pennsylvania participating in this multi-state electricity tax scheme was wrong from the beginning, and it’s a mistake we need to remedy so our state can have a prosperous future.”