Legislation recently reintroduced in the state Senate would give Pennsylvania residents energy options.
Senate Bill 311 would limit municipalities from banning a specific type of fuel source for heating homes or businesses, and for appliances. The state government would be the only entity that could place restrictions on the use of any energy source in housing and commercial energy applications.
If the bill becomes law, it would be a step toward developing a statewide energy policy addressing all forms. Pennsylvania businesses and homeowners would have access to all available energy sources, including geothermal, natural gas, solar, and wind.
“Some states leave major energy policy decisions to the lowest municipal level,” state Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Bradford), Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee chairman, who reintroduced the bill, said in a memo on the bill. “With over 2,500 municipal entities in Pennsylvania, such a potential scenario would create a policy founded on an unworkable patchwork of restrictions and further deny residents access to differing energy resources. Given the importance of all energy sources to Pennsylvania, it is simply prudent government policy for the state to preempt this field, which is why I intend to reintroduce Senate Bill 143 from the 2023-2024 legislative session.”
Twenty-six states have enacted energy choice legislation.