It’s only the second month of the two-year legislative session, but there’s already been a lot of movement and discussion of energy-related legislation. Even though a bipartisan agreement seems suspect at this point, both chambers and the Administration have made strides in advancing their energy platform.
Three Senate bills were kicked over to the House of Representatives during the first week of February.
First, SB 154 (Boscola, D-Northampton) passed finally in the Senate by a vote of Y:41/N:7 on February 3 and was referred to the House Consumer Protection, Technology, and Utilities Committee. The bill would renew and make comprehensive updates to various sections of Title 66 (Public Utilities) Chapter 14 (Responsible Utility Customer Protection).
Second, SB 186 (Yaw, R-Lycoming) passed finally in the Senate by a vote of Y:31/N:18 on February 4 and was referred to the House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee. The bill would abrogate the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) rulemaking.
Lastly, SB 187 (Yaw, R-Lycoming) passed finally in the Senate by a vote of Y:27/N:21 on February 3 and was referred to the House Energy Committee. The bill would establish the Independent Energy Office to provide impartial, timely and data driven analysis to guide the state in determining and meeting future energy needs.
There were also a handful of public hearings that hope to kickstart the conversation on some important topics.
On January 28, the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee held a public hearing on “Understanding your electric bill: what are you paying for?”.
On January 30, January 31, and February 3, the House Republican Policy Committee held public hearings titled “Stopping New Energy Taxes”.
On February 4, the House Energy Committee held a public hearing on HB 362 (Fiedler, D-Philadelphia), which would authorize the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority to use the $156 million it was awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a low-income residential solar installation program under the federal Solar for All grant program.
Governor Josh Shapiro got involved on January 28, when he announced an agreement was reached with PJM Interconnection.
In December, Governor Josh Shapiro filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) against PJM Interconnection, criticizing flaws in PJM’s capacity auction design that threatened to impose significant new price increases. The agreement is estimated to save consumers over $21 billion over the next two years. The Governor worked with PJM to significantly lower the capacity auction price cap – from over $500/Megawatt-Day to $325/MW-Day – and averting a runaway auction price that would have unnecessarily increased energy bills.
The following day, Senate Majority Leader Pittman stated on the Senate floor that the “announcement does nothing to make energy less expensive in Pennsylvania”. He went on to say that “the claim of $21 billion in savings is something consumers of electricity will never see materialize because rates will continue to rise even under this agreement”.
Piggybacking on the announcement from earlier in the week, on January 30, the Governor announce a comprehensive, all-of-the-above energy plan to secure Pennsylvania’s energy future.
The “Lightning Plan” will:
- Establish the Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Siting and Electric Transition (RESET) Board to speed up permitting, reduce red tape, and support the next generation of energy projects in the state.
- Modify the Pennsylvania Economic Development for a Growing Economy (PA Edge) Tax Credit Program by:
- Providing $100 million per facility for three years, focused on adding reliable energy sources to the grid;
- Providing $49 million annually for regional hydrogen projects; and
- Providing $15 million per year for a taxpayer who makes a $250 million capital investment and creates 400 jobs at a facility to produce sustainable aviation fuel.
- Establish the PACER (Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act), a cap-and-invest program to set carbon limits and invest in reducing electricity costs.
- Establish PRESS (Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard); incentivizing innovation in nuclear and renewable energy, including battery storage, to remain competitive with other states.
- Establish “Community Energy”, which helps rural communities, farmers, and low-income individuals jointly share energy resources to lower costs.
- Update energy efficiency standards for the first time in in nearly two decades.
In the Office of Attorney General, former Consumer Advocate Patrick Cicero resigned effective January 31.
Then on February 4, Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that Darryl Lawrence will serve as Pennsylvania’s Interim Consumer Advocate while the process to appoint and confirm a permanent Consumer Advocate continues. Lawrence served most recently as Senior Assistant Consumer Advocate and has been with the office since 2005.
Starting on February 18, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will hold budget hearings to examine the Governor’s proposed budget.
Hearings of note include:
- February 18: Department of Community and Economic Development (House)
- February 25: Department of Environmental Protection (Senate)
- February 27: Department of Community and Economic Development (Senate)
- February 27: Department of Environmental Protection/Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (House)
- March 3: Public Utility Commission (House)
Also, on March 4, the House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee will hold a public hearing.
The committee will examine HB 109 (Vitali, D-Delaware), which would give the Department of Environmental Protection the authority to designate environmental justice areas in communities with increased pollution burdens and vulnerable populations and require permit applicants to submit a cumulative environmental impact report.
