Get Pennsylvania Out of the PJM Grid? The Commonwealth Foundation Says We Should Talk About It!
Our friend Stephen Heins, ‘The Word Merchant,’ who hails from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, sent along a fascinating report this morning from The Commonwealth Foundation here in Pennsylvania. I am very familiar with Commonwealth, having used some of its folks as speakers in the past. It’s a great organization modeled on the Heritage Foundation. The report Steve shared is a great example of their work. It’s titled ‘A New Vision for Energy: Pennsylvania Leading the Way for American Energy Security and Prosperity,’ and takes no prisoners.
I encourage everyone to read the entire report (it’s very concise) but here is the Action Plan portion of the report:
Pennsylvania Energy Policy Solutions: Immediate Calls to Action
The Pennsylvania General Assembly must reject Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act (PACER) and Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard (PRESS). Lawmakers must also prevent the commonwealth from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) or imposing any other carbon tax schemes.
The Pennsylvania General Assembly must pass legislation to create an energy-source-neutral standard of grid reliability and adequacy tied to least-cost generation planning. In line with prioritizing reliability and cost over government central planning, lawmakers should repeal the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act (AEPS), which currently mandates 18 percent of electrical energy come from alternative sources.
Lawmakers must pass legislation to streamline the permitting process for energy and environmental projects. Reforms that prioritize transparency and certainty are vital to maximizing the responsible utilization of our natural resources. Lawmakers should restore the balance of power through reforms, including an enhanced review process like Congress’s Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny, or REINS Act of 2023, a policy supported by 79 percent of Pennsylvania voters, and Sunset Reviews that ease the ability to repeal a regulation. They should also consider a regulatory reduction program.
The Pennsylvania General Assembly should consider passing a version of the “Pay for What You Get Act,” which is model legislation tying utility profits to power plant reliability.
Pennsylvania lawmakers, in-state stakeholders, and partners from neighboring states should collaborate and reform the current Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) system with the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection (PJM). This should include exploring options for removing Pennsylvania from PJM. Doing so would ensure a reliable and affordable electric system for the commonwealth and address known grid reliability concerns and market distortions in the current system.
Get of PJM? Very interesting. Have Josh Shapiro’s attacks on PJM as a way of diverting attention from his own failures opened the door for a bi-partisan move to separate from this RTO?
#CommonwealthFoundation #EnergySecurity #Shapiro #PJM #ActionPlan
