Will Pennsylvania’s Governor See the Light on Energy or Follow Biden’s Lead?

P ennsylvania ranks among the leading energy producers in the nation and is our country’s No. 1 exporter of electricity. But radical environmentalists and President Biden’s Green New Deal policies threaten energy production — and our nation’s prosperity and energy independence.

Over the past few weeks, Pennsylvanians were hit with the announced July closure of the state’s largest coal-fired power plant, likely with more closures on the way, and the cancellation of a billion-dollar natural-gas power-generation plant. Overregulation no doubt played a role in the former, and, clearly, permitting hang-ups led to the cancellation of the latter — as the company had been waiting for years on appeals filed by environmentalist groups.

This radical green agenda is taking a toll on consumers and threatens the reliability of the nation’s electric grid.

In my home state, more than three-quarters of my fellow Pennsylvanians have seen their electric bills go up in the last year, according to recent polling commissioned by the Commonwealth Foundation. Most of those surveyed ranked rising energy costs as the most pressing issue in Pennsylvania today in the area of energy and the environment.

Between December 2020 and December 2022, electricity bills rose by an average of 73 percent. Increases ranged from 55 percent for PECO customers in the greater Philadelphia region to 100 percent for PPL customers.

Unfortunately, higher energy prices have become a devastating norm with Biden in office, as he revoked the Keystone pipeline and continues the push to end drilling. The results of his energy policies — alongside his failed economic policies — speak for themselves: skyrocketing consumer prices.

Americans are paying $1.50 more per gallon at the pump, more for home-heating fuel, and more for electricity.

The threats go beyond prices, as the push for green energy threatens the reliability of our energy grid, as it has in Europe — leading to a return to coal. Texas — the only state producing more energy than Pennsylvania — suffered a grid failure in 2021, which resulted in its recent move to subsidize natural gas to combat harmful subsidies and mandates for so-called green energy.

Costs are on the rise, grid failures loom, and consumers are increasingly furious.

Thus, Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s new governor, faces a dilemma. He can accept the challenge to unleash our commonwealth’s potential as an energy powerhouse — to lower energy prices for homeowners and businesses while continuing to supply our nation’s electric grid. Or he can surrender and kowtow to radical environmentalist groups.

Shapiro is in the crosshairs, caught between special-interest groups and a public fed up with paying more for less efficient energy delivery. Shapiro and other Democrats know they must placate major support groups like powerful, pro-green government unions and environmentalist groups backed by Tom Steyer, George Soros, and even Russian oligarchs.

Shapiro’s approach to energy policy will define his time in the governor’s mansion, not to mention define the viability of a potential presidential run.

Voters in a poll conducted by the Commonwealth Foundation proved less than enthusiastic about “green” policies that raise the cost of energy. Instead, they support building more pipelines to reduce energy costs and oppose Pennsylvania’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) — a multistate compact aimed at lowering carbon emissions that is, at its core, a carbon tax, and that would further drive up rates by an estimated 24 to 36 percent.

Indeed, Shapiro expressed concern about RGGI on the campaign trail, yet his first budget proposal assumes RGGI will be in effect in the Keystone State. How Shapiro responds to the decision to join RGGI — currently tied up in state courts due to the unilateral decision to impose the agreement and tax hike by his predecessor, Tom Wolf — will be a true test of his position as governor of a major swing state and energy producer.

It benefits all Pennsylvanians — and all Americans — to tap into Pennsylvania’s rich natural resources, providing an economic edge, lowering energy prices, and ensuring that the lights stay on. But doing so will require Shapiro to reject demands from special interests and campaign supporters and prioritize private-sector jobs and consumers.

If Shapiro chooses to unleash the Keystone State’s energy potential — and pulls out of RGGI — he will have Pennsylvanians on his side, and Americans will reap the benefits.