The state senate yesterday approved legislation to repeal the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
In 2019, former Governor Tom Wolf issued an executive order to force Pennsylvania to join the multi-state compact that requires fossil fuel power plants with capacity greater than 25 megawatts to purchase allowances for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit per year. The result, according to Senate Republican Leadership, would increase electricity rates for the average consumer, cut energy and manufacturing jobs in the state and close some of Pennsylvania’s power plants. Last year, commonwealth court ruled that Pennsylvania’s entry into RGGI should have involved the state legislature, and not by an executive order, but that ruling has been appealed to the state supreme court by Governor Josh Shapiro.
State Senator and Majority Leader Joe Pittman has been a longtime opponent of RGGI and said that if RGGI were to go into effect in the state, it would mean hundreds of millions of dollars increase in energy bills. He said that families feeling the strain of inflation need help, not more pressure on household budgets.
The bill now heads to the State House of Representatives.
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