Supreme Court Should Rule in Favor of PA Residents, Not RGGI
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state effort that was supposed to be good for consumers and good for the environment. But Pennsylvania already generates cheaper, carbon-free electricity than any RGGI state.
And Pennsylvania does it without imposing a carbon tax on power generation, which is RGGI’s key tool – making natural gas, coal, and oil so expensive that they go out of business.
Why would Pennsylvania want to join that party?
Gov. Wolf tried to push Pennsylvania into RGGI years ago, but everything is on hold while the state Supreme Court decides whether his decision followed state law.
New research from the business-organized labor alliance Pittsburgh Works Together illustrates why we’re hoping that the Supreme Court rules in favor of Pennsylvania’s residents and communities, and not RGGI.
RGGI states already don’t generate enough power themselves to keep their lights on, less than 80%. Put another way, for 5 hours and 25 minutes of every day, the RGGI states rely on Canada and their neighboring states (like Pennsylvania) to share electricity with them.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania produces more power, and more carbon-free power, than any RGGI state. More nuclear power than any RGGI state, second in wind behind New York, third in hydro behind NY and Maine. Only four states in the U.S. make more carbon-free electricity than Pennsylvania.
And, despite the professed hatred for carbon emissions, RGGI states have shut down massive amounts of carbon-free nuclear power over the last 11 years. The plants shut down in New York, New Jersey, Vermont, and Massachusetts had a combined output nearly twice as large as all the wind and all the solar in the 10 RGGI states combined.
Electricity is expensive in RGGI states. Each state has an average electric rate higher than the national average, while Pennsylvania’s average rate is slightly lower than the national average. Taken together, the combined RGGI rate is about 44% higher than Pennsylvania’s.
All of which raises the question: Why would Pennsylvania want to join RGGI?
Former Gov. Wolf started the RGGI process six years ago. That effort was ruled unconstitutional by the Commonwealth Court in 2023, saying the payments to be imposed on fossil-fuel power plants represented a tax that could only be levied by the General Assembly.
It’s baffling why Gov. Shapiro has chosen to continue this fight by appealing to the state Supreme Court.
On the one hand, the governor has played hardball with grid operator PJM Interconnection, threatening legal action over the way it calculated some of its costs.
“When PJM’s auction was set to trigger grossly excessive price increases, I took action to stop that spike and protect Pennsylvania consumers,” Gov. Shapiro said last month. “My Administration has now averted billions in unnecessary energy costs – and we’re leading the fight to lower electricity bills and bring more affordable power online.”
On the other hand, his push for RGGI would levy a costly carbon tax on the sources that produce about two-thirds of Pennsylvania’s electricity, a move that would be felt by residents and businesses alike. And it could result in the closure of coal and natural gas plants at a time when the state and the country need far more electricity – not less.
And even if the state Supreme Court rules against RGGI, the governor is continuing to promote his own carbon tax as part of his Lightning Plan under consideration by the General Assembly.
Pennsylvania is a globally significant energy player that helps power more than 20% of the U.S. economy. Let’s use our resources and innovation to help drive our economy and further improve environmental performance and not create artificial barriers to drag us down.
