As cooler temps settle across the U.S. Pennsylvanians can expect skyrocketing fuel and electricity prices if the Harris-Walz ticket succeeds.
The Keystone State is the nation’s third-largest energy producer. But should the Biden-Harris administration’s net-zero climate policies continue under a potential President Harris, the state’s energy future will be in jeopardy.
Pennsylvania depends greatly on natural gas and coal to supply electricity. Yet, Biden-Harris regulations like the finalized Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) power plant rule will impact 60% of U.S. electricity generation derived from new natural gas and existing coal plants. PJM Interconnection, a grid operator in Pennsylvania and 12 neighboring states, warned that the Commonwealth will face an electricity scarcity crisis due to the hasty adoption of unreliable renewables onto the grid. PJM determined upwards of 58 gigawatts (GW) of coal and natural-gas power – or 30% of its installed capacity – would close in its 13 member region by 2030. Rising electricity demand in the PJM area, expected to rise 25% in this timeframe, will not be met by replacing coal and gas with solar and wind. National Review warned rising demand and diminished supply will invite “skyrocketing electricity prices and deadly blackouts for Pennsylvania and other states in the PJM area” while leading to electricity bills doubling in price across the next year.
A recent federal court filing revealed that PJM and its sister regional transmission operations (RTOs) deemed EPA rules aren’t “workable” and “are destined to trigger an acceleration in the pace of premature retirements of electric generation units that possess critical reliability attributes…”
Despite these warnings, a Harris-Walz administration is expected to supercharge the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy subsidies – totalling $1.8 trillion if made permanent – to artificially boost unreliable solar and wind power to the detriment of Pennsylvania’s existing energy mix: natural gas (54%), nuclear (32%), and coal (10%).
The Harris-Walz campaign has shown it’s unserious about promoting an agenda of energy abundance. A pro-Harris political action committee called CE4A Action, an affiliate of Clean Energy for America, is running ads touting solar energy in the Keystone State. Much to their chagrin, solar power accounts for less than one percent of net electricity generation. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) states, “Although solar photovoltaic installations are increasing in the state, solar currently produces less than 1 percent of our net electricity generation.”
With growing electricity demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-powered data centers, states like Pennsylvania are shoring up more nuclear energy–not solar or wind–by restarting projects like Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. Nuclear energy is the most reliable power source out there, operating nearly 24/7 and functioning 93% of the year, even accounting for maintenance. In comparison, solar facilities only operate 25% of the time and are intermittent. Flooding the grid with subsidized yet unreliable renewables, including solar, will fuel more instability and potential for outages.
Green mandates on consumer choices will likely become increasingly aggressive under a Harris-Walz administration, lowering Pennsylvanians’ quality of life without any measurable benefit to the environment.
The War on Household Appliances perpetuated by the Department of Energy (DOE) is producing energy efficiency standards that are forcing American families to pay more – an additional $9,000 – for supposedly “climate-friendly” appliances. Over 15 common household appliances have been targeted and are expected to be more expensive – including pivoting residential water heaters to electric alternatives. As with other updated green efficiency standards, the Biden-Harris administration has been dishonest about the associated high upfront costs and the inability of these climate-friendly alternatives to work properly. In the case of electric heat pumps, they don’t operate effectively below 40 degrees. It’s no wonder Americans – including Pennsylvanians – have paid an additional 4% for appliances these last 15 years.
Equally problematic is the EPA’s electric vehicle mandate requiring 66% of new cars sold by 2032 be electric. There are only 70,154 EVs on the road in the Keystone State – or just 0.67 percent of total car registration. EVs don’t function optimally in colder weather —losing 30% of range in below-freezing temperatures during winter months.
Energy might not be top of mind, but it’s on the ballot. Pennsylvanians have two choices this November: charting forward with energy abundance or continuing down a path of energy scarcity.