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The Senate Local Government Committee is scheduled to meet March 6 on legislation-- Senate Bill 143 (Yaw-R-Lycoming)-- that would take away the authority of elected local government officials to move to cleaner sources of energy to address climate change.
Legislation like this was vetoed by Gov. Wolf in July of last year. Read more here.
The legislation was introduced at the request of the natural gas industry and is part of a nationwide initiative by the American Gas Association. Read more here.
It would prohibit elected officials in municipalities from “Adopt[ing] a policy that restricts or prohibits, or has the effect of restricting or prohibiting, the connection or reconnection of a utility service based upon the type of source of energy to be delivered to an individual consumer within the municipality.”
The bill was introduced because a small number of cities in other states, not in Pennsylvania, were adopting ordinances requiring the electrification of new construction and prohibiting the use of natural gas and heating oil as part of initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Duquesne Light [Read more here] and PennEnvironment [Read more here] have pointed out the economic and environmental benefits of electrification of new buildings in Pennsylvania, especially over the last 18 months when natural gas prices were spiking [Read more here].
The meeting will be held in Room 8E-A of the East Wing Capitol Building starting at Noon. Click Here to watch online.
Sen. Rosemary Brown (R-Lackawanna) serves as Majority Chair of the Senate Local Government Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-787-6123 or send email to rbrown@pasen.gov. Sen. Timothy Kearney (D-Chester) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-1350 or send email to: tim.kearney@pasenate.com.
Related Articles - Local Energy Choice:
-- Gov. Wolf Vetoes Bill Prohibiting Communities From Moving To Cleaner Energy Sources To Address Climate Change [PaEN]
-- Duquesne Light Releases Whitepaper On Electrification's Potential To Benefit The Environment, Economy, Local Communities
-- Ohio River Valley Institute Decarbonization Pathway Relies On Zero Emissions Resources, Energy Efficiency, Increased Electrification, Is Less Costly Than Natural Gas, Carbon Capture Options
-- PA PUC: Cost Of Natural Gas Provided By Major Utilities In PA Increased As Much As 154% Over Last Year [PaEN]
-- PUC Alerts Consumers Utility Natural Gas Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 128%, Electric Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 34%; Both Driven By Cost Of Natural Gas On World Markets [PaEN]
PA DEP Public Notice Dashboards:
-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Feb. 25 to March 3; More Well Plugging Sites Inspected [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - March 4 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posts 63 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In March 4 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
PA Oil & Gas Compliance Reports
-- Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Failed To File Annual Production/Waste Generation Reports For 61,655 Wells; Attorney General Continues Investigation Of Road Dumping Wastewater [PaEN]
-- DEP Issued 754 Notices Of Violation For Defective Oil & Gas Well Casing, Cementing, The Fundamental Protection Needed To Prevent Gas Migration, Groundwater & Air Contamination, Explosions [PaEN]
-- DEP Report Finds: Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers Routinely Abandon Wells; Fail To Report How Millions Of Gallons Of Waste Is Disposed; And Non-Compliance Is An ‘Acceptable Norm’ [PaEN]
-- DEP 2021 Oil & Gas Program Annual Report Shows Conventional Oil & Gas Operators Received A Record 610 Notices Of Violation For Abandoning Wells Without Plugging Them [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industry Has Record Year: Cost, Criminal Convictions Up; $3.1 Million In Penalties Collected; Record Number Of Violations Issued; Major Compliance Issues Uncovered; Evidence Of Health Impacts Mounts [PaEN]
-- Feature: 60 Years Of Fracking, 20 Years Of Shale Gas: Pennsylvania’s Oil & Gas Industrial Infrastructure Is Hiding In Plain Sight [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- Bay Journal: PA Conventional Gas Wells Routinely Abandoned, Left Unplugged - By Ad Crable, Chesapeake Bay Journal [PaEN]
-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: It’s Time To Hear Bold Leadership On Oil & Gas In Gov. Shapiro’s Budget Address - By Melissa Ostroff, EarthWorks, Member Shapiro Transition Team [PaEN]
-- Better Path Coalition, FracTracker Alliance Release Pennsylvania Is Worth Protecting, A Visual Reminder Of The People, Places & Natural Resources Worth Protecting From Environmental Devastation, Climate Change [PaEN]
-- Senate Committee Meets March 6 On Bill Prohibiting Elected Officials In Local Governments From Moving To Cleaner Energy Sources To Combat Climate Change [PaEN]
-- Senate Committee Meets March 8 To Consider Bill Allowing General Assembly To Kill Regulations By Doing Nothing [PaEN]
-- Senate Hearing On Electric Grid Reliability: Natural Gas Continues To Have Reliability Problems; Renewables Aren’t Coming Online Fast Enough; Energy Office To Be Proposed [PaEN]
-- PJM Interconnection Study Shows Renewable Energy Sources Not Coming Online Fast Enough To Replace Fossil Fuel Plants; Critical Path Analysis Started To Avoid Grid Reliability Risks [PaEN]
-- Latest PJM Interconnection Electricity Capacity Auction Shows Price Decrease, But Mixed Results In PA [PaEN]
-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports 4th Quarter 2022 Natural Gas Production Decreased 1.6%; Average Price Increased By 82.5% Compared To Last Year [PaEN]
-- Senate Republicans, 4 Democrats Pass Resolution Urging Restart Of Keystone XL Oil Pipeline Abandoned By Company [BTW Not In PA] [PaEN]
-- Republicans On Senate Committee Report Out Bills On Decommissioning Solar Energy Facilities, Limiting 1 Use Of PFAS Chemicals, Resolution Calling For Restart Of Keystone XL Pipeline [PaEN]
-- Solar United Neighbors Helping Lancaster Residents Harvest Sunshine With New Solar Co-Op [PaEN]
-- Observer-Reporter Guest Essay: Natural Gas Pipelines Can Secure Our Energy And Economic Future - By Republican Sen. Bartolotta [DEP hasn’t denied any pipeline permits in PA, But they are the most heavily penalized for violations of any industry in PA history]
-- Washington & Jefferson College Hosts March 8 Webinar On Renewable Natural Gas [PaEN]
[Posted: March 3, 2023]
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