House, Senate Republican Leaders Oppose Job-Killing Energy Compact

Member Group : News Releases

Representative Kerry Benninghoff

Pennsylvania House Majority Leader

171st Legislative District

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Media Contact: Jason Gottesman

717-512-0620

[email protected]

KerryBenninghoff.com / Facebook.com/RepBenninghoff

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2021

House, Senate Republican Leaders Oppose Job-Killing Energy Compact
Sent letter to Independent Regulatory Review Commission prior to regulatory consideration of RGGI compact

HARRISBURG – Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representative Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster), Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin), Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R-Centre/Mifflin/Huntingdon/Juniata), and Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) sent a letter to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) before it gives consideration to Environmental Quality Board (EQB) regulations that would enter Pennsylvania into this job-killing Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

In writing to IRRC, the leaders note that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the EQB lack authority to enter Pennsylvania into RGGI and that doing so would lead to job loss and harm Pennsylvania’s energy industry and the consumers who rely on it.

“Not only will joining RGGI greatly harm the residents of our Commonwealth and Pennsylvania’s energy industry, but the EQB and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) lack the constitutional and statutory authority to promulgate this regulation to link Pennsylvania with the initiative,” the letter states in part.

“In addition to our significant concerns regarding DEP’s lack of authority for the regulation, the simple fact is that RGGI is not the right move for Pennsylvania. Unlike the potential benefits of RGGI, the risks are not speculative. They are real, immediate and certain,” the letter also states. “DEP’s own modeling demonstrates that coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania will be eliminated if the RGGI regulation is enacted. Natural gas plants will also be severely impacted as many will close or reduce generation.”

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Editor’s Note: A full copy of the letter is attached to this press release.

 

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