Energy Regulations Archives

Commentary: Demand response could have prevented blackouts in North Carolina

January 3, 2024 Stu Turley

The following commentary was written by Shelley Hudson Robbins, Project Director at the Clean Energy Group. See our commentary guidelines for more information. The North Carolina Utilities Commission just dropped a riveting order outlining the nightmare […]

New Climate Reality is Passing New York By – and the consumers are going to get it in the drive through

January 1, 2024 Stu Turley

Note: For quite a while now I (Roger Caiazza) have put my Citizens Guide to the Climate Act article as the top post on the website because it summarizes the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act (Climate Act). This […]

Biden Admin Targets Fridges, Freezers In Latest Slew of Appliance Crackdown

December 30, 2023 Stu Turley

The Biden Administration is cracking down on more household appliances in its latest effort to push its radical climate change agenda. On Friday, the Department of Energy (DOE) finalized a slew of new energy efficiency […]

ENB #169 Anne Bradbury, CEO, American Exploration and Production Council stops by to cover COP28, LNG and even Bill Gates

December 29, 2023 Stu Turley

Do you feel your energy bills are increasing, and no one cares? Well, Anne Bradbury, the CEO of the American Exploration and Production Council, stopped by, and we cover some of the most important energy […]

I’m not going to mince words here. By destroying America’s energy independence, the Biden Administration is directly making Black Americans more poor and less independent than ever. Since Biden's first day in office with the shutdown of the Keystone pipeline project and his ongoing war on a key pillar of our economy, we’ve all experienced skyrocketing energy costs that punish the very people he claims to care so much about. Just recently, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a legislative hearing on H.R. 5482 the Energy Poverty Prevention and Accountability Act of 2023. Introduced by Rep. Harriett Hageman R-WY, the bill seeks to prevent energy poverty in America by increasing government transparency, identifying rules and regulations that prohibit equal access to affordable and reliable energy to at risk communities including low income, minority, rural, senior citizens, and Native Americans. Energy poverty occurs when individuals and families are unable to afford basic heating, electricity, and gas needs. High energy costs and the lack of energy services negatively impact a household’s well-being and limit opportunity. At risk communities are most often disproportionately affected by energy poverty. These inflationary pressures and the terrible consequences aren’t the result of a free market at work, but overzealous policy pushed by paternalistic lawmakers who think they know what’s best for everyone with a “one size fits all approach.” I have been working to expand awareness of energy poverty in America and was invited by the subcommittee to provide witness testimony in support of bill H.R. 5482. My passion for American energy is deeply rooted in my own story, stemming from my grandfather, who was a black coal miner in Southwest Virginia, and my time serving as a brakeman for Norfolk Southern Railways, where we transported coal and other natural resources here and abroad. Since 2019, I have had the opportunity to appear before Congress six times to give testimony on energy poverty and other related issues impacting communities struggling with rising energy costs. Energy is a fixed cost for small families and large enterprises alike, and we know when the price of energy increases, so does everything else. It costs more to drive, it impacts the cost of groceries, and most critically, come winter, it costs more to heat your home. Rising energy costs are making it harder or next to impossible for Black families to make ends meet. Tragically, the pause on new oil and gas leases on Federal land, and overregulation accompanied with an aggressive green agenda by the Biden Administration has many Americans experiencing energy poverty for the first time. There is no reason anyone in our country should be without affordable energy. The U.S. is abundantly rich in natural resources, including natural gas, petroleum, and coal. America is more capable than ever of providing affordable energy to its citizens. The U.S. was energy independent in 2019 for the first time in decades, producing more energy domestically than what we consumed. This, along with a booming shale industry, helped America overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the top exporter of petroleum and natural gas globally. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), fossil fuels accounted for 81% of energy production in 2022. Renewables reached their highest production in 2022 and only accounted for 13% of all energy production. More figures from EIA show that renewables received $15.6 billion of subsidies in fiscal year 2022, compared to $3.6 billion for fossil fuels. Per the EIA report, renewable energy industries received nearly five times as much in federal subsidies than fossil fuels despite having minimal impact. Renewable projects are also very costly. New York state law now calls for 70% of electricity come from renewables by 2030. The Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACENY) told regulators in June, due to cost, “canceled or delayed projects would drastically derail the schedule for renewable development” and cause the state to miss its mandates under the law. Eliminating energy poverty should be a goal we all are interested in achieving. In working towards that goal, we need to be mindful of how environmental policies will impact the vulnerable communities that need our support. Radical environmentalists and the Biden Administration like to frame this as a fight against big energy, but all they are really doing is pushing Black Americans and other at-risk communities further into poverty. When the government creates policy, its priority should be the welfare of the people, especially those impacted the hardest. We need a market-oriented energy policy that will allow America to safely keep exploring and developing our own natural resources for a more secure and prosperous future for all Americans.

Republicans Hold Hearing ‘to Prevent Energy Poverty’ in America

December 22, 2023 Stu Turley

I’m not going to mince words here. By destroying America’s energy independence, the Biden Administration is directly making Black Americans more poor and less independent than ever. Since Biden’s first day in office with the […]

Biden Finally Picks A Side In The Big Clean Energy Fight Dividing Democrats

December 22, 2023 Stu Turley

The Biden administration sided with Senate climate hawks in one of the highest-stakes debates over the future of U.S. efforts to cut planet-heating emissions, announcing its long-awaited proposal on Friday for strict rules on production of […]

Decision looms on Duke Energy’s bid to use green tariffs to help comply with N.C. carbon law

December 22, 2023 Stu Turley

From corporate giants like Google to individual families, plenty of Duke Energy customers in North Carolina want to do their part in the transition to clean energy. But if the Charlotte-based utility’s proposed green […]

US House approves Russian uranium ban

December 12, 2023 Stu Turley

The bill has to pass the Senate and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law The US House of Representatives voted on Monday to approve legislation that would bar the importation of enriched […]

Daily Energy Standup Episode #268 – Grid Reliability Warning, India’s Oil Expansion, and Occidental’s $10.8B CrownRock Acquisition

December 11, 2023 Andy Del Prado

Daily Standup Top Stories Major grid operator warns legal agreement to shutter coal plant will devastate electric reliability December 11, 2023 Mariel Alumit A major power grid operator that oversees electricity supplies across the mid-Atlantic repeated […]

EPA Ups Estimates for the Social Cost of Carbon

December 8, 2023 Mariel Alumit

Key Takeaways 1. The Biden Administration announced a new “social cost” of carbon dioxide almost 4 times higher than President Biden’s interim number based on the Obama administration’s metric. 2. The new number will make […]