PA Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman says that a recent agreement between Governor Josh Shapiro and the company that manages the electricity grid in 13 states will not do a thing to lower electricity rates in the commonwealth.
On Tuesday, Shapiro announced that because of a federal complaint he and other governors filed last December, PJM Interconnection agreed to a new price cap and other changes, pending a review by a federal regulatory committee. The original proposal from PJM would have increased rates that would cost customers $21 billion through 2028. For the average consumer, that would be a few hundred dollars more per home per year.
On December 30th, Shapiro announced he and the governors of Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Illinois were suing PJM. According to the agreement, PJM’s upcoming capacity auction price cap was lowered from over $500 per megawatt-day to $325 per megawatt-day, averting billions in unnecessary energy costs for 65 million people in the region.
In comments on the floor of the PA Senate, Pittman was critical of Shapiro and the deal with PJM. While he said he was happy with the Governor’s focus on the problem with electricity prices, there is still going to be increases seen.
He also reminded everyone that a diversified electricity generating portfolio is needed for Pennsylvania, pairing environmentally friendly technology like solar and windmills with traditional energy creation from coal and nuclear.
He also said that he expects the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to be discussed in the senate next week.
