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Congressional Hearings Will Help Find Answers to America’s Brewing Energy and Supply Chain Crises

Pennsylvania Avenue and United States Capitol

Two House Committee hearings this week offer promising return to sensible energy and environmental policies

WASHINGTON – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading energy and environmental advocate for families and businesses, issued the following statement regarding two House hearings this week.

Both will help advance smart, rational legislation to boost and maximize overall U.S. energy production and correct our nation’s brewing issues with renewable energy and the lack of needed domestic critical minerals production.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security and Subcommittee on the Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Minerals Subcommittee holds a joint hearing on Tuesday entitled “Unleashing American Energy, Lowering Energy Costs, and Strengthening Supply Chains.” On Wednesday, the House Natural Resources Full Committee will hold an Oversight Hearing – “Unleashing America’s Energy and Mineral Potential.”

“These two hearings will examine the idea that America’s own natural resources should be the first choice when we look for energy and the critical minerals that increased deployment of wind and solar power require,” CEA Vice President Katie Hammons said. “CEA also looks forward to the Committees’ examination of how the U.S. can eliminate self-imposed and illogical impediments to onshore and offshore domestic oil and natural gas production.”

“Unfortunately, some political leaders keep failing to fully understand the importance of sensible energy policy to every American. These leaders – including the current Administration – offer policies that hurt American jobs and eliminate economic opportunities for families and businesses all across the nation, and do very little to provide tangible environmental progress. In fact, certain actions like the recent ban on mining one of the world’s largest copper and nickel deposits, located in Minnesota, directly contradict and undermine stated Administration goals to rapidly expand renewable energy and electric vehicles. Congress is correct in seeking to find out why our own resources are being taken off the table.”

“CEA applauds the Committees for examining the importance of sound and sensible policies that put American assets and supply chains first. That’s how we make it easier to produce the energy every family, farmer, small business and American needs, as well as the environmental improvements we all want to see,” Hammons said. “There is no better way to protect, advance and grow our energy, economic, environmental and national security than developing our own natural resources at home, under our own control and world-leading environmental standards. Sensible energy policies provide a path to continued affordable, reliable and environmentally responsible energy that truly benefits all Americans.”

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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading voice for sensible energy and environmental policies for consumers, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, we are committed to leading the nation’s dialogue around energy, its critical role in the economy, and how it supports the vital supply chains for the families and businesses that depend on them. CEA works daily to encourage communities across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our nation’s energy needs.

Contact:
Bryson Hull
(202) 657-2855
bhull@consumerenergyalliance.org

Consumer Energy Alliance Testifies in Support of Common Sense Energy and Environmental Policies in Pennsylvania

Mother and Child By Fireplace

Harrisburg, PA  – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading energy and environmental advocate for families and businesses, today testified at a Pennsylvania House of Representatives Republican Policy Committee hearing on rising energy costs in the state. Following the committee hearing, CEA Mid-Atlantic Director Mike Butler released the following statement:

“A key question the public should be asking of policy makers and elected officials is why are we making it harder for regular people, small businesses, farmers and industries to get back to work and save on energy costs? Energy is a fundamental right, and Pennsylvania of all places as the nation’s second largest provider of energy to other states behind only Texas, should lead the way and advance a legislative and regulatory agenda that recognizes that.”

“Two-thirds of Pennsylvania households use natural gas as their primary home heating fuel. Policies that limit reliable and affordable sources like natural gas from our energy mix, or interfere with the construction of critical infrastructure including pipelines, will lead to higher energy bills, significant service disruptions, and increase income inequality while doing little to achieve the environmental progress we all desire. We need only look to similar policies enacted in Germany and the UK to see how disastrous they are, in terms of increasing costs as much as 300 percent and making energy critically scarcer.”

“In a state where 12% of the population lives at or below the poverty line, and 1.5 million Pennsylvanians are spending nearly a quarter of their annual income on energy expenses – any effort to limit affordable and reliable energy will be detrimental to them and anyone on low or fixed incomes.”

“We hope our elected leaders will keep in mind the role traditional energy sources like natural gas and will play in our energy future, along with advanced technologies and renewables like wind and solar, to help ensure our communities, families and small businesses’ energy needs are met without placing anyone at risk of financial harm. CEA stands ready to work with Pennsylvania’s elected leaders in pursuit of smart, realistic policies that allow for affordable energy and environmental progress for all and supports the public’s right to keep the energy service they want.”

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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading voice for sensible energy and environmental policies for consumers, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, we are committed to leading the nation’s dialogue around energy, its critical role in the economy, and how it supports the vital supply chains for the families and businesses that depend on them. CEA works daily to encourage communities across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our nation’s energy needs.

Contact:
Bryson Hull
(202) 657-2855
bhull@consumerenergyalliance.org

Natural Gas Service Ban Could Cost Virginians Over $27,000 Per Household

Richmond Virginia skyline

Reducing Consumer Choices Only Leads to Higher Prices

RICHMOND, VA – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading energy and environmental advocate for families and businesses, today released a report which finds that a natural gas ban could cost every household in Virginia more than $27,000.

“The Hidden Costs of a Virginia Natural Gas Ban” examines the impact of a natural gas ban if it were forced onto families and Virginians. Using open-source consumer data, CEA developed a cost calculator to provide an estimate of what a typical household in Richmond could expect to pay as a result of policies to ban natural gas service and use, depending on home configuration, appliances used and other factors.

These findings dovetail with previous CEA research which found that the cost to replace solely major gas appliances in homes nationwide would be more than $258 billion.

“With one in three Virginia households using natural gas for home heating, banning natural gas would be financially devastating to families who would have to pay upwards of $27,000 to involuntarily reconfigure their home and purchase new appliances,” CEA Vice President of State Affairs Kevin Doyle said. “A ban on natural gas will inevitably increase energy bills; disproportionately harming the 9.9% of Virginians who live at or below the poverty level, those in disadvantaged communities or on fixed incomes, and families and businesses still struggling to afford the basics after more than a year of soaring inflation and high energy prices.”

“Natural gas is a critical resource for fueling Virginia’s families and businesses, but it has also been pivotal in the remarkable emissions reductions Virginia has achieved while natural gas use has increased,” Doyle said.

The report highlights data from the Environmental Protection Agency, which shows that from 1990 to 2021, Virginia’s emissions of criteria pollutants have decreased across the board, including:

  • 75.1% reduction in nitrogen oxides
  • 67.6% reduction in volatile organic compounds
  • 96.1% reduction in sulfur dioxide

“Consumers should retain the right to keep the energy service they want and choose appliances they wish to use. Natural gas serves an important role in our energy mix as an always-on option, ensuring consumers have the power and heat they need, when they need it. We hope officials and lawmakers recognize the opportunities for natural gas and its infrastructure to play an important, complementary role in reaching net-zero objectives,” Doyle said.

To view the report, click here.

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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading voice for sensible energy and environmental policies for consumers, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, we are committed to leading the nation’s dialogue around energy, its critical role in the economy, and how it supports the vital supply chains for the families and businesses that depend on them. CEA works daily to encourage communities across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our nation’s energy needs.

Contact:
Bryson Hull
(202) 657-2855
bhull@consumerenergyalliance.org

New Jersey Cannot Afford $1.4 Trillion Energy Master Plan

A couple paying their utility bills

New EMP cost estimate shows why unrealistic government energy policies fail the public 

TRENTON, N.J.  – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading energy and environmental advocate for families and businesses, issued the following statement after the release of a report estimating the cost of New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan at $1.4 trillion, or $140,000 per year until 2050 for every citizen of the state.

“This estimate is the closest New Jersey’s citizens have to a real idea of what the Energy Master Plan will cost them. The state has carried out two studies at taxpayers’ expense and still has refused to reveal the total cost for more than three years, which caused understandable concern that the EMP would be outrageously expensive, and therefore politically risky,” CEA Mid-Atlantic Director Mike Butler said.

“It remains to be seen how Gov. Murphy will proceed, or whether common sense will return and a realistic, affordable and environmentally responsible plan will be drafted,” he said. “CEA warned more than three years ago that the EMP – a plan that was proposed by RMI, an extreme, ideologically driven think-tank – would lead to unaffordable, unreliable energy, all while offering no real, tangible help for our environment.”

“More and more are calling for a return to the EMP drawing board to start over with a more workable, realistic and environmentally responsible plan – one that does not bankrupt New Jersey. We encourage Gov. Murphy to prioritize reliability and affordability in any new iteration of the EMP, not unattainable goals that will only saddle New Jerseyans with high energy costs for decades and do nothing to improve the environment.”

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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading voice for sensible energy and environmental policies for consumers, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, we are committed to leading the nation’s dialogue around energy, its critical role in the economy, and how it supports the vital supply chains for the families and businesses that depend on them. CEA works daily to encourage communities across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our nation’s energy needs.

Contact:
Bryson Hull
(202) 657-2855
bhull@consumerenergyalliance.org

Minnesota Mining Ban Hurts America’s Environmental Progress

Pennsylvania Avenue and United States Capitol

Hampering American Mining Puts America’s Environmental Goals in Foreign Hands

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading energy and environmental advocate for families and businesses, issued the following statement in response to the Biden Administration issuing a 20-year moratorium on mining important copper and nickel deposits in Minnesota.

“Just a day after Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm got behind the wheel of the all-electric Ford F-150 to tout the significant investment in battery manufacturing across the Midwest and Southeast, the Biden Administration swiftly ensured U.S. plants will not produce the components EV batteries need from American soil, in this case in Minnesota,” Consumer Energy Alliance Midwest Director Chris Ventura said.

“Last year, the International Energy Agency warned that governments need to act fast to shore up supplies of minerals essential to clean energy technologies. It is beyond belief that the U.S. Department of the Interior would issue a 20-year mining ban on more than 225,000 acres of land containing copper and nickel – two critical minerals essential to our clean energy future.”

“Banning mining in Minnesota, a state with greater protections for the environment and for worker safety than any other country in the world, only deepens our dependence on China for critical minerals. Some political leaders appear dedicated to hampering economic opportunities in America, as has been the case for oil and gas on federal lands and waters including the Gulf of Mexico, and now, in Minnesota.”

“The decision begs the question of why the Administration would do so while advocating for stronger American supply chains and funding, with taxpayer money, greater U.S. electric vehicle adoption. Instead, it is acting in a way that will keep the cost of electric vehicles unaffordable for the average American, and continue the underlying issues creating excessively high energy prices.

“The right path to our cleaner future begins by putting American miners at the beginning of the supply chain, not the end of the unemployment line.”

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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading voice for sensible energy and environmental policies for consumers, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, we are committed to leading the nation’s dialogue around energy, its critical role in the economy, and how it supports the vital supply chains for the families and businesses that depend on them. CEA works daily to encourage communities across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our nation’s energy needs.

Contact:
Bryson Hull
(202) 657-2855
bhull@consumerenergyalliance.org

Biden’s Promise to Re-fill Our Reserves

Oil derricks at sunset

CEA President David Holt joined KTRH to discuss the negative implications of using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for political reasons as opposed to being used for emergencies, and how consumers will ultimately be the ones bearing the price.

Listen here – KTRH AM 740

Virginians Deserve a Choice and an Explanation

Senior citizen keeping warm by the fire

Virginia is home to more than 8.6 million residents. It boasts a diverse economy comprised of more than 780,000 small businesses and prominent industries like agriculture, information technology, manufacturing, and more. With an increasing population and several industries that generate hundreds of thousands of jobs, a common need and stabilizing force that ensures homes, businesses, and livelihoods can operate without interruption is affordable energy – more specifically, natural gas.

As of today, 20 states (Ohio, Indiana, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Idaho, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and New Hampshire) have adopted pre-emption bills to stop forced electrification mandates popping up across the country. These mandates mask the policymaker’s real intent in a less provocative way, which is ultimately to ban natural gas.

The problem with these bans, and specifically the one in Virginia, is that more than half of the state’s electric power generation comes from natural gas, and federal data shows that one in three households rely on natural gas for home heating.

Additionally, taking away an electric source that provides baseload capacity like natural gas means that you have to replace it with something that has the same generation capacity or develop enough alternative sources of energy to meet the current demand.

In some cases, that could mean doubling the development of renewables. To meet its 2030 goal, Virginia will need to develop almost a million acres with renewables, the equivalent amount of land the size of Rhode Island. By 2050, it will need to develop more than two Rhode Islands and the state of Delaware combined.

The only problem – is it all needs to be hooked up to new electric transmission. Plus, we’re adding new things every day that require electricity, and according to data, we’ll need between 40-100% more than we have now.

Because there is not enough transmission infrastructure to meet the growing demand of our current power grid, all of this necessary infrastructure will need to be built, and building transmission isn’t an easy task. The process, on average, takes ten years or more before it’s entirely constructed and operational – assuming there are no delays from rate cases, protests, or lawsuits.

Another issue is that switching Virginia homes and businesses from natural gas to electrification is the availability of electricity from our current power grid. Depending on the grid in certain areas, power lines can only accommodate so much electricity. Imagine it like a jug filled to the top with water. Just because you want more water doesn’t mean you have the space for it in the jug – it’s already filled to capacity. Meaning the grid can’t handle the additional load to replace the power lost by natural gas, making communities more at risk for brownouts and blackouts.

To sum it up, removing natural gas in Virginia within the plan’s proposed two-year timeline and before any of the necessary transmission infrastructure is built would be like throwing out a mattress you’re currently using because you’re expecting a delivery for a replacement in 10 years.

Installing roadblocks like a statewide natural gas ban in favor of forced electrification also disrupts the affordability that many consumers, families, and small businesses rely on to make ends meet by ignoring the reality of the high cost of electrifying everything. For example, the implications of a natural gas ban on a Richmond household could cost as much as $27,385 to retrofit existing appliances depending on the appliance models, home configuration, labor, and reliance on natural gas.

Increased electrification also means increasing statewide costs to create the transmission and other necessary infrastructure to electrify homes and businesses. A Princeton University study found that for the U.S. to achieve net-zero carbon policies through electrification and other strategies by 2050, utilities will have to make massive infrastructure investments to manage the increased load and connected costs of adding electric vehicle charging stations, heat pumps, all-electric appliances and more to Virginia’s electricity grid.

A high electrification scenario would also increase peak system demand by 50%. The study estimates nearly $42.7 billion will need to be invested in utilities’ distribution systems to support the electric load increases at $12,400 per household. Add that to an estimated $103.5 billion in capital investment for wind and solar and per-household costs to “electrify everything,” and the cost soars to $42,500.

Responsible decisions need to be made when it considering legislation for Virginians. The road to renewable energy is attainable, but it has to come with realistic expectations and the understanding that an affordable choice is necessary for consumers until a reasonably priced and reliable alternative is secured. With energy costs and inflation now at record highs, providing families, businesses, and consumers throughout the state with access to natural gas is critical to ensuring affordable and reliable energy for all.

Support your delegates working to preserve natural gas service here.

Feds Not Coming After Your Gas Stove (Yet)

Mom cooking with children

CEA’s Marc Brown discussed the potential of a ban on gas stoves after comments made by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and how that would negatively impact families.

Marc Brown, vice president of state affairs at Consumer Energy Alliance, said a gas stove ban is one of the last things that families in places such as New England need at a time of high energy prices and unstable electricity. Based on that, Brown said one would think Washington would focus on making it easier to secure reliable, affordable energy.

Read more – Jacksonville Journal Courier

New York Governor Announces Plans to Ban Natural Gas in Buildings

People crossing street in Fordham Heights center, New York City

Increasing Inequality, Risking Reliable Electricity: New York’s Natural Gas Ban Plan, an analysis demonstrating the high costs of government plans to ban natural gas, was covered by Energy Central in their reporting of Gov. Hochul’s plan to ban natural gas in buildings across New York State.

Read more – Energy Central

How The Push Toward Green Energy Is Affecting Energy Prices

Manufacturing on the factory floor

CEA’s David Holt sat down with Nicole Petallides and The Watch List to talk about energy prices and the U.S. economy, and how our energy policy does not allow us to have affordable or reliable energy.

Listen here – The Watch List

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