Rep. Bob Latta on HR 3628: Ensuring Reliable and Affordable State Energy Policies

The Need for State Energy Planning

• 💡 HR 3628, the State Planning for Reliability and Affordability Act, is supported to ensure states take responsibility for policy decisions impacting electricity access.
• 🎯 The legislation aims to address a reliability and affordability crisis attributed to Biden administration policies and state-level attacks on base load power.

Data on Energy Costs and Reliability

• 📊 The data is clear: states with aggressive clean energy standards often have higher electricity bills.
• 📈 Rising costs for utilities are detailed in rate case filings, citing new infrastructure, stranded assets from retired power plants, and the need for backup generation.
• ⚠️ States like New York are experiencing grid integrity threats due to laws driving down base load generation resources.

Benefits of Responsible Energy Policy

• 💰 States that have maintained system reliability have enjoyed affordable electricity rates and attracted investment in energy-intensive industries like domestic manufacturing.
• 🔌 The central focus of resource planning must be affordability and reliability, as a grid without enough electricity poses the greatest harm to communities.
• ✅ HR 3628 is presented as a common-sense approach to integrated resource planning.