Why Red States Are More Affordable Than Blue States: ALEC in The Daily Signal
ALEC Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force Senior Manager Lora Myers was quoted in a recent piece by The Daily Signal on state policies that would lower electricity costs and prioritize energy affordability for residents.
“These policies are not sustainable in their current form, when driven by mandates and subsidies that distort markets,” Lora Myers, an energy economist at the American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization focused on state-level policy.
“The core issue isn’t the technologies themselves, but the overreliance on top-down mandates like Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), net-zero emissions targets, and cap-and-trade programs,” Myers said. “These policies force utilities to prioritize intermittent renewables at the expense of a diverse generation mix, leading to higher electricity prices for consumers.”
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Myers says the key to affordability is for states to give more leeway to private industry.
“States should prioritize policies that foster energy abundance through market-driven innovation, diverse generation, and reduced regulatory burdens, ultimately lowering costs and improving reliability to support economic growth and higher living standards,” she said. “This means moving away from restrictive mandates which inflate prices by limiting choices and imposing artificial costs compared to open competition.”