Jake Morabito Testimony in Maryland: Restoring Energy Affordability

ALEC Senior Director of Policy Jake Morabito was recently invited to testify before the Maryland House Environment and Transportation Committee about HB 0066 and the research upon consideration of Maryland’s proposed withdrawal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

You can read his testimony below:

Chair Korman and Members of the Committee:

My name is Jake Morabito, and I serve as Senior Director of Policy at the American Legislative Exchange Council. Thank you for the opportunity to speak before your committee today to provide informational only testimony, and to share ALEC’s nonpartisan research as you consider HB66, which would withdraw Maryland from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

Today, there are 10 states—including Maryland—that participate in the RGGI cap-and-trade program either in statute or through agency rulemaking. Programs like RGGI ultimately amount to a carbon tax that is passed down to consumers and businesses in the form of higher retail energy prices, and impacts the energy sources needed to ensure a reliable grid. In Maryland alone, it is estimated that RGGI contributed to over 3,000 megawatts of dispatchable power being forced into retirement, enough energy to power millions of homes statewide.

ALEC’s research highlights the stark difference between states that participate in RGGI, and those that do not. Our annual Energy Affordability Report ranks all 50 states on the weighted average cost of electricity, and studies the link between energy prices and state policy. Maryland ranked 39 out of 50 in our latest report according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Some states are thinking twice. Neighboring Pennsylvania recently terminated its plans to participate in RGGI after years of litigation. Virginia also ended its participation in RGGI after costing energy producers more than $800 million in just three years. However, Virginia now plans to reinstate RGGI despite warnings that such a move would once again increase utility rates.

In closing, the General Assembly should seek policies that address energy affordability by unlocking more affordable and reliable energy for families and businesses and keeping megawatts on the grid. This includes ALEC’s model Electric Generation Facility Closures and Reliability Act, which prevents the retirement of dispatchable generation before new sources are online and ready to operate.

Thank you again for the opportunity to present ALEC’s research today, and I welcome any questions.

Respectfully submitted,

Jake Morabito

Senior Director, Policy

American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)