BENSALEM TOWNSHIP – People voiced their concerns with the rising costs of energy today during a town hall meeting in Bucks County, where Gov. Edward G. Rendell urged the Senate to pass a package of bills that will provide relief to consumers, grow the economy, and break Pennsylvania’s dependence on foreign oil.
Speaking at the Great Green Jobs forum, sponsored by Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture), Rendell said the need for his Energy Independence Strategy has grown as consumers pay record oil prices now and face double-digit electricity rate increases in the coming years.
“The average price for a gallon of gasoline in Pennsylvania is $3.63 and, yesterday, the federal government forecast that prices will reach an average of $3.73 nationally next month,” said Rendell.
Legislation awaiting action in the General Assembly, House Bill 2201, would help ensure electricity consumers benefit from service at the lowest reasonable rate. The bill would require utilities to purchase power for their customers in a competitive manner through a mix of short- and long-term contracts and spot market purchases. H.B. 2201 also obligates the Public Utility Commission to ensure that the procurement process is free of fraud, collusion or market manipulation.
The governor said that while H.B. 2201 is awaiting a vote in both chambers of the legislature, the Senate has delayed action on three bills that were overwhelmingly approved by the House.
“The Energy Independence Strategy I unveiled 15 months ago provides the tools consumers need to mitigate these energy price increases and it allows us to invest in the development of clean, renewable energy sources that will create skilled positions that pay a family-sustaining wage,” said the governor. “Key portions of this package have passed the House overwhelmingly but have languished in the Senate. The Senate must pass these bills now because the longer it delays, the more difficult it’s going to be for their constituents to manage the full force of the energy price increases that are just around the corner.”
PennFuture’s Campaign for Great Green Jobs was launched to encourage legislative action on two bills embodying the governor’s energy proposals: H.B. 2200 and Special Session H.B. 1.
H.B. 2200 will help consumers save on their energy bills by conserving electricity and using it more efficiently. It was passed by the House on Feb. 12 but has yet to be taken up by the Senate.
S.H.B. 1, which has been awaiting action in the Senate since March, will target $850 million in new state resources to attract $3.5 billion in private investment from the alternative and renewable energy industries to create 13,000 new jobs.
In his remarks, the governor also called for action on H.B. 1202, or the PennSecurity Fuels Initiative. The bill, which has been awaiting action by the Senate since June, will require nearly 1 billion gallons of biofuels to be produced and consumed in the commonwealth. By 2017, 1 billion gallons will equal what the state is expected to import from the Persian Gulf.
“By investing in the rapidly growing alternative and renewable energy industries, we can compete with other states and nations vying for these promising projects,” said the governor, who was joined by representatives of local renewable energy companies and the United Steelworkers. “Rather than send our hard-earned money overseas for oil or on other fossil fuels that are becoming more expensive, let’s invest in new, advanced forms of energy. Those are the projects that are creating skilled, good-paying, green-collar jobs for our men and women.”
The United Steel Workers union represents workers at the wind energy company Gamesa, which has invested more than $108 million in Pennsylvania and created more than 1,100 jobs at two manufacturing operations and its North American headquarters in the state.
The governor will participate in a similar town hall meeting in Allentown with leaders of AFC First Financial, operator of the state-supported Keystone Home Energy Loan Program that provides low-interest loans for homeowners’ energy-efficiency investments.