Wall Street Journal: The Rush to Shore Up the Power Grid Against Hurricanes, Heat and Hail
Ed Hirs, energy economist, fellow at the University of Houston and Power for Tomorrow expert, speaks to the Wall Street Journal about how companies are working to adapt as they confront record-setting temperatures, floods and windstorms
“Storms are another big problem because they are expected to increase in severity and frequency. That means utilities, grid operators and power-plant owners will have to spend a lot more on things such as strengthening electric poles, transmission towers and other infrastructure.”
Ed Hirs, energy economist, fellow at the University of Houston and Power for Tomorrow expert, speaks to the Wall Street Journal about how companies are working to adapt as they confront record-setting temperatures, floods and windstorms
“Storms are another big problem because they are expected to increase in severity and frequency. That means utilities, grid operators and power-plant owners will have to spend a lot more on things such as strengthening electric poles, transmission towers and other infrastructure.”
Pluribus News: Maryland Attempts to Curb Rising Energy Bills with New Law Targeting Third-Party Suppliers
Brad Viator, a state utility policy expert, said the Maryland law was spurred by third-party suppliers’ heavy-handed sales tactics. “They’re like anybody else who’s trying to get a bunch of customers to sign up for a service,” Viator said. “There are some salespeople out there that are super aggressive and are using some unscrupulous tactics to get people to sign up. And the problem has become so prevalent, in Maryland in particular, but really in a lot of the states in the Northeast.”
Brad Viator, a state utility policy expert, said the Maryland law was spurred by third-party suppliers’ heavy-handed sales tactics.
“They’re like anybody else who’s trying to get a bunch of customers to sign up for a service,” Viator said. “There are some salespeople out there that are super aggressive and are using some unscrupulous tactics to get people to sign up. And the problem has become so prevalent, in Maryland in particular, but really in a lot of the states in the Northeast.
https://pluribusnews.com/news-and-events/maryland-rising-energy-bills-law-targeting-third-party-suppliers/
Daily Energy Insider: Retail Energy Consumers Will See Stronger Protections Under Newly Enacted Legislation
Power for Tomorrow’s Executive Director in the Daily Energy Insider discussing the Maryland law that will bolster consumer protections — especially those for low-income residents — against deceptive practices in the state’s unregulated retail electricity market.
Power for Tomorrow’s Executive Director, Gary Meltz, in the Daily Energy Insider discussing the Maryland law that will bolster consumer protections — especially those for low-income residents — against deceptive practices in the state’s unregulated retail electricity market.
“For far too long, Maryland residents have been overpaying for their energy and have been left to fend against retail electric suppliers,” said Gary Meltz, executive director of Power for Tomorrow (PFT), an organization that advocates for sensible regulation of electric utilities.
“Today’s achievement took courage and dedication from members of the General Assembly, Gov. Moore, consumer advocates and concerned citizens, who stood up against an aggressive lobbying campaign led by bad actors who were committed to taking advantage of Marylanders,” Meltz said.
Maryland Lawmakers Restore Utility Regulation to Protect Electric Customers
Today, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed into law Senate Bill 1 (SB1). This legislation provides reasonable oversight of electricity markets and protects customers by restricting the amount retail suppliers can charge. This brings an end to the most harmful component of Maryland's deregulation experiment, which began in 1999 under the Electric Choice Act and promised energy savings for consumers. In the 25 years following the Electric Choice Act, Maryland customers collectively have paid an extra $1.2 billion to retail energy suppliers, compared to regulated electricity and gas prices.
Marylanders Who Signed Up with Retail Suppliers Since the State Deregulated Have Paid an Extra $1.2 Billion
WASHINGTON, May 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed into law Senate Bill 1 (SB1). This legislation provides reasonable oversight of electricity markets and protects customers by restricting the amount retail suppliers can charge. This brings an end to the most harmful component of Maryland's deregulation experiment, which began in 1999 under the Electric Choice Act and promised energy savings for consumers. In the 25 years following the Electric Choice Act, Maryland customers collectively have paid an extra $1.2 billion to retail energy suppliers, compared to regulated electricity and gas prices.
Maryland ends their failed electric deregulation experiment.
"For far too long, Maryland residents have been overpaying for their energy and have been left to fend against retail electric suppliers," said Gary Meltz, executive director of Power for Tomorrow (PFT), an organization that advocates for sensible regulation of electric utilities. "Today's achievement took courage and dedication from members of the General Assembly, Governor Moore, consumer advocates and concerned citizens, who stood up against an aggressive lobbying campaign led by bad actors who were committed to taking advantage of Marylanders. Electric deregulation doesn't mean lower power bills. Before Senate Bill 1, retail electric suppliers were free to raise their rates higher than the regulated utilities, and they always did. This important legislation ensures retail suppliers are only able to participate in the market if they are offering real cost savings."
Earlier this year, PFT expert and former Maryland Governor Parris Glendenning, who signed the Electric Choice Act legislation in 1999, wrote an op-ed in Maryland Matters in favor of SB1. Glendenning noted that he regrets backing deregulation because it did not lower power bills, but rather, let retail electric suppliers target vulnerable populations "with the most common bait-and-switch scam; offering customers a teaser rate that is below what the regulated utility offers. Then, over time, retail suppliers raise the energy rate dramatically higher than the price customers would pay for power if they stayed with the existing utility."
PFT applauds the work done in Maryland and continues to advocate for customers, particularly in Massachusetts, where the state senate has passed legislation to ban retail electric suppliers from enrolling new residential customers. The legislation is now with the Massachusetts state house before going to Governor Maura Healey for her signature. The legislative pushback is in response to Bay State power utility customers being overcharged a total of a $525 million by retail electric suppliers between 2017 and 2023.
PFT encourages Virginia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and all other states that are considering deregulating their electric utilities to learn from the mistake made in Maryland and to strongly reconsider their efforts to deregulate their energy markets.
About Power for Tomorrow
Power for Tomorrow is a nonpartisan 501 (c)(6) organization and is the nation's leading resource for providing practical research, commentary, and information regarding how the regulated electric utility model protects consumers and supports environmental and public policy goals. To learn more, visit www.powerfortomorrow.org.
Boston Globe: Third-party electricity suppliers promise big savings. AG’s report tells another story.
“This report once again shows a clear pattern by the individual competitive electric supply industry of substantially harming our residents,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell. “The harms caused by these companies significantly outweigh any benefits to consumers.”
“We’ve all gotten the pitch — a letter, call, even a sales rep at the door — from an energy company promising big savings on electric bills by switching from our local utility.
Critics have long contended that too many of those offers are part of a pernicious bait-and-switch scheme and end up costing consumers much, much more than if they had stayed with their utility. The Massachusetts attorney general’s office has been tallying that cost for years, and its latest dollar figure is a whopping $578 million in additional payments by consumers over an eight-year period from July 2015 through June 2023.”
Daily Energy Insider: Kentucky legislature seeks to expand state’s power over coal plants
“A bill in Kentucky that could become law soon has the utilities industry concerned, along with environmental, business, and consumer groups that say the measure favors coal interests over ratepayers.
Gary Meltz, executive director of Power for Tomorrow, said the group opposes SB 349.”
“A bill in Kentucky that could become law soon has the utilities industry concerned, along with environmental, business, and consumer groups that say the measure favors coal interests over ratepayers…Gary Meltz, executive director of Power for Tomorrow, said the group opposes SB 349 for two reasons.”
“First, it will mean higher electric bills for Kentucky residents,” Meltz told Daily Energy Insider. “This is because the EPIC members are appointed by the legislature, with the goal of mandating that the state’s electrical utilities do not shutter older, aging, and economically inefficient coal powered electrical plants.”
But requiring the state’s electric utilities to operate inefficient plants means Kentuckians would be getting increasingly expensive electricity by operating these facilities rather than modern efficient power plants, said Meltz.
“Second, EPIC is a duplicative regulatory body that guarantees particular interests have standing at the state PSC,” he added. “Power for Tomorrow is an advocate for sensible regulation. Creating a second regulatory body that only guarantees the scales are tipped in favor of particular interests isn’t sensible.”
Lexington Herald Leader: By Propping up Coal, Lawmakers will Cause Higher Energy Prices for Kentuckians
Power for Tomorrow’s Executive Director, Gary Meltz, in the Lexington Herald-Leader, discussing how lawmakers in Frankfort, seeking to protect Kentuckly’s coal industry, are pushing legislation that will create a new layer of bureaucracy overseeing the state’s electrical utilities. While the bill’s supporters mean to protect the state’s coal workers, this new law will result in Kentuckians paying higher – not lower – electric bills.
Power for Tomorrow’s Executive Director, Gary Meltz, in the Lexington Herald-Leader, discussing how lawmakers in Frankfort, seeking to protect Kentuckly’s coal industry, are pushing legislation that will create a new layer of bureaucracy overseeing the state’s electrical utilities. While the bill’s supporters mean to protect the state’s coal workers, this new law will result in Kentuckians paying higher – not lower – electric bills.
Utility Dive: No shining example: Texas-style electric deregulation is bad for consumers
“Texas power market designers argue that short-term price spikes will encourage long-run investment, but why would power plant owners build more power plants just to make sure prices stay low?” — Power for Tomorrow Expert Ed Hirs in Utility Dive
State control of the electricity supply chain has proven disastrous. The solution is for Texas to return control of its grid to its utilities. The state regulated incentive to game the ERCOT market should be removed. The state can go back to enforcing utility contracts and imposing accountability on utilities in return for reliable and fairly priced electricity for 26 million customers. The state can go back to an oversight role and put the business of delivering electricity back into the hands of business.
Read the full column in Utility Dive.
Boston Globe: Seeking clarity on what the state's electricity market buys us
“Columnist Scot Lehigh cannot be blamed for being somewhat swayed by paid advocates for the retail electric
supply industry, who make a compelling case for letting customers pick where to get their electricity. After
gobbling up half a billion dollars more from Bay State residents than they would otherwise have paid from
2015 to 2021, the retail supply industry may well have the best spin doctors money can buy.” — PFT Executive Director Gary Meltz in the Boston Globe
Claims of green benefits may be exaggerated
Columnist Scot Lehigh cannot be blamed for being somewhat swayed by paid advocates for the retail electric supply industry, who make a compelling case for letting customers pick where to get their electricity. After gobbling up half a billion dollars more from Bay State residents than they would otherwise have paid from 2015 to 2021, the retail supply industry may well have the best spin doctors money can buy.
Lehigh asserts that calls to ban the industry in Massachusetts are an overreaction and that the state’s residential retail market should be fixed, not eliminated. After all, retail suppliers offer clean power from renewable sources to customers who are willing to pay more for electricity. Except, that’s not exactly true.
Customers are only paying a retail supplier a fee to purchase clean energy credits. Recently, the Boston-based National Consumer Law Center was a signatory to a letter that consumer organizations sent to the Federal Trade Commission about “greenwashing.” Selling energy with exaggerated claims of environmental benefits only hinders efforts to address climate change through electrification.
Finally, in support of legislation to protect residential electric customers in Massachusetts, NCLC staff attorney Jenifer Bosco testified in 2020 that the industry uses deceptive marketing practices to target “low-income consumers, older adults, and those with limited English language proficiency.”
Gary Meltz
Executive director
Power for Tomorrow
Washington, D.C.
Virginia Pilot: Power for Tomorrow Thanks State Senator Mason
“With all Virginians coping with higher living costs, we should be grateful to lawmakers like Mason, who backed legislation to lower electric bills in the commonwealth.”— Power for Tomorrow Executive Director Gary Meltz in the Virginia Pilot.
Way to go
Recently, my organization sent mailers applauding state Sen. Monty Mason of Williamsburg for supporting common sense legislation that will save Virginia residential electric customers $7-$14 on their monthly power bills while strengthening regulatory oversight of electric companies.
Specifically, the law will save Dominion Energy customers $350 million by eliminating several “riders” — or additional project fees on a customer’s electric bill — and simplify the billing process.
The legislation also prevents state regulators from having to add costs to electric bills to account for unanticipated cost overruns, like the recent increase in cost of steel and solar panels. This fix will help ensure people are paying for the electricity they use today — not getting hit with fees for something that happened in the past.
This bipartisan legislation also allows for much needed investments in a secure and safe energy grid. Affordable and reliable energy will improve lives and create a stable business environment to spur job growth. The mailers were sent to voters in the districts of Virginia lawmakers — a Democrat and a Republican — who showed leadership to pass this important legislation.
With all Virginians coping with higher living costs, we should be grateful to lawmakers like Mason, who backed legislation to lower electric bills in the commonwealth.
Gary Meltz; executive director, Power for Tomorrow; Washington D.C.
