Supreme Court Climate Change Decision Will Harm Utility Customers
Posted on June 30, 2022 by Bob Jenks
Tags, Energy
CUB is deeply disappointed with today’s Supreme Court ruling that limits the EPA’s authority to regulate climate pollution from existing power plants. From wildfires to heat domes, climate change is here, and it is costing lives and livelihoods. Our communities need an enforceable plan to transition to clean energy. This decision will make that harder to achieve.
The Supreme Court’s decision also places a great deal of risk on customers. Utilities that serve Oregon are investing billions of dollars to expand their networks and develop new energy projects. Across the country, utilities are investing more than $100 billion per year on utility infrastructure. These investments have long useful lives, often 50 or more years.
Customers are generally on the hook for these investments, including paying for the profits utility companies make from them. Without strong federal regulations guiding this transition, how is there any assurance that these billions of dollars are well spent?
The Supreme Court ruling makes it harder to establish a plan that will help guide those investments. And without a plan, customers will likely be asked to bail out utilities for the bad investments that come from spending billions to keep dirty and expensive fossil fuel generating plants running.
Oregon customers have some protection from state policies that apply within Oregon. But this protection is limited. Our utilities operate in multiple states. Our electric grid and natural gas system are part of national networks. It is difficult to protect Oregon customers from bad decisions and investments made outside Oregon.
In addition, the oil and gas industry is bringing a similar challenge to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Climate Protection Plan. This includes Oregon’s gas utilities: NW Natural, Avista, and Cascade Natural Gas. While claiming they want to reduce emissions in their sector, these utilities do not want an enforceable plan that requires such reductions.
Customers are at risk. This decision will lead to higher utility rates due to continued investment in risky and uneconomic fossil fuel infrastructure.
Customers can help reduce this risk by investing in energy efficient appliances like heat pumps and purchasing electric vehicles. The Energy Trust of Oregon has programs that can help low- and moderate-income households reduce their energy bills.
But many customers do not have the time, money, expertise, or ownership of their building that enables such investments. This is why we need plans, rules, and accountability for big energy companies.
Today, the Supreme Court made that more difficult. While CUB believes that Congress and the Biden Administration should act quickly to pass bold climate legislation, we’ve seen repeated failures by Congress to meaningfully address this and other issues. No matter what happens next at the federal level, CUB will be working tirelessly to ensure a just and affordable transition to clean energy for Oregonians.
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06/30/22 | 0 Comments | Supreme Court Climate Change Decision Will Harm Utility Customers