Bonner Cohen with the National Center for Public Policy Research weighs in on renewable energy mandates that force higher costs onto ratepayers — mandates such as the one passed in North Carolina in 2007. Senate Bill 3 was poor policy then, and its mandate is poor policy today.
“States all across the country are taking a second look at these mandates which foist higher-cost, intermittent electricity on the backs of ordinary citizens,” said Todd Wynn, director of the Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force for the American Legislative Exchange Council. “North Carolina is taking a step forward by ensuring the generation of affordable and reliable energy and thus protecting low-income families that are hit hardest by costs imposed by state renewable energy mandates.”
“The case against renewable energy mandates is very simple—they increase the price of electricity,” said Dan Simmons, director of state policy at the Washington-based Institute for Energy Research. “These mandates increase the cost of power for ratepayers and transfer the money to well-heeled renewable energy developers. The people of North Carolina should be grateful to Rep. Hager for looking out for their interests and fighting for affordable energy.”
