Dear Neighbor,
Hello from St. Paul, where this week House Democrats approved a bill which is completely out of touch with the priorities of Minnesotans. (If this sounds familiar, it should. And it’s likely not the last time those words are used this session.)
This time, the majority approved legislation last night which increases consumer energy prices, reduces power reliability and ultimately compromises safety.
The bill (H.F. 7) extends and increases Minnesota’s renewable energy standard to 55 percent by 2035 and requires electric utilities in the state to generate or acquire 100 percent carbon-free energy by 2040.
Here's the thing: A report from the Center of the American Experiment estimates the Walz/Democrat plan to move to 100 percent carbon free electricity by 2040 will cost $313 billion, or nearly $3,900 per family, per year. The same study indicates the return on these massive consumer costs would be negligible at best, paying to potentially avert 0.00096 degrees Celsius of warming by 2100.
This Blackout Bill is the last thing Minnesotans need at a time we already are paying more to heat our homes and concern over energy shortages is increasing. My position remains unwavering in that our state’s approach on energy should be to ensure affordable, reliable power through a diverse grid.
This bill takes us the opposite direction and I strongly oppose it – end of story.
The Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator currently has reported a 1,200-megawatt capacity shortfall, indicating Minnesota already doesn’t have enough reliable power-plant capacity online to meet expected peak electricity demand. MISO warnings of capacity shortfalls for peak periods will become more commonplace if our state continues to rely more on intermittent, weather-dependent energy sources as House Democrats propose.
All blackouts are bad, but winter blackouts in Minnesota could pose great dangers that House Democrats are not taking seriously. Minnesota should focus on diversifying the state’s grid, tapping into new nuclear technology and carbon capture and storage as lower-cost alternatives for reducing carbon emissions.
Republicans offered amendments intended to improve H.F. 7, including by allowing generation and transmission outfits to evaluate their own criteria on whether to modify or delay standard obligations. I share strong concerns I am hearing from local energy groups that are leery of having their decision-making ability seized by St. Paul bureaucrats. This amendment takes the decision-making away from the Public Utilities Commission and provides a more flexible, common-sense approach allowing for market-based solutions instead of government mandates.
House Democrats blocked that amendment and other Republican proposals before approving the bill and sending it to the Senate.
On another note, House Democrats are moving a second extreme abortion bill through the committee process. Only days after House Democrats approved a bill to make Minnesota’s abortion law among the most extreme on God’s green Earth, they staked out an even more extreme and potentially dangerous position this week.
As a refresher, House Democrats last week provided final approval for a bill to make abortion, already legal in the state, available at any time during a pregnancy – up to the moment of birth – and with no guardrails.
Not content to leave bad enough alone, House Democrats turned around and this week moved through committees a second extreme abortion bill (H.F. 91) which removes any remaining guardrails for abortions. This includes repealing the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. It also strikes any abortion reporting requirements left in place from the Doe v Minnesota opinion over the summer.
Let’s underscore that as extreme as last week’s abortion bill was, this version is even more out of touch with Minnesotans. The second bill has not yet reached the floor, but the majority is moving it through the process. I will vote against it every chance I get and encourage my House colleagues to do the same.
Stay tuned.
Sincerely,
Shane