HARRISBURG, Pa. — A battle is underway in the Pennsylvania courts, as lawsuits are attempting to pause the start of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) across the state.
The two cases are arguing over whether Pennsylvania should participate in RGGI or pause the July 1st start date until the cases can be heard in their entirety. If paused, the court case could delay Pennsylvania’s participation in the program until next year, and miss Governor Tom Wolf's goal before the end of his term.
RGGI would set a cap on carbon emissions and force power plants to use clean energy or pay extra.
Franz Litz, principal of Litz Energy Strategies LLC, is one of the initial designers of RGGI and said a pause could be detrimental.
"Can we afford to wait given all that's going on in the world?" he asks. "Why? What are we waiting for? Why are we stepping in to take some of the pressure off families and businesses and their energy bills?"
Litz said Pennsylvanians are "bearing the air pollution burden of more than their share," and that implementing RGGI will "reduce harmful pollutants from the air and...keep Pennsylvania a next exporter for electricity."
However, opponents of the plan say that RGGI places even further burdens on those in the coal industry.
State Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana Co.) said that the state is in a different place economically than two years ago, and this plan will, "cause an increase in people's utility bills."
"The estimate is [a] 30% increase in household electric bills," said Struzzi. "How are people going to be able to afford that?"
Struzzi also noted that a sole reliance on renewable energy, like solar and wind, isn't realistic.
"There's also a danger in relying solely on renewables," he said. "We're not opposed to renewables. I'm not opposed to clean air obviously, and clean water and and all those things...but at what detriment. You know, are we going to put people out of their homes? Out of their careers?"
Experts say the court hearings over RGGI could last until Wednesday, with a decision expected within the week.