Jonathan Small
Oklahoma Public Affairs Council
{div class =”tw-pb-6 tw-border-b tw-border-grey-900 tw-flex tw-flex-col”}Oklahoma families are feeling the financial pinch due to progressive anti-fossil fuel regulations. OG&E Utilities customers have been notified that their bills will be increased to recover costs associated with higher prices for natural gas and coal.
This is just one example of how Democratic environmental policies are indirectly draining families’ wallets. Democrats are now trying to deflect blame by claiming that “greedy” energy producers created the high prices. That excuse doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
Implementing policies to reduce drilling, prevent an increase in transmission through pipelines, and encourage refinery closures or discourage investment in new refining capacity would keep consumer demand steady or increasing. , prices are higher even in the best of times. Not to mention if Russia is at war with Ukraine and OPEC is cutting production.
That is why Larry Summers, a Democrat who served as Treasury secretary under former President Bill Clinton, recently said the Biden administration made a mistake in canceling the Keystone Pipeline.
That hasn’t stopped other Democrats from ignoring reality.California Governor Gavin Newsom recently said the average gas price in California is $6.30 a gallon, compared with the national average of $3.19. Because of this, the oil company claimed to be fleeing California drivers. Newsom’s proposed solution to high gas prices is to impose a ‘unexpected’ tax increase on oil companies.
However, Valero Energy officials noted that California is “the most expensive operating environment in the country” and “a highly hostile regulatory environment for refining,” and policymakers in California , noted that it “deliberately adopted a policy with the express intention of excluding refineries.” sector. “
Simply put, reducing supply harms consumers. Also, increasing production costs hurts consumers.
Oklahomans are wealthier than Californians, but federal policies that block oil and gas production still hurt local families.
Unfortunately, utilities like OG&E have often undermined Democratic administrations by increasing their reliance on “green” energy sources to appease left-leaning politicians. It ultimately makes power less reliable and more expensive.
But Oklahoma’s utilities have the best of both worlds because, as regulated monopolies, they can pass on the costs of bad policies to customers who have no choice.
For years, Oklahoma law has regulated utilities based primarily on reliability. Basically, as long as the lights come on when you flip the switch, regulators are happy. But that’s too low a standard.
It may be time to update Oklahoma’s utility regulations so that both reliability and price stability are taken into account. If utilities are expected to keep prices stable, their leaders are less likely to “get along” with proponents of environmental policies that are causing enormous economic damage to working families. There is a possibility.
Small is president of the Oklahoma Public Affairs Council.
