What Is Energy Choice?
The freedom for residents and employers to make use of the energy choice that best serves their needs without undue interference from government.
What Pennsylvanians Drive
Source: https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicle-registration
Pennsylvania generates the energy that keeps lights on, homes comfortable, businesses profitable and vehicles on the road — both in our state and throughout the nation.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Pennsylvania is the second-largest net supplier of energy in the country. The reason is our diverse energy mix. Our state’s production and consumption include traditional energy sources like coal, natural gas and petroleum, but also nuclear, hydroelectric and emerging renewables. These resources provide crucial power for homes, farms, commercial enterprises and fleets across the multifaceted Keystone State.
Our balanced energy mix is becoming greener every year as we find ways to lower carbon emissions without sacrificing reliability or the comfort of Pennsylvania families.
What energy choice means to Pennsylvania
Because of our state’s excellent energy resources, Pennsylvania families and businesses have many choices regarding how they heat their homes and water, fuel their automobiles, cook their food, dry their clothes and more.
This energy choice allows us to select the right energy for the right job. More than half of our households use natural gas as their primary heating source. Approximately 20% use petroleum products like heating oil and propane. About 25% use electricity. Almost all of Pennsylvania’s vehicles run on traditional fuels, but we’re establishing infrastructure for electric vehicles too.
Pennsylvania’s grid — balancing reliability and decarbonization
What makes a dependable, robust electric grid?
As demand for electricity grows from the residential, commercial, transportation and other sectors, we must meet it with a power grid that has a stable generation function that is deployable as needed. Pennsylvania achieves this with a mix of natural gas, petroleum, coal, nuclear energy and some renewables.
Pennsylvania is the third-largest producer of electricity in the United States. We send more electricity to regional neighbors than any other state. Our balance of energy sources ensures that we can generate sufficient power when demand is up.
And work is being done right now to reduce emissions for this grid generation without sacrificing reliability. For example, carbon-capture technology has the potential to trap up to 95% of carbon dioxide released from generation plants, preventing it from entering our atmosphere.
Protect energy choice in Pennsylvania
Embracing energy choice in Pennsylvania means not picking winners and losers among clean sources. Many of our elected officials appreciate the security and dependability of our diverse energy resources. Our legislature passed a bill in 2022 that prohibits municipalities from restricting traditional energy sources, including natural gas, heating oil and propane. Unfortunately, the bill was vetoed by Governor Tom Wolf.
Recently, we’ve noticed some signs pointing to initiatives that could imperil energy choice and force energy decisions on our residents. These include proposed regulations to establish a zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) program, like one they have in California. This could limit Pennsylvania drivers’ choice to pricy electric vehicles, which currently represent fewer than 1% of registered vehicles in our state.
In 2023, Governor Josh Shapiro was one of 25 governors who publicly committed to installing 20 million electric heat pumps by 2030. While heat pumps are good for many homes, they are only one possible way to address climate change.
Our lawmakers need to know that energy choice is important to Pennsylvanians. Make your voice heard to protect the stability, affordability and reliability of our energy mix.
Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “Pennsylvania Energy Profile”; Pennsylvania Petroleum Association (PPA); 90.5 WESA Pittsburg NPR News Station, “Pennsylvania’s transition to electric cars is going just OK, according to new report”