THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY SOLOBAY, BARRAR, BELFANTI, BOYD, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE, EVERETT, GROVE, GRUCELA, HARKINS, MAHONEY, MILLER, M. O'BRIEN, READSHAW, SIPTROTH, SONNEY AND VULAKOVICH, JANUARY 30, 2009

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, JANUARY 30, 2009  

AN ACT

Amending Title 66 (Public Utilities) of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes, in restructuring of electric utility

industry, providing for an economic and environmental impact

study.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Title 66 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:

§ 2816.  Economic and environmental impact study.

(a)  Duty to conduct study.--The commission and the

Department of Environmental Protection shall conduct a joint

study of the anticipated economic, energy and environmental

impacts of the act of November 30, 2004 (P.L.1672, No.213),

known as the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act. The

study shall:

(1)  Estimate the consumer costs, job and electric rate

impacts and greenhouse gas emission reductions anticipated to

result from the programs authorized by the Alternative Energy

Portfolio Standards Act.

(2)  Assess the impacts identified under paragraph (1) in

terms of a range of alternative future greenhouse gas control

options, including the Commonwealth's participation in the

ten-state Northeast Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and a

range of alternative options based on reducing Statewide

greenhouse gas emissions from year 2000 levels by 10% to 30%

by the years 2020 to 2030.

(3)  Include assessments of the impacts of the

alternative options on this Commonwealth's:

(i)  Manufacturing economy.

(ii)  Energy prices.

(iii)  Energy production and consumption.

(iv)  Real personal income.

(v)  Gross State domestic product.

(4)  Examine the potential for leakage of emission

reduction in this Commonwealth to other states, increasing

greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere and diluting the benefits

of reductions achieved through Pennsylvania's greenhouse gas

control initiatives, and the availability of options to

mitigate the leakage.

(b)  Completion.--The study shall be completed and

transmitted to the General Assembly no later than 12 months

following the effective date of this section.

(c)  Definition.--As used in this section "greenhouse gases"

are gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous

oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur

hexafluoride.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.