The hidden costs of Green

Within the next six weeks Massachusetts is scheduled to release its new redistricting map. The redistricting is necessary because MA loses one congressional district due to our state growing its population slower than other states (such as Texas, which gains 4 seats).

The question is: why is MA experiencing sluggish population growth? One answer might be the map below, which shows the relative cost of energy across the country. If you go to this link you can scroll over each state and see what the cost of power is in kilowatt-hours. What you will see is that the state with THE highest cost of power is Massachusetts.

High power costs are clearly a dis-incentive for companies looking to locate in MA. The high power costs are also a dis-incentive for people to live in MA. People and jobs are moving out. So why is power so expensive in Massachusetts?

A study conducted by The Beacon Hill Institute (at Suffolk University) and published in October of 2010 points to one clear driver: green energy mandates on electricity producers. From the executive summary:

“Massachusetts has attempted to lead the push for renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. The state currently offers over 25 unique mandates, programs and incentives to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. Since all of these mandates, programs and incentives attempt to influence the behavior of utilities, consumers and businesses they incur costs. Massachusetts ratepayers will continue to pay for these programs through higher electricity bills.”

“While the costs of these mandates, programs and incentives are already substantial, we expect them to rise dramatically in the coming years as an ever greater percentage of our electricity must be generated from renewable sources. As Table 2 illustrates, the added cost of these mandates, programs and incentives will more than double to over 2.6 cents per kWh, and nearly $1 billion annually by 2020. The cumulative cost over the period will be more than $9.8 billion”

Below is a chart showing the effect of these 25 mandates on the price of electricity over the next 10 years:

In its pursuit of ‘green’, MA has created a significant drag on the state’s economy, and a huge reason for people, companies, and jobs to move out. A smaller tax base means those that remain have to pay more, and the cycle of flight continues.

The Obama administration and the Democrats are trying to port this green mess nationally. The Solyndra fiasco is just symptom of damaging energy policy, Evergreen Solar is another. So the question is: who is driving this policy? Do we know anyone in Congress on the Energy and Commerce Committee? Perhaps a senior Democrat who drove policy for the first two years of the Obama administration? I’ll give you a hint – his name rhymes with Ed Malarkey, and he needs to be retired before his policies do more damage.

The Green agenda is draining our budgets and killing jobs. Let your representatives know that the green-energy surcharges must stop.