PA State Rep. Joe Webster, D-150, speaking on the House floor. (Credit: https://www.pahouse.com/Webster/)
Bill would eliminate secret voting on regional energy policies
A bill that would eliminate secret voting on regional energy policies by members of PJM, the organization which controls electricity distribution to much of the northeast, has been introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Currently, PJM operates a two-tiered voting system in which the members, electricity generators and utility companies, first vote on policies in the lower-level committees, where votes are held in private and in which one parent company gets a vote for itself and each of its subsidiaries.
These lower-level votes decide which policies get voted on in the upper level. Upper-level votes are sometimes public, but with lower-level votes being held in secret, the damage is often done before a policy is elevated to the upper-level.
The bill, H.B. 782, which was authored by Democratic state Reps. Joe Webster and Chris Rabb, would eliminate this practice and require that any electric utility that is a member of PJM to disclose to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission any recorded vote they make within that organization and a brief description of how that vote is in the public interest, regardless of whether disclosure is required by PJM.
“Pennsylvanians deserve transparency when it comes to decisions that affect their electricity bills and our state’s energy future. Too often, votes on our energy policies are held in the shadows, giving utility companies and energy generators an outsized influence without public accountability. When the future of our environment is at stake, in any scenario, the public deserves to know each step of the process," said Webster, D-Montgomery. "To put it plainly, we need energy, and we need to protect our environment. Our bill would ensure the decision-making process is brought into the light so consumers and policymakers alike can understand who is shaping our energy policies and why."
“Decisions by PJM and its members -- the utilities -- directly impact our commonwealth’s transition to clean energy and the cost of electricity. Allowing these secret votes with no accountability is akin to the fox guarding the hen house,” said Rabb, D-Phila. “The people have a right to know about the decisions that are being made behind closed doors -- especially as those decisions impact our policies and people’s paychecks.”
The bill by the two legislators has been referred to the Pennsylvania House Energy Committee for further consideration.
