From inception, Maggie “The Red” Hassan has been a strong proponent of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the “Cap and Trade” program that New Hampshire participates in with other northeastern states. She was instrumental in its 2008 passing and continues to advocate strongly for this nonsensical government swindle.
On her campaign website, Maggie declares that RGGI is “good for the economy and the environment” and that it can “help our families and businesses save money on their energy costs“.
Aside from the fact that the RGGI revenue stream has been a severe disappointment (which should only disappoint the beneficiaries of it : enviro-tyrants, the Green industry, and big-government types looking to fill deficits), PSNH recently made a statement that effectively nullifies the argument that RGGI will reduce rates for consumers and businesses.
Now, before you read on, consider that New Hampshire pays some of the highest electricity rates in the county and our place on this list has been rising since we joined RGGI (4th highest 2010, 5th highest 2009, 7th highest 2008) – see any trends here? And this, even though we have the 8th lowest per capita consumption of energy, and our state acquires more energy than it consumes.
Is it just a little ironic that, here in New Hampshire, with the cold, harsh winters and humid summers, we consume nearly the least amount of energy in the country, but also pay among the highest rates for electricity?
Back to the story: PSNH spokesperson, Martin Murray, was recently quoted in the Union Leader that his company is “forecasting a bit of an uptick in the regional cost of energy“. There’s your second irony for the day – we keep hearing from RGGI zealots, like Hassan, that this Cap-and-Trade (tax) will be lowering our rates, while it protects the environment, and ends our unemployment problem, yet rates are heading back up.
This translates into an estimated 5% increase in electric rates next year, as the worst recession since the 1930’s steam-rolls along.
Worse, Murray just comes right out and says that “a significant portion of the energy service rate is associated with state government mandates“. He then goes on to say:
“It [the rate we pay] includes about $67 million in annual costs associated with the state’s environmental initiatives, including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; the N.H. Renewable Portfolio Standard; and the mandated installation of a mercury reduction scrubber at the company’s largest power plant, Merrimack Station.”
“Absent that, our charge would be quite a bit lower”
So much for those government-induced cost savings.
A big “thank you!” to the people who founded RGGI, those who brought New Hampshire into it, and the over-zealous regulations at DES and OEP, forcing this imminent increase to our household expense budgets. And special thanks go to Maggie, the Duchess of Phillips-Exeter, with her notions of governmental grandeur, the nanny state, and environmental/social engineering. We’re coming off a four year disaster called the “Obama Administration”, having the same misguided, statist ideologies and policies, which we don’t need in New Hampshire.
The next time the enviro-excited community gripes about our legislature forging a bill to get us out of RGGI, remember this posting and the data it presents. More importantly, remember it at the polls on Nov 6th.