RGGI Archives - Granite Grok

MACDONALD: You’re Paying A Lot So They Can Claim to Save You Money

July 29, 2026 Steve MacDonald

Vermont has a statutory fee on its electric rates that funnels money into something called Efficiency Vermont. It takes tens of millions of dollars out of the economy every year with the goal of using it on things that will ultimately reduce consumption and save more than that cost. The government decided that Vermonters were … Read more

CLINE: The RGGI Trap

November 27, 2025 Andrew Cline

According to national media reports, Pennsylvania’s 2025 budget deal caused the state to “exit” RGGI. Media coverage also used the words “leave,” “quit” and “pull out” to describe Pennsylvania’s abandonment of RGGI. Pennsylvania, though, wasn’t actually a member of RGGI. In 2019, then-Gov. Tom Wolf issued an executive order for his administration to adopt regulations consistent with … Read more

CLINE: Will NH Be the Second State To Leave RGGI?

November 18, 2025 Andrew Cline

Pennsylvania shocked Northeast energy policy nerds this week by withdrawing from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). To get a state budget passed, Gov. Josh Shapiro agreed to remove Pennsylvania from the 11-state carbon cap-and-trade program, making it the first state to exit since RGGI was created in 2005. RGGI is supposed to reduce regional … Read more

So Kids, What Did We Learn From This Week’s House Session (2/22/24)?

February 23, 2024February 23, 2024 Judy Aron

We learned that we were able to get through reconsideration of HB154 (reconsideration failed), 44 regular calendar bills and 1 bill pulled off consent, between 9 am and 5:30 pm, with an hour for lunch (thankfully provided by the NH Nurses Association). Everyone was prepared to stay much longer into the evening, but speeches were relatively short, and we had a nice amount of voice votes on bills, too!

Steve Beat Me to the Punch – Another Democrat Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud

January 27, 2023January 27, 2023 Skip

There used to be a commenter here, whose name I forget but was a Bernie-Bro, that I used to ask one simple question when it came to taxes and Government spending:

Werner Chicken Coop Raucous Roosters Happy Hens David Werner

Part Two: How Maggie Hassan Stuck NH with Electricity Rates That Are Double What They Should Be

September 30, 2022September 29, 2022 California Refugee

CAPTAIN CLUCKER:” HEAR YE! HEAR YE! HEAR YE! The second meeting of the “CLUCKER COMMISSION” (my chickens self-assigned this name) is now in session. All those wishing to present nominations for the “MORON OF THE YEAR/YOU MIGHT BE A MORON” award, come forth and make your presentation.”

Why Doesn’t Chris Sununu Have This Kind of “Put My Citizens First” Courage?

March 6, 2022 Skip

For all of the fine-sounding words, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) does one thing: takes money from some so that Government will spend it elsewhere.

Glenn Youngkin VA Governor- Image - Youngkin for gov website

On Day One Gov Youngkin Releases the Kraken! Bans CRT, and Mask Mandates in Virginia Schools (And more, But Will it Last?)

January 16, 2022 Steve MacDonald

After being sworn in, Governor Glenn Youngkin took office yesterday and proceeded to keep a laundry list of promises that have Democrats swearing up a storm.

Unelected ‘Redistricting Commissions’ Are a Bad Idea and Don’t Do a Better Job

December 30, 2021 Steve MacDonald

Federal legislation that included a provision that required all 50 states to create redistricting commissions failed in the US Senate. In states like New Hampshire, there is still pressure to create them.

Hold on To Your Wallets – New England’s Governors Promising Regional Energy Improvements

November 26, 2021October 17, 2020 Steve MacDonald

New England has energy infrastructure issues. But none of them will be resolved by this. “Vermont Governor Phil Scott and governors from four Northeast states today issued a statement calling for reforms needed to achieve their states’ respective goals for clean, affordable, and reliable electricity.”

California Follows New Hampshire – Uses Carbon Credit Scam Fund For ‘Budget Bail Money’

June 19, 2019 Steve MacDonald

New Hampshire is famous for its dedicated funds. Dedicated to whatever the spenders in Concord need when revenues don’t come in as predicted. For the record that’s primarily a Democrat problem but it’s a problem with a purpose.

light-bulb electricity Eversource, power

New Hampshire Democrats Raise Your Electric Bill Again To Fund their Personal Priorities

May 16, 2019 Steve MacDonald

Back around 2006 New Hampshire Democrats happily abrogated taxing authority to an out-of-state commission. This body, known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), was granted the power to tax you through your electric bill and then pass it off to Concord after taking a handling fee.

California Has the Nation’s Highest Gas Prices – Democrat Governor Has No Idea Why?

April 29, 2019April 29, 2019 Steve MacDonald

California has the highest gasoline prices in the nation. Higher than Hawaii. And Governor Gavin Newsom wants an investigation into why? Let me help. High Taxes. Excessive Regulations. Dwindling Infrastructure. Put another way; Democrat Policy is to blame.

NH Democrats Propose New Carbon Tax on Gasoline, Heating Oil, Gas, Coal, and Wood

March 13, 2019January 29, 2019 Steve MacDonald

New Hampshire Democrats are proposing a tax that would hike the price you pay for gasoline, heating oil, propane, and electricity produced by coal, oil, gas, or wood. All of that. And, everything else. The bill calls for a fee based on the per-ton emission of carbon dioxide, starting at $20 per ton in 2020 … Read more

New Hampshire Resident Thinks Raising Electric Rates is the Answer

August 7, 2022January 14, 2019 Steve MacDonald

In a recent Keene Sentinel letter to the editor, a resident suggests the new legislature stop giving any RGGI money back to ratepayers. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a broad-based tax on electricity consumers. It can rise or fall without any elected official ever casting a vote. And it makes electricity more expensive.

Smacking RGGI Around

September 26, 2018April 30, 2018 Steve MacDonald

David Stevenson, writing at NH Journal, shares a recent report by The Analysis Group which

“…just released their review of the effects of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and they give it an A+.”

If you’re not the guessing sort, there are a lot of issues with the report, which is not surprising because (as Stevenson points out) the Analysis Group is a paid consultant of RGGI.

A Green Game of Chess

January 11, 2023May 9, 2013 Steve MacDonald

New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan has written a letter to Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, objecting to a legislative effort in the “Nut”-meg state to redefine what Connecticut will view as ‘green energy’ to meet their renewable portfolio standard.

Why Did We Need RGGI?

September 26, 2018January 4, 2013 Steve MacDonald

With the recent approval of significant electric rate increases that will allow PSNH to recover some $67 million dollars a year in costs related to legislated state energy mandates (NH Renewable Standard and the RGGI tax), having this fall into my in-box could not have been more fortuitous.

From the journal Earth System Dynamics billed as “An Interactive Open Access Journal of the European Geosciences Union” comes this paper which suggests that the posited AGW forcing effects simply isn’t statistically significant in the observations, but other natural forcings are.

What that means is that a European Science journal is reporting a study that tried to consider all the data and all the factors that might influence global temperature change and human activity (AGW) was deemed statistically insignificant. The things that drive temperature change–natural forcings–are what makes the world get warmer and cooler.

So why did we need RGGI?

PUC Approves PSNH Rate Increase – Observe the Democrat’s Circular Green Firing Squad!

September 26, 2018December 30, 2012 Steve MacDonald

Winds of Change Back in September PSNH announced that it would need to rasie rates to deal with about 67 million dollars a year in costs associated with RGGI (and other state energy mandates)- a tax (RGGI) that Maggie Hassan was proud of, if you’ve forgotten. (Grokster Tom also has a nice treatment of those same stories here.)

At the time of that announcement the estimated annual hike on rate payers was about $50.00 per year, more for commercial users obviously. But the rate increase just approved by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will cost you a good deal more than that. Make that a great deal more!

The World is NOT Getting Warmer…Mr. President!

September 26, 2018November 15, 2012 Steve MacDonald

Nothing speaks to the cloistered nature of what passes for left wing intelligence like Global Warming. It is the perfect litmus test. All you need do is ask and if the respondent sounds like this, you can rest assured that most everything else they know come from the same poisoned well.

What we do know is the temperature around the globe is increasing faster than was predicted even 10 years ago.

This is President Obama, the smartest man in any room, repeating what he thinks he knows to be true. Unfortunately for the President and those similarly afflicted, not only has the earth not warmed faster than predicted even 10 years ago, it has not warmed at all.