Pennsylvania is a significant energy exporter, meaning that we produce substantially more electricity than we consume here in the state.  At the same time, many of our neighboring states are considerable power importers, as they do not generate enough power to supply their own residents and rely on Pennsylvania to keep their lights on.  Much of this disparity has come from poor energy decisions made in neighboring states to shut down their reliable power generation and to artificially support intermittent and expensive forms of energy which do not supply enough power to meet their needs.
 
This should mean that our costs in Pennsylvania are significantly lower than other states in our region who are relying on Pennsylvania power to supply their grid and other states should be paying premiums to utilize our energy.  Yet perversely, Pennsylvania ratepayers are being asked to shoulder the costs of building expensive new electric transmission projects to send our power to our floundering neighbors.
 
My legislation seeks to address this unacceptable dilemma by charging a grid maintenance fee on every megawatt of power that is flowing through high voltage transmission lines in the Commonwealth.  The collections from this fee will be deposited in a fund that will provide local reliability credits for power that is used within Pennsylvania.  The upshot of this process is that money will be charged for Pennsylvania power to be used out of state, which will only be allowed to be paid by out of state ratepayers and these funds will be used to lower electric bills for residents and businesses within Pennsylvania.
 
Please join me in sponsoring this important legislation to protect Pennsylvania ratepayers from poor decisions made by other states that rely on our energy.