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EnergyPlatform.News(letter)
January 27, 2025
In this week’s edition of energy and environmental policy news across the states: Florida’s electric sector emissions plummet; How an executive order to ‘unleash American energy’ could ripple across states; Virginia’s Mark Christie takes the helm at FERC; states’ scrutiny of PFAS expands; and Connecticut’s high electricity prices lead New England.
Plus: Commentary from key voices on state energy policy.
The electric industry’s shift to natural gas over the past two decades has pushed Florida’s carbon dioxide emissions from power plants down 23% – even as the Sunshine State’s population has surged by more than a third.
President Donald Trump’s Day 1 executive order “Unleashing American Energy” includes multiple provisions that will ripple across states, influencing policy actions affecting energy, transportation and environmental considerations for years.
President Donald Trump’s appointment of Mark C. Christie, a longtime consumer energy advocate, to chair the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission underscores the shift to a greater emphasis on reliability and affordability at the nation’s lead energy regulator.
The Texas attorney general’s lawsuit against DuPont and 3M, and a Republican legislator’s proposal to tighten restrictions on fertilizer production, sale and use are among the latest state-based efforts to target polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of compounds described as forever chemicals because they accumulate in water, plants and animals and don’t break down.
Connecticut residents’ electricity rates are the highest in New England and 86 percent higher than the national average, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
That ranks Connecticut No. 2 among states – Hawaii is No. 1 – for the most expensive average residential electricity rates in the nation.
California’s electrical grid, overseen by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), exemplifies the broader challenges of the state’s overregulation, ineffective leadership, and poor execution. In contrast, Texas’ Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) demonstrates how a pragmatically regulated, free-market approach fosters innovation, lowers costs and accelerates grid updates.
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