HARRISBURG – State Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23) this week announced his plan to establish an Independent Energy Office (IEO) within the Commonwealth.
“I believe most Republicans and Democrats in the Pennsylvania Legislature agree that we can advance policies that promote energy development and protect our environment simultaneously. They are not mutually exclusive. Our state has one of the most diverse energy portfolios in the United States. There is no question we can capitalize on our state’s energy richness, but we must first stop apologizing for it. I believe an Independent Energy Office can provide impartial, timely and data driven analysis to guide our state in determining and meeting future energy needs.”
According to an analysis conducted in November by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA):
- Pennsylvania’s marketed natural gas production, primarily from the Marcellus Shale, reached a record 7.6 trillion cubic feet in 2021, and the state is the nation’s second-largest natural gas producer after Texas.
- Pennsylvania is the third-largest coal-producing state in the nation after Wyoming and West Virginia, and it is the second-largest coal exporter to foreign markets after West Virginia.
- In 2021, Pennsylvania ranked second in the nation after Illinois in electricity generation from nuclear power.
- Over half of Pennsylvania households use natural gas as their primary home heating fuel, and the state’s 48 underground gas storage sites–the most for any state–help meet regional heating demand in winter.
- Pennsylvania is the second-largest net supplier of total energy to other states, after Texas.
Yaw noted the IEO would be modeled after Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO), which was created by Act 120 of 2010, and Act 100 of 2016. The IFO does not support or oppose any policy it analyzes, and discloses the methodologies, data sources and assumptions used in published reports and estimates.
For more state-related news and information, visit Senator Yaw’s website at www.SenatorGeneYaw.com or on Facebook and Twitter @SenatorGeneYaw.