Republican Governors Form Coalition to Limit Energy Mandates

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry in Baton Rouge, La., on June 18, 2024. Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP

Republican governors have formed a new coalition focused on limiting energy mandates in a bid to address rising energy costs, which they said are driven by government regulations.

The goals of the Governors’ Coalition for Energy Choice are to develop energy policies that ensure continued consumer choice, minimize permitting and other regulatory barriers, and limit “expensive energy mandates,” according to a Sept. 17 statement from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s office.

Landry is one of ten governors in the coalition, which also includes governors from New Hampshire, Georgia, Tennessee, Indiana, Wyoming, Arkansas, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Virginia.

He said that states with better energy choices will achieve lower energy costs, increase reliability, and attract business and employment opportunities.

“Everyone wants reliable energy, whether that be electricity, heating and cooling, and transportation,” Landry said. “As Governor of a major energy producing state, I know that it is important to sustain those trends for the benefit of residents and businesses.”

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said that government regulations on energy production are driving up energy prices and placing additional strain on middle-income households already burdened by inflation.

“These families deserve affordable and reliable energy,” Sununu said. “Here in New Hampshire, we have kept energy prices in line by embracing fuel choice and minimizing expensive mandates.”

The two governors said they have reached out to 24 other governors across the country to invite them to join the coalition but did not specify which states those governors represent.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said in a statement that she supports the coalition’s approach to boosting U.S. energy production and driving down energy costs for American households.

“South Dakota is the number one state in America for production of renewable energy, not because we mandate it, but because we trust our energy producers to create the most energy for South Dakotans at the lowest cost.” she said. “The entire nation should take that same approach.”

The average U.S. residential electricity price increased 6.2 percent last year, rising from 15.04 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2022 to 15.98 cents in 2023, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

A recent report by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability said the federal government’s climate change-fighting energy policies have led to a series of detrimental impacts, including higher gas prices, growing uncertainty in the nation’s power sector, confusion in the market for new cars and appliances, and regulations that have sent costs soaring for both businesses and American consumers.

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics has indicated that over the past year electricity prices have risen faster than the pace of inflation and more so than any other commodity,” according to the report.

Several climate and environmental groups have backed the federal government’s climate actions and praised them for holding “big oil and corporate polluters” accountable.

“Our analysis, signed by over 20 climate and environmental groups, identified more than 300 meaningful climate actions that are creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs, lowering energy costs, protecting our lands, and holding Big Oil accountable,” Climate Power’s Executive Director Lori Lodes said in a May press release.

Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.