{"id":345668,"date":"2024-10-06T14:12:46","date_gmt":"2024-10-06T12:12:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=345668"},"modified":"2024-10-06T14:12:49","modified_gmt":"2024-10-06T12:12:49","slug":"proposed-model-bill-would-improve-electric-reliability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=345668","title":{"rendered":"Proposed Model Bill Would Improve Electric Reliability"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By H. Sterling Burnett<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The venerable American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC<\/a>) recently held its 51st annual convention in Denver, Colorado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALEC is a nonprofit founded to promote Jeffersonian limited-government policies. It works with state legislators and the private sector to produce solutions for myriad issues facing state governments and their residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have worked with ALEC\u2019s Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Taskforce (EEA) for nearly 30 years. Among other things, it develops model legislation that states can adapt to their own needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s EEA meetings saw the introduction of a number of impressive model bills. Two written by my organization, the Heartland Institute, would shore up the electric power grid in states trying to attract Big Tech\/AI hubs. The bills aim to ensure that the electricity these power-hungry facilities require is paid for by the companies demanding it and is supplied on a reliable basis by traditional sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ensuring that the power grid is not compromised by the added demand coming from Big Tech and AI will prevent socializing the cost of new demand onto ratepayers. And it will secure the power grid for residents and small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One model bill adopted by ALEC is long overdue: legislation requiring that state utility regulators set aside a position on their boards for a ratepayer advocate. That person would be dedicated solely to ensuring that utility plans brought before the commission minimize the cost of monopoly utilities\u2019 new construction and rate plans, while firming up reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another model bill that ALEC adopted requires that sources of electric power be labeled to account for the full range of environmental and economic impacts. This allows for an apples-to-apples comparison of proposed and existing energy sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet another model bill adopted by ALEC that should prove particularly valuable to state residents is the Affordable, Reliable and Clean Energy Security Act. The bill is based on an unassailable premise: that \u201cenergy security is paramount to economic growth,\u201d and, accordingly, that affordable, reliable electric power from clean sources is fundamental to our families\u2019 and communities\u2019 future prosperity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201csecurity\u201d portion of the bill is twofold:<\/p>\n\n\n\n