Reality Check for PA’s Failed Green-Energy Mandates

Originally published by RealClear Energy.

Each month, Pennsylvania’s 6 million electricity customers—all facing rising electricity bills—are charged for services of questionable value without knowing how much they are paying and, for most, that the charge even exists.

Enacted by the legislature in 2004, Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act (AEPS) requires that 18 percent of an electricity seller’s offering consists of energy from sources like wind, solar, biomass, and other technologies deemed worthy of special treatment.

In 2025, this program, now in its third decade, cost customers more than $700 million. Although the amount each customer pays isn’t entirely visible on an electric bill, a household using 800 kilowatt-hours per month pays $4.11 every month at the 0.514 cents per kilowatt-hour compliance cost. While the charge for residential customers appears modest, AEPS’s lifetime cost of more than $3 billion amounts to a giant handout to special interests at the cost of everyday ratepayers.

Read more at RealClear Energy.