Minnesota Governor Hatches Plan To Enact Costly Energy Mandates

March 5, 2019

“Renewable energy mandates” may sound good as a political talking point, but in practice, they mean higher prices for consumers.

Yesterday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced a proposal that his state mandate a shift to 100 percent clean energy by 2050. This would mean phasing out inexpensive energy sources for more expensive ones by government fiat, and the resulting costs would hit low-income families the hardest.

One recent study from the Heritage Foundation found that “green” energy mandates like these threaten to double monthly electric bills, with residents of states with burdensome mandates paying “between 50 percent and 100 percent more on their electric bills.”

Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, in an op-ed responding to the “Green New Deal,” laid out the case against these costly mandates. He writes, “Doing so would eliminate abundant, affordable and reliable energy that currently powers three out of five U.S. homes… the massive costs would be passed directly to consumers in the form of higher electricity and heating bills. One estimate concludes that households could see their energy bills spike by as much as $3,800 a year.”

When voters understand the costs of these “green” mandates, they tend to oppose them at the ballot box. Just last year, voters in Arizona rejected a Tom Steyer-funded mandate by a whopping 37 percent margin.

Minnesotans are smart enough to see through Governor Walz’s proposal and should support lower energy prices, not reckless government mandates.