Pat Anderson on the Next Generation Energy Act

The legislation has no basis in reality.

Of course, there was no methodology or justification for those ambitious goals in either the legislation or the reports that recommended the targets. In a paper published by the Minnesota Free Market Institute, David Strom notes that the report of the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group (MCCAG) on which the Next Generation Energy Act was based "overstates the costs of CO2 emissions, overstates the benefits of reduction measures, understates the costs and difficulties of remediation measures, and calls for actions that are directly at odds with Minnesota's recently adopted transportation policies."

One doesn't need to be a policy researcher to understand the concerns. The Next Generation Energy Act is a political document, not science-based energy policy. It is a less-than-transparent attempt to expand government control over a greater share of the state economy with utter disregard for the impact on the average Minnesotan. We are seeing that same disregard today in Washington and Copenhagen.

To the point of the people I'm talking to around the state: Because of the Next Generation Energy Act, utility companies like Minnesota Power are raising the cost of energy to current customers to pay for the necessary capital investments to meet the renewable standards. In other words, Minnesotans are today footing the bill for renewable energy they are not even getting and that will cost them even more in the future. They are paying more and getting less.

We must undo the damage.

First, immediately, the next governor must use her authority as chief executive to ensure consumer interests are represented at the Public Utility Commission. Today, the input the commission receives is dominated by environmental groups and special interests and the consumer has virtually no voice. This must change, and the governor, irrespective of legislative action, has authority to act.

Second, the next governor must throw her support to repeal of unrealistic energy targets and actions that would cripple the economy but have little impact on environmental protection. Minnesota must have clean, reliable, and inexpensive sources of energy. We must pass legislation that enables all forms of energy to compete in the marketplace, which certainly includes renewable. However, we must also remove unnecessary barriers to clean coal and nuclear power.

Third, we must insist that any future energy legislation be based on scientific and economic reality and not political agendas. Playing the "green job card" is a simplistic way to curry favor with the media and enhance one's political capital, but it is not the way to a better Minnesota. You don't create "green jobs" or any other color jobs when you impose legislation that requires producing less energy at greater cost. You can't achieve emission targets by simply imposing them when the technology is not there to achieve them.

We Republicans cannot run away from this one. Some in our party leadership were as complicit as the Democrats in passing the Next Generation Energy Act. It's a prime example of what went wrong with the Republican Party. Trying to "move to the middle" by buying into the left's agenda is once more coming back to haunt us. And it's Minnesotans that have to live with the consequences.

Now is the time to undo what was done. As your governor, I pledge no less.

Thanks for your support --

Pat