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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Amy Giancoli Hartman |
State Rep. Frank Dermody |
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House OKs Dermody bill to reduce electric bills for manufacturers;
Would help Allegheny Ludlum save jobs, expand
HARRISBURG, July 10 -- The Pennsylvania House of Representatives today overwhelmingly passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Frank Dermody that would help manufacturers and other industrial users to better cope with the skyrocketing cost of electricity by stabilizing rates through long-term energy contracts.
Dermody said it would improve economic development in the state, particularly in the Allegheny Valley. Allegheny Ludlum has expressed interest in building a $750 million new steel mill in the Pittsburgh region, and he said this bill will help them do that.
"Passage of this bill will directly help Allegheny Ludlum save 3,500 jobs in Brackenridge and Westmoreland County, and to expand, creating even more jobs for the region," Dermody said. "This is an opportunity that we cannot afford to lose."
Specifically, the bill would allow electric utilities to offer long-term, fixed-rate contracts to industrial consumers just like they currently do to residents and businesses. The Public Utility Commission currently prohibits long-term contracts for industry.
"This bill will help preserve manufacturing in western Pennsylvania and in other areas across the state," Dermody said. "It will mitigate the huge electricity cost spikes that happened when rate caps expired in western Pennsylvania, and when the caps are removed in other parts of the state. As the caps are coming off, energy costs are increasing 30 to 40 percent. That's having a devastating effect and this bill gives manufacturers an opportunity to survive."
Current law requires electric companies to purchase electricity for consumers at prevailing market prices, but the prices consumers paid were capped. However, with those electric rate caps expiring, companies will be able to set their own rates based on market influences.
The bill (H.B. 1530), which passed 200-2, now goes to the Senate for consideration.
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