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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State Rep.
Greg Vitali |
  
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Vitali joins environmental groups to urge passage of House Bill 2200
Measure would promote conservation and cost savings
HARRISBURG, Aug. 13 – At a Capitol news conference today, state Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, joined PennFuture and members of the environmental community to kickoff a campaign to urge the state Senate to sign a pledge to pass H.B. 2200 before the end of its legislative session.
The Senate is not scheduled to return after the November election, and supporters of this legislation are concerned it will not be addressed. That would require it to be reintroduced in the next legislative session and prolong its potential enactment.
The name of PennFuture's campaign is "How Do You Spell Relief: House Bill 2200."
House Bill 2200 has already passed the House and has been sitting in the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee since February. The measure would give Pennsylvania electric consumers, both individuals and businesses, the tools to reduce electricity demand and save money.
"We would like to see all 50 Senate members exert some leadership by voting this bill before they leave in November, particularly Senator Pileggi, who has a key role as Senate majority leader," Vitali said.
"House Bill 2200 will help keep electricity prices down by cutting both overall demand and expensive peak demand. Peak demand is what drives the need for more power lines and power plants. This bill would help minimize that demand, save consumers money on their bills and move us all to a conservation approach where energy is concerned," said Vitali, noting that energy conservation combats global warming by requiring less energy to be generated from fossil fuel sources such as coal.
There are two parts to H.B. 2200 -- conservation and smart metering. The conservation portion of the legislation would set up a program to reduce the overall demand for electricity by 2.5 percent by 2013. The smart metering portion would require smart meters to be installed in every household in Pennsylvania and allow households to be offered time-of-use electricity billing. This would allow customers to be billed for the actual cost of electricity at the time of use, which would result in money savings for consumers and a reduction in overall demand for electricity.
Vitali said a strong commitment to energy efficiency can also attract a whole new sector of companies and jobs. Without any commitment to energy efficiency in the state, jobs in the region will continue to flow to neighboring states.
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