AG Paxton Leads Coalition Challenging the Federal Government for Overstepping Authority and Forcing Costly “Green Energy” Transition on States
Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General
AUSTIN, TEXAS – (News Release) Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading a coalition of 19 states to challenge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (“FERC”) decision to adopt rules that would force the Biden Administration’s costly and inefficient “green energy” transition onto states.
FERC Order No. 1920, issued on May 13, 2024, grants unprecedented electrical grid oversight to FERC, compromising the ability of individual states to determine the most efficient mix of energy sources for their electrical grids. The new rule also forces states to cover the costs of expensive regional transmission lines to support “green energy” generation, even when such expenditures contradict the state’s needs and decrease grid efficiency and reliability.
FERC has never been granted the authority to revamp the structure of state energy grids or force states and their ratepayers to subsidize large-scale transmission lines that don’t transport enough energy to justify the cost. This encroachment upon state authority far exceeds FERC’s limited purview and damages the ability of states to regulate their electric grids efficiently, all in the name of advancing costly climate goals.
As the filing notes, the Commission’s rule would “usurp the States’ exclusive authority over generation choices by adopting planning rules designed to benefit remote renewable generation and renewable developers, and shift billions or trillions of dollars in transmission costs from those developers onto electric consumers.”
“Biden’s attempt to seize unprecedented control over energy production and distribution is a recipe for disaster,” said Attorney General Paxton. “I am proud to lead this coalition to stop his unlawful ‘energy transition’ scheme that would drive up energy costs and reduce reliability of the resources our Nation needs most to flourish.”
To read the filing, click here.
