March 31, 2025
HARRISBURG, PA − March 31, 2025 − Today, Senate Democratic Policy Committee Chair Nick Miller held a hearing to explore strategies for mitigating the impact of energy costs on residents along with legislative solutions aimed at delivering reliable, affordable energy for both now and in the future.
“Energy affordability is crucial for the economic stability of families and small businesses. High costs strain household budgets and have a broader impact on local economies,” said Senator Miller. “We must find solutions to address generation, regulations, and innovative solutions for the future of energy in Pennsylvania.”
“Energy affordability remains a pressing concern for Pennsylvanian families. While Pennsylvania’s energy resources help keep costs relatively competitive, many households and industries still struggle with rising energy prices,” said Senator Marty Flynn. “Factors like infrastructure, market volatility, and federal regulations all impact affordability, making it crucial that we continue to pursue balanced energy policies that support both economic growth and consumer protection.”
“As Pennsylvania’s electricity landscape continues to evolve, the PUC remains focused on ensuring resource adequacy through continued engagement with PJM, utilities, and stakeholders to address emerging grid reliability challenges; fostering a competitive electricity market that provides affordable and transparent options for consumers; and enforcing strict supplier oversight to ensure that Pennsylvanians are protected from deceptive marketing and unfair business practices,” said Stephen DeFrank, PUC Chairman.
Adam Walters, the Senior Energy Advisor of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, emphasized the importance of state intervention. He explained that Governor Shapiro’s Lightning Plan aims to meet energy demands while incorporating more clean power generation resources into the grid across the Commonwealth.
“Each of these pieces of the Lightning Plan seeks, in multiple ways, to address the fundamental challenge I noted at the outset – the power market is not generating optimal outcomes for Pennsylvanians,” Adam Walters said. “A failure to act now will jeopardize Pennsylvania consumers through runaway costs on their utility bills and put us in a competitively disadvantaged position for attracting new businesses. Luckily, we currently have a unique opportunity to play a key role in bringing stability.”
“Before the OSBA establishment in 1998, small businesses lacked representation in PUC matters,” said NazAarah Sabree, Pennsylvania’s Small Business Advocate. “While residential and low-income consumers had dedicated advocates and large commercial industrial consumers had private legal representation – small business were left without a voice resulting in a disproportionate share of rate increases.”
“Pennsylvania and the wider region will need to build new reliable sources of generation to keep costs down,” said Robert Routh of Pennsylvania Climate & Energy – National Resources Defense Council. “Adam walked through the six bills in Governor Shapiro’s Lightning Plan, and as we wait for the official text for each of those bills to dive into the details. Based on the concepts that we have heard and the deep understanding of the problems that this legislative packaged is designed to solve – we are highly encouraged and eager to see the texts.”
“Diversifying our grid with clean energy and modern transmission is essential to achieving lower costs—and Pennsylvania is behind much of the country in this regard,” said Chris D’Agostino of Advanced Energy United. “For instance, states like Texas, where 30% of electricity comes from renewables, compared to less than 5% in Pennsylvania, enjoy lower average electricity rates. Clean energy and affordability go hand in hand.”
“Pennsylvania could also find ways to encourage technologies that make the heating and cooling process itself more energy efficient,” said Seth Blumsack of Center for Energy Law and Policy, Penn State University. “Clean and efficient thermal energy technologies such as geothermal heating and cooling have broad potential in Pennsylvania and are reflected in some aspects of Governor Shapiro’s lightning plan.”
The panelists for today’s hearing included:
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Stephen DeFrank, Chairman, Pennsylvania Utility Commission
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Adam Walters, Senior Energy Advisor, PA Department of Community and Economic Development
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NazAarah Sabree, Small Business Advocate, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Office of Small Business Advocate
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Robert Routh, Policy Director, Pennsylvania Climate & Energy, National Resources Defense Council
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Chris D’Agostino, Pennsylvania Policy Principal, Advanced Energy United
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Seth Blumsack, Director, Center for Energy Law and Policy, Penn State University
Senator Nick Miller was elected Policy Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus in December 2024. Today’s hearing was his third as Chair.
Footage of the hearing, as well as the written testimony of the panel, is available at PASenatorMiller.com/Policy. Photographs and downloadable video are available upon request.
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Testimony
Panel 1 – An Overview of Our Energy Outlook and Regulatory Oversight
Panel 2 – The Administration’s Lightning Plan and Consumer/Small Business Education
- NazAarah Sabree, Small Business Advocate, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Office of Small Business Advocate
Panel 3 – Innovative Energy Solutions
March 28, 2025
HARRISBURG, PA – March 28, 2025 − On Monday, March 31, 2025, at 10:30 AM, the Senate Democratic Policy Committee will convene a public hearing on Consumer and Small Business Energy Affordability at Hearing Room #1 in the North Office Building, Capitol Complex, Harrisburg.
Chaired by Senator Nick Miller with Senator Marty Flynn serving as co-chair, the hearing will build on the discussions from January’s policy event. It will focus on energy affordability for Pennsylvania residents and small businesses, the future of innovation in the energy sector, and the economic impact of recent energy proposals, including Governor Josh Shapiro’s six-point “Lightning Plan.”
The “Lightning Plan” proposes bold steps to modernize Pennsylvania’s energy economy, including streamlined permitting, increased energy efficiency rebates, and major investments in clean and reliable power sources. The plan is projected to create nearly 15,000 jobs, save Pennsylvanians $664 million in energy costs by 2040, and generate more than $11 billion in energy investment statewide.
The hearing will also include expert testimony on new legislation aligned with the plan, such as the Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act (PACER), the Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard (PRESS), and the proposal to establish the RESET Board to accelerate energy project approvals.
Public Access:
The hearing will be livestreamed at PaSenatorMiller.com/Policy.
This critical policy discussion comes at a time when Pennsylvania faces shifting energy demands, increased electricity use by data centers, and growing needs for energy storage and affordability for consumers.
May 14, 2024
SCRANTON, May 14, 2024 – State Senator Katie Muth (D-Chester/Montgomery/Berks), chair of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee, and state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, chair of the Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee, today joined Sen. Marty Flynn (D-Lackawanna/Luzerne) and Rep. Bridget Kosierowski (D-Lackawanna) in Scranton to co-host a public hearing focusing on lack of access to healthcare in communities across Pennsylvania.
“The closure of hospitals across the state has dramatically increased over the last several years, leaving many without nearby access to emergency rooms, maternity care services and specialist providers,” Muth said. “Access to quality, timely healthcare is a human right and continuing the for-profit health care business model is not sustainable or equitable. We need a system overhaul that ensures patient-centered care, not for-profit care.”
The hearing, held at Lackawanna County in downtown Scranton, featured discussion on the crisis caused by hospital closures across the Commonwealth. According to statistics provided by the Pennsylvania Health Access Network, there were 33 hospital closures in Pennsylvania during the past 20 years, including 15 in just the past five years.
“This is not an issue that’s unique to just one area. We’re seeing health care deserts pop up across the Commonwealth,” Bizzarro said. “It’s past time we work to make sure all Pennsylvanians have fair and equal access to health care, and it starts with addressing the workforce shortage and other issues causing hospital closures.”
A 2023 report by the Pennsylvania Department of Health concluded that barriers to healthcare are often determined by the location where a person resides. Approximately 2 million Pennsylvania residents live in areas designated as dental or mental healthcare Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and 500,000 lived in primary care HPSAs in 2022.
“Today’s policy hearing at Lackawanna College brought crucial attention to the dire state of healthcare in Pennsylvania,” Flynn added. “As we discussed the alarming trend of hospital closures and soaring healthcare costs, it became evident that too many Pennsylvanians are being left without the vital care they require. It’s imperative that we take action now to guarantee access to quality healthcare for all citizens.”
According to testimony at the hearing, Pennsylvania will need an estimated 1,000 or more additional primary care physicians within the next six years. A projection by Mercer found that by 2026, Pennsylvania will have the largest shortfall of registered nurses in the nation (20,345) and the third largest shortfalls of mental health professionals (6,330) and nursing support staff (277,711).
“As a nurse, I saw too many patients arrive at our hospital with advanced disease because they didn’t have access to preventable care earlier. We have to fix this because we deserve better here in the Commonwealth,” Kosierowski added. “We have many challenges to work through, but I’m confident we can find solutions and reduce healthcare deserts in Pennsylvania.”
Two bills have been introduced in the Senate to address the issues of hospital closures. Senate Bill 83, introduced by Senator Muth, would require approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Health before a hospital or hospital system can be purchased. Senate Bill 83 would also require that the Department of Health reviews applications, holds public hearings, and prepares impact statements. It would also require price transparency from hospitals or hospital systems so that patients have full access to the costs of items and services provided.
A second bill, Senate Bill 548 introduced by Sen. Tim Kearney (D-Delaware), would give the Attorney General the ability to review and challenge hospital and nursing home mergers, acquisitions, dividend recapitalizations, and other critical transactions that enrich shareholders but threaten the public interest in access to quality care.
“The healthcare industry is undergoing a drawn-out transformation that is leaving millions of Pennsylvanians without access to quality care,” Kearney added. “Lawmakers need to put protections like my bill, SB548, in place to prevent healthcare consolidation that is at the root of service cuts, closures, and rising prices.”
Other participants in the hearing included Dr. Tammy Torres, President, Lehigh Valley Hospital Hazleton; Patrick Keenan, Director of Policy & Partnership, Pennsylvania Health Access Network; and state Reps. Kyle Mullins (D-Lackawanna), Kyle Donahue (D-Lackawanna), Dan Williams (D-Chester), Leanne Krueger (D-Delaware), and Jessica Benham (D-Allegheny).
For more information on this policy hearing and to access all submitted testimony and a full recording of today’s hearing, visit www.SenatorMuth.com/policy.
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Testimony
Testimony
