All eyes on Alaska

INFRASTRUCTURE = AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE ENERGY: President Trump is back on the campaign trail promoting his administration’s wins in key toss-up states. Earlier this week Trump was in Alaska stumping for Senator Dan Sullivan, who is facing a tough reelection battle. While in Wasilla, Trump touted a $54 billion investment to build a new 800-mile natural gas pipeline.

Why it matters: This investment shows a stark contrast between Trump’s commitment to American energy dominance, and Democrats deference to the climate change cult.

• Democrats recently blocked a bill that would have aided oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and in turn boosted the state’s economic development.
• Somehow the Alaska Senate race is still a toss-up despite Democrats arguing that the policy focused too much on oil and gas rather than renewables.

Consider:

• The new LNG pipeline will not only create jobs for Alaskans, but it will also allow America to provide energy to Asian markets.
• “Taiwan officials said in February they would ramp up purchases of US natural gas to about a third of the island’s imported supply this year and reduce purchases from other countries.”
• This move by the Trump Administration further accentuates the president’s commitment to American energy dominance for decades to come.

Bottom line: We need an ARC Energy Security Act either passed into law or an executive order signed to ensure affordable and reliable energy sources in America no matter where the political winds are shifting.

MANDATES MAKE EVERYTHING MORE EXPENSIVE: Always On Energy has released a new study detailing how four states and Washington, DC are making life more expensive for hardworking people because of new in-state solar mandates.

Why it matters: As Americans are struggling with the higher costs of virtually everything, liberal lawmakers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, and DC thought it would be a good idea to impose solar mandates that jack up costs to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Consider: Specifically the report dives into how it increases costs on both businesses and consumers:

• “Requirements added approximately $298 per electricity customer in New Jersey, $227 in Maryland, $125 in Pennsylvania, and nearly $775 per customer in Washington, D.C.”
• “Massachusetts RPS and clean-energy mandates cost customers approximately $18 per month on average from 2007 through 2025.”

Let’s not forget that there are ZERO environmental benefits as a result of these mandates.

Bottom line: Basic economics teaches us that competition drives down costs. If lawmakers lifted these in-state mandates and allowed less expensive credits to be purchased, hundreds of millions of dollars would be saved. Lawmakers in these states are clearly not looking out for their constituents.

Nothing on the calendar next week