| As September draws to a close, the federal government is about to draw the curtains and go into a self-imposed shutdown. Congress must pass a short-term spending bill to keep the government open past the new fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Pending a miracle, the government will shut down at midnight Sunday. This will be the 15th government shutdown since 1981. Millions of federal workers and contractors nationwide will either stop work or work without pay. A government shutdown will delay billions of dollars in clean-energy incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act at a pivotal time for private-sector investment. The Treasury Department is currently writing rules for distributing the measure’s tax credits, including incentives for energy-efficient home improvements and a tax credit for manufacturers of solar panels, wind turbines, fuel cells and other clean-energy projects. All that work could stop if the government closes. A summary of the Inflation Reduction Act provisions related to renewable energy is available on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website. The White House also published an IRA guidebook with details of the incentives across all federal agencies. A shutdown would also furlough most Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff and more than half of Department of Energy employees. The U.S. Department of Energy could limp along for a while using leftover funds from last year. West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin took his legislative colleagues on both sides of the political aisle to task over their descriptions of the IRA in an op-ed in Friday’s Wall Street Journal. “Let me be clear: The Inflation Reduction Act isn’t a red bill or a blue bill, and it sure isn’t a green bill. It’s an American bill. It accounts for the reality that our economy and everyday Americans will rely on fossil fuels for the foreseeable future while also diversifying energy sources. The law invests in cleaner production and use of fossil fuels while also advancing energy technologies of the future. It bolsters energy security while reducing emissions, tasks that can be accomplished simultaneously if done thoughtfully. This is the United States of America; we can walk and chew gum at the same time,” Sen. Manchin writes. Well, maybe. While Congress grinds to a halt – or chokes on its gum – environmental groups want to play a more constructive role in advancing consumer choice. David Roberts over at the Volts podcast recently spoke to organizer Jeff Ordower of 350.org about how the environmental movement can shift its focus from blocking what it doesn’t like to building what it does. The policy experts over at the R Street Institute are out with a new report recommending competitive electricity markets for advancing the energy transition. The report, Electric Paradigms: Competitive Structures Benefit Consumers, recommends states pursue full restructuring of their wholesale and retail electricity markets to capitalize on private sector investment and consumer demand. Finally, if you’re looking for a way to contribute to the fight against corruption and political abuses by monopoly utilities, check out the Solar Rights Alliance's Online Auction for Solar Rights to support California's Stop the Utility Tax campaign. Last year, the California Legislature passed a law requiring California utility companies to charge ratepayers a new Utility Tax. Now, the utilities and some other organizations are proposing to charge all ratepayers the highest Utility Tax in the country: between $400 and $1,500 per year, depending on household income. The Solar Rights Alliance is leading the charge to repeal the Utility Tax provision. |
