It has been a big week in energy news, with several resounding wins for efficiency and climate advocates.
On Tuesday, voters in Georgia flipped two seats on the state’s Public Service Commission, which oversees utilities and sets rates. They installed a pair of Democrats on this little known, yet powerful, body for the first time in nearly two decades. Further north, Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey handily won after making rising energy prices a centerpiece of their campaigns. The victories came just a few days after The New York Times reported that the Environmental Protection Agency is quietly reconsidering plans to eliminate the popular Energy Star program.
Taken together, these developments suggest that energy costs could be moving the political needle in ways that other issues, like climate change, have not. And, with next year’s midterms on the horizon, it’s an issue both political parties will increasingly have to grapple with.
“When the costs of climate change become... Read more
