In Response To Coal Bill, IN State Rep Amendment Would Ban Electricity, Replace It With Whale Oil
The coal industry is pushing a bill in the Indiana legislature to make it harder for utilities to close dirty, money-losing coal plants. But if the state’s going to prop up outdated, unsustainable energy sources, why stop there? So Democratic State Rep. Ryan Dvorak offered an amendment:
Whereas whale oil provides bright, dependable light that is favored even by lighthouse keepers; and many American jobs have been lost in the decimation of the whale oil industry; a public utility may not sell electricity for the purpose of providing power to harsh, flickering, and toxic light bulbs, when natural and reliable whale oil would serve the purpose of lighting Hoosier homes and businesses.
“How about legislation to replace every car in Indiana with a horse and buggy?” asked EWG President Ken Cook, his tongue as firmly in cheek as Dvorak’s.
All kidding aside, Cook’s jape makes as much sense as the industry-backed scheme to bail out coal on the backs of Indiana residents. It would force them, as well as utilities wisely abandoning coal, to pay more for electricity, even when cheaper, cleaner renewable sources are available.
House Bill 1414, introduced by Republican State Rep. Ed Soliday, is “one of the dumbest policy proposals ever,” said Cook. “It would be a disaster for the environment, public health and Indiana’s economy.” Soliday’s bill is opposed by all five of Indiana’s investor-owned utilities, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, consumer and environmental groups, the Indiana Conservative Alliance for Energy and ratepayers across the state.
It would effectively block utilities in Indiana from closing any coal-fired power plant unless the closure is mandated by the Trump administration – which would never happen, given the president’s repeated empty promises to “bring back coal.” The only exception for closing a coal plant would be if utilities can prove to state utility commissioners that it would be in the public interest.
EDIT
https://www.ewg.org/energy/release/23020/why-not-whale-oil-scheme-bail-out-coal-indiana-mocked-legislature
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