The following article was submitted by Sixth District Delegate Bob Long about his thoughts on HB 1532, the energy bill- Utility RELIEF Act
House Bill 1532 Utility RELIEF Act was passed through the House and is now on its way to the Senate.
The passing of this bill through the House took over an hour of deliberation from both myself and my Republican peers.
One of my biggest goals this session was to address the high cost of living, and one of the biggest threats we face now is energy.
This was my main motivation for drafting House Bill 1082 Large Load Customers – Data Centers and Rate Schedule Requirements, which would protect Marylanders from the rising energy costs that will come with the increase in energy requirements by data centers across the United States.
However, when it comes to this issue it seems my Democrat counterparts are unwilling to take the actions needed.
This is also evident by the fact that Republicans proposed 20 amendments to House Bill 1532, which would have significantly lowered costs further. These amendments had my support since they addressed the issue of energy affordability.
Democrats, however, voted each of these amendments down. It is evident that windmills will not provide enough of the energy that we need.
On the House Floor I even stood to suggest the use of modular nuclear reactors. These miniature reactors are small enough to fit on a tractor trailer and can be flown from place to place.
The savings we could bring to Marylanders on their energy bills would be much higher with these small modular nuclear reactors, rather than lining our coasts with windmills.
President Trump has taken executive action to accelerate the deployment of these reactors, understanding these are the future of energy generation.
By July 4th, the President’s goal is to have the next generation of these modular nuclear reactors operating across the nation.
Not only are these more efficient, quicker to build, and less expensive but they are also safer, with passive safety systems that allow the reactor to shut down and cool itself without human interaction or backup power. Sadly, this was also overlooked.
In the end, it came down to either the savings associated with House Bill 1532 or nothing.
Due to this I decided to reluctantly support House Bill 1532 for the simple fact of saving my constituents money. While the fight to further lower costs continue, I am not willing to overlook getting financial support to those who need it most.
Savings from House Bill 1532 are estimated at $150 per year. It is nowhere near enough, but I chose to save my constituents a little money and will continue to address this issue in the future.