Report: Carbon taxes cost Pennsylvania $5B

(The Center Square) – Energy is big business in Pennsylvania.

Its storied fossil fuel reserves have kept utility bills lower and the regional power grid more stable for the better part of a century.

That’s remained key as states opt for lower-emission power sources, which have so far relied on fledgling technologies not yet able to keep the lights on with batteries, solar panels and wind turbines alone.

A new report from the Commonwealth Foundation concludes it could have been even bigger business had state regulators not spent the last six years “flirting” with a carbon tax program called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the success of which many critics say relies on the fossil fuels it means to curb.

For the program’s most ardent supporters, the transition away from coal and gas must start somewhere. And, to them, a 50% reduction in emissions and $6 billion in revenue over the last 18 years isn’t a bad one.

“The Keystone...