PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island House Minority Leader Michael Chippendale, a Republican representing District 40 in Glocester, Foster and Coventry, joined members of the House Minority Caucus to hold a media briefing last week to discuss bipartisan legislative efforts to create energy reform and cost savings for state ratepayers.
Chippendale’s remarks were as follows:
The House Minority Caucus has submitted a suite of bills this legislative session to address the rapidly increasing cost of energy in our state – costs that are being driven largely by the misguided Act on Climate of 2021.
First – let me be very clear: Republicans are not “climate deniers.” That term is a political slur – crafted by the radical left to shame anyone who questions whether the current policy approach to renewable energy is sound, practical, or affordable. We acknowledge that climate change is occurring. Where we differ is in what we believe is causing it, and – more importantly – what solutions are realistic without bankrupting the people of Rhode Island.
Let’s be real. The emissions goals set in the Act on Climate have been called “the most aggressive in the country” – and they are. But Rhode Island occupies a tiny fraction of the planet’s surface. Even under the most widely accepted climate models, Rhode Island’s contribution to global carbon emissions is so minuscule that achieving net-zero would have no measurable impact on global temperatures. Sadly, this means that much of our state’s “Green Agenda” amounts to little more than virtue-signaling, while simultaneously lowering the standard of living for Rhode Islanders.
Let’s look at the numbers:
- In the First Quarter of 2015, Rhode Island’s average residential electricity rate was about 19.24 cents per kilowatt-hour.
- In the First Quarter of 2025, that rate was 32.2 cents per kilowatt-hour.
That’s a 68 percent increase in just ten years.
Now compare that to the national average, which increased from 12.65 cents to 16.51 cents in the roughly same timeframe – a 31 percent rise. Rhode Island’s rate hikes are more than double the national pace.
This isn’t abstract. These are real costs being felt by real people – especially our low-income residents, our seniors living on fixed incomes, and the small businesses trying to keep their doors open in a post-pandemic economy.
Every member of the House has heard these complaints. Many talk publicly about the crisis of rising energy costs. But some of those same lawmakers are passing the very mandates and subsidies that are causing those prices to soar.
They’ve even organized protests of the Public Utilities Commission – the PUC – blaming them for rate hikes the PUC is legally obligated to pass through under current law.
Let’s clarify the role of the PUC.
The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission can review, modify, or reject utility rate increases related to delivery charges, capital investments, and state-mandated program fees – like the energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. It can protect ratepayers in those areas.
But when it comes to supply costs – what the utility pays to buy electricity or gas from suppliers – the PUC’s hands are tied. If the utility proves that those costs reflect actual market prices with no markup, state law requires the PUC to approve them. That means your rates go up because of market volatility and legislative mandates, not because of some malicious decision by the utility or the commission.
Speaking of scapegoats – let’s talk about the energy company.
Far too often, the utility is painted as the villain. But many of these cost increases stem from legislative mandates – laws passed by the General Assembly that force utilities to buy expensive energy or fund inefficient programs. And the same lawmakers who pass these mandates are the ones publicly attacking the utility for doing what the law compels them to do. While the nationwide profit margin for these types of utility companies averages approximately 9.3 percent, the Rhode Island’s utility company has a 4.03 percent profit margin. “Greed and profits” – as the advocates defending the Act on Climate constantly point to, are clearly not the drivers here.
Worse still, those mandates often prevent the utility from making much-needed investments in our natural gas infrastructure. Natural gas is one of the cleanest, most efficient, and affordable sources of electricity generation available. States with sound energy policy have used it successfully to reduce emissions while keeping costs down. But here in Rhode Island, ideological opposition to gas has stalled repairs, blocked upgrades, and driven up costs – a fact recently highlighted by the Providence Journal.
That’s why the House Minority Caucus has introduced several bills rooted in reality and focused on relief:
- House Bill 6201 adds nuclear energy to the definition of Alternative Energy Sources. Nuclear power is clean, highly efficient, and offers reliable baseload energy. This would give the utility more flexibility to purchase lower-cost energy and reduce dependency on volatile wind and solar markets.
- House Bill 5575, passed just last week, allows the state to procure nuclear power and count it toward zero-emission targets. This is a rare moment of bipartisan realism – an admission that nuclear power must be part of the solution if we’re serious about both emissions and affordability. We need more policies like this.
- House Bill 6202 places a moratorium on the state’s Net-Metering Program, Long-Term Solar and Wind Contracts, and the Heat Pump Subsidy Program. Right now, solar customers are credited at the full retail rate for energy they produce – up to 125 percent of their usage. That’s not market-based. It’s an inflated rate that gets passed on to everyone else. Heat pump subsidies are similarly funded through hidden charges – specifically, the energy efficiency fee on your electric bill. These programs may benefit a few – but they cost everyone.
- House Bill 6303 repeals the Renewable Energy Growth Program, which now functions as an instrument of the Act on Climate. This law forces utilities into long-term, high-cost contracts – 15 to 20 years – for wind and solar projects, regardless of their viability. The utility is then allowed to recover any losses by charging the rest of us more.
- House Bill 6104 eliminates the Energy Efficiency Charge – a per-kWh fee that all ratepayers pay, but only a minority benefit from. This program imposes upfront costs on everyone, despite delivering savings to only a select group. Rather than sending this money to wealthy corporations who benefit from these programs, we feel it should remain with the struggling homeowners.
Let me be clear:
These bills won’t solve the crisis overnight. But they represent practical, achievable steps toward bringing relief to the people of Rhode Island.
We already face some of the highest electricity rates, highest costs of living, and highest tax burdens in the nation. What we need now is not more ideology – but common sense and accountability.
The people of Rhode Island are asking for relief.
Let’s finally deliver it.
