State lawmakers meet for joint policy hearing on energy affordability

Lawmakers from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia met for a joint policy hearing on Tuesday, October 28, 2025.

The policy hearing aimed to discuss and focus on energy affordability and reliability across all four states.

According to a news release outlining the event, the hearing addressed how divergent state energy policies are allegedly perpetuating an energy crisis and negatively affecting families throughout the region.

The hearing specifically addressed the economic and grid-reliability consequences of rising energy mandates and taxes, aging infrastructure and market disruptions.

"Because our states share the same grid and transmission lines, we share the same crisis. If we don't act now, families will face rolling blackouts, industries will leave and the backbone of our regional economy will begin to crack under the weight of bad policy," said Representative David Rowe (PA-Snyder, Union, Mifflin, Juniata).

One Pennsylvania State Representative spoke during a press conference following the hearing, indicating that he does not believe that some proposed legislation by the state is going to be beneficial for more energy production.

"We can work together and benefit all of our states by increasing energy production. The key is policy that supports that energy production," said Pennsylvania State Representative Martin Causer, who represents the 67th legislative district.

An idea that lawmakers present at the hearing seemed to agree on was the need for more energy production, with examples such as power plants and other clean energy sources included.

One policy that lawmakers looked toward as one point of contention was the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). 

The RGGI is described on its website to be a collection of twelve northeastern states, including Pennsylvania, that have paired carbon caps with market mechanisms, which allows electricity producers to meet carbon emission targets and keep in line with their own strategic and financial goals.

The aim of the initiative is to invest in lessening carbon emissions from power generation and focus on cleaner energy.

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