WSJ Agrees with MDN on Josh Shapiro’s Blame Shift re Electric Rates
Do the editors of the Wall Street Journal read Marcellus Drilling News? No, we don’t expect they actually do. Although the editorial published by the editors of the WSJ on Feb. 4 looks like it could have been written by your humble MDN editor—because it says all the things we’ve said for months about Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and his attempt to blame the PJM Interconnection grid for causing high electricity prices that have, in reality, been caused by Shapiro and his “green” policies. Read More “WSJ Agrees with MDN on Josh Shapiro’s Blame Shift re Electric Rates”
Two weeks ago, MDN brought you the news about a mind-blowing announcement from the White House that OpenAI (ChatGPT), SoftBank, and Oracle have pledged to spend $500 billion (with a “b”) to build new data centers to support artificial intelligence (see 
Yesterday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro delivered his 2025-26 Budget Address to the General Assembly and the people of Pennsylvania. He presented a bloated, whopping $51.47 billion budget for 2025-2026, a 7.5-percent increase over the current fiscal year. The budget proposed flops in many ways (like legalizing pot), but none more so than his doubling down on failed energy proposals, including support for a Marcellus-killing carbon tax. Dems never learn. 
Prior to last week, the Baker Hughes national rig count had been in a freefall for weeks, dropping to a 3+ year low of 576 (see 
In December, Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO), the agency charged with providing revenue projections along with impartial and objective analysis of fiscal, economic, and budgetary issues for the citizens and legislature of Pennsylvania, provided its best guess as to how much revenue the PA impact fee (i.e., severance tax) will generate from shale wells drilled or flowing in 2024 (see 
Pennsylvania’s do-nothing Governor, Josh Shapiro, traveled to Pittsburgh yesterday to put on another shuck-and-jive all-sizzle-no-steak show. He was there to unveil what he calls his “Lightning Plan” for energy in the state. His big plan? Reintroduce and try to bully Republicans into accepting a Marcellus-killing carbon tax and onerous regulations on emissions (called PACER, see 
Natural gas-fired electric power generation has increased in Pennsylvania since 2013 as the state has shifted toward natural gas as its main fuel source for electric power generation. In October 2024, natural gas-fired generation accounted for 57% of the electricity generated in Pennsylvania, more than twice the share in October 2013 (26%). This is thanks to the miracle of Marcellus Shale and fracking. 
The PJM Interconnection electrical grid operator that covers Pennsylvania (along with all or parts of 12 other states and the District of Columbia) has caved to the political demands of PA Gov. Josh Shapiro to artificially cap the prices of the next capacity auction scheduled for July 2025. It means electric ratepayers won’t see as high of an increase in their electric rates (yah!), but it also means the risk of a blackout has just gone way up (boo!). As we’ve outlined in previous posts, electric prices are soaring in PJM because of the policies of Josh Shapiro. 
Both conventional and unconventional (shale) drillers in Pennsylvania were supposed to submit a new annual report to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on December 10, 2023, detailing volatile organic compound (VOC) and methane emissions from their operations over the previous one-year period. Shortly before that deadline, the DEP suspended the due date and set a new due date of June 1, 2024 (see 
There’s a reason the Haynesville shale play in Louisiana and East Texas drills more wells than both the Marcellus and Utica shales combined. That reason? Lower taxes and less regulation. Particularly compared with Pennsylvania, where the taxes and “fees” are high and regulations are far too restrictive. Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano, who ran for governor against Josh Shapiro in 2022, is proposing to correct the situation with a new bill that would suspend the state income tax on shale drillers, among other positive moves. 
In December, PA’s Democrat Governor, Josh Shapiro, filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) alleging the PJM electric grid is being mismanaged and using inflated numbers that will cause economic pain for the 65 million customers who buy electricity in the PJM region—in particular the residents of PA. What’s causing the high prices in PJM, a region rich in natural gas? The policies of Shapiro and his predecessor in proposing a carbon tax have scared away new gas-fired power plants from building in the Keystone State. As we reported yesterday, Shapiro has increased his menacing and threats against PJM (see 
Pennsylvania mineral rights owners (i.e., landowners) now have a well-deserved tax break thanks to a bill passed by the PA legislature and signed into law last summer (see 
In December, PA’s Democrat Governor, Josh Shapiro, filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) alleging the PJM electric grid is being mismanaged and using inflated numbers that will cause economic pain for the 65 million customers who buy electricity in the PJM region—in particular the residents of PA. What’s causing the high prices in PJM, a region rich in natural gas? That would be former Gov. Tom Wolf and current Gov. Josh Shapiro insisting the state tax gas-fired power plants via the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Shapiro is blaming the victim (PJM) for his actions. He just increased the volume (as bullies do) by threatening PJM that PA may pull out of the grid and do its own thing…unless PJM finds a way to fix his mess. 
MDN reported in October that Marcellus/Utica driller Infinity Natural Resources (INR) intended to file an initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Commission hoping to raise $100 million (see