US utilities want Trump, Republicans to save inflation act, Edison CEO says
Utilities lobby for preserving clean energy and EV tax credits
Trump plans to eliminate $7,500 EV tax credit
EEI members emphasize IRA benefits for growth and consumers
By Valerie Volcovici
BAKU, Nov 16 (Reuters) -The U.S. utility industry wants the incoming Trump administration and Republican-led Congress to preserve clean energy and EV tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act, Pedro Pizarro, the CEO of utility Edison International EIX.N said on Saturday.
The 2022 IRA contains hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies for clean energy and is billed as outgoing President Joe Biden's signature law to combat climate change. President-elect Donald Trump, a climate skeptic, has vowed to rescind it, something that would require support of Congress.
Pizarro, who until recently chaired the board of industry trade group Edison Electric Institute, said the lobby group's members have been making the case with the Trump transition team and Republican members of Congress that preserving the IRA is good for businesses and consumers alike.
"One of our big priorities as an industry is going to be to articulate the benefits of the IRA," Pizarro told Reuters on the sidelines of the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan. "Most of those (IRA) benefits don't actually accrue to our shareholders. They go straight to our builds and down to our customers," he said.
Trump's transition team is already working on plans to kill the $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases as part of broader tax-reform legislation, Reuters has reported.
A group representing major electric vehicle and battery manufacturers including Rivian RIVN.O, Tesla TSLA.O, and Panasonic 6752.T, on Friday also urged Trump not to kill EV tax credits, citing the impact on key states that voted Republican.
Dan Brouillette, Trump's former energy secretary, stepped down as CEO of EEI on Oct. 28, just days before the U.S. election and is working with the transition team on energy policy and cabinet appointments.
For EEI members, which include US and international investor-owned utilities such as AES AES.N, Edison International EIX.N, Duke Energy DUK.N and Southern Company, retaining IRA tax credits for energy storage, transmission, nuclear power, hydrogen, EVs and others are crucial for continued growth, Pizarro said.
"It's really across the board."
EEI members will spend the coming months reaching out to members on Capitol Hill, he said.
"We'll be very active there, just explaining the benefits of the IRA," he said.
Reporting by Valerie Volcovici, Editing by Louise Heavens
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
