Americans Skeptical of Federal Energy Dictates

WASHINGTON – A new survey released today by the American Energy Alliance found that most American voters have serious reservations about the federal government’s involvement in their energy choices—specifically with regard to policies like the wind Production Tax Credit (PTC) and the EPA’s proposed power plant rule.

“The American people don’t have faith in the federal government to make their energy choices for them—and for good reason,” said AEA president Thomas Pyle.

“The federal government has been giving special treatment to green energy for decades, either directly through handouts like the wind PTC or indirectly through red tape like EPA’s proposed power plant rule. These types of policies have led to higher energy prices, eroding the states’ ability to make their own energy choices. The survey makes clear that Americans are growing weary of the blatant cronyism that runs rampant through our political system, and the failed federal policies that stifle innovation and increase the cost of the reliable energy we need to move America forward,” Pyle added.

“Voters are pretty skeptical of all facets of the wind production tax credit,” said Mike McKenna, president of MWR Strategies, which conducted the survey.

The survey indicates that the majority of voters are skeptical of preferential subsidies like the two-decades old wind PTC:

• 81 percent of respondents do not think foreign companies should get tax breaks from the federal government.
• 65 percent believe that 20 years’ worth of tax credits is long enough.
• 77 percent do not trust Congress to hand out tax advantages in the most efficient and effective way.
• 56 percent think that companies who are already turning a profit should not get tax breaks for using or producing that technology.

The survey also indicates that many Americans are skeptical of EPA’s proposed power plant rule:

• 60 percent of respondents indicated it was a bad thing that the EPA’s proposed power plant rule would impose a mandate on citizens to buy certain amounts of renewable energy.
• 52 percent said it was mostly a bad thing that EPA could punish States that did not comply.

Lastly, the survey indicates that there is skepticism among the American people about who should be driving innovation and who should be making public policy decisions:

• 46 percent of respondents said that the most likely way to develop and improve alternative sources of energy was to rely on innovators developing new technologies; just 18 percent said that federal tax credits were the way to go.
• 68 percent said that they did not trust the federal government to be responsible for the entire electrical system of the United States.
• 65 percent said that States should be responsible for deciding how electricity gets generated and used.

MWR Strategies conducted the nationwide survey with a sample of 1005 likely voters and a margin of error of 3.1 percent.

Click here to see the full survey results.

###