Over the past couple of years, Mississippians have noticed an increase in utility costs, particularly for energy-related commodities such as air conditioning and heat, with one state leader fearing prices will continue to rise if green energy policies are enforced.
During a recent interview on MidDays with Gerard Gibert, Southern District Public Service Commissioner Dane Maxwell voiced his concerns with the Biden administration’s recent push to move away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines.
While Maxwell, as a PSC, is charged with assuring that rates and charges for services are just and reasonable, he is unable to regulate actual energy prices and worries that federal enforcement of green policies would be burdensome to ratepayers.
“We can’t control the cost of energy. All we can do is just like the grocery store when your grocery bill goes up,” Maxwell said. “They are going to drive us into the ground if we don’t change administrations.”
Though Maxwell is not opposed to utilizing renewable energy sources, he is adamantly against the federal government enforcing policies that he believes would end up causing consumers to pay more for monthly bills.
“I’m a big diversity guy. I believe we should invest in all kinds of energy,” Maxwell continued. “Even though I don’t think technology is where we need it to be in order to go full solar, the batteries have to catch up to that solar panel. I don’t think it’s affordable, but I will support any kind of renewable energy as long as it doesn’t fall back on the ratepayers.”
Maxwell proposes for Mississippi to work with those who build small nuclear reactors as a form of energy. The commissioner contends that the energy produced from these particular reactors is affordable, clean, and reliable.
Watch the full interview with Maxwell below.
